Add your input
A PDF and a compression level.
Document desk
Compress PDF
Get a smaller file and know exactly what it costs.
Privacy built inYour work stays with you
Private PDF workspace
Compress a PDF
Rebuild pages at a lower resolution to reduce file size.
Your work stays private in your browser while you use this tool.
What does compress pdf do?
Compress PDF reduces file size by rendering each page and rebuilding the document from those renders as JPEG images. That is genuinely lossy: the result is smaller, but its text is no longer selectable or searchable. When the rebuilt file would not actually be smaller, the tool says so instead of handing back a larger document.
- Input
- A PDF and a compression level.
- Result
- A smaller PDF, or a clear notice when it would not shrink.
- Price
- Free
- Account
- Not required
How to use compress pdf
Choose your settings
Get a smaller file and know exactly what it costs.
Save or copy
A smaller PDF, or a clear notice when it would not shrink.
A practical tip
This rebuilds pages as images, so the result is smaller but its text is no longer selectable.
When to use compress pdf
Get a scanned document under an upload limit that rejects the original.
Shrink an image-heavy brochure enough to send as an email attachment.
Reduce a photo-based PDF before archiving it where size matters more than fidelity.
Worked example
A concrete compress pdf example
- Input
- A 12 MB scanned document at the balanced level
- Result
- Roughly 3 MB, with the page images visibly softer and the text no longer selectable.
What to expect
How it works
Each page is rendered with PDF.js at the level's scale, exported as a JPEG at the level's quality, and embedded into a fresh document at the original page dimensions. Pages are processed one at a time to bound memory. The rebuilt file is compared against the original and only offered when it is genuinely smaller.
Know before using
Limits and edge cases
- Selectable text, searchable content, links, and vector sharpness are lost. A text-based PDF that already compresses well will usually come back larger, and the tool reports that rather than pretending otherwise.
- This is the right tool for scans and photo-heavy documents. For a text document, splitting out the pages you need is almost always a better way to reduce size.
Standards and sources
Common questions
Compress PDF FAQ
Is compress pdf free to use?
Yes. Compress PDF is free to use.
Does compress pdf keep my work private?
Yes. Your work stays private while you use the tool — nothing you enter is uploaded.
Why did my PDF get bigger instead of smaller?
Because it was already efficiently stored. A text PDF holds glyphs and vectors, which are far more compact than a picture of the same page. When the rebuilt document is not smaller, the tool tells you and leaves the original alone.
Will my text still be searchable afterwards?
No. Pages are rebuilt as images, so text becomes part of the picture. If searchable text matters, keep the original and reduce size another way.