PDF Compressor

Add one or more PDFs to reduce file size. This works by re-rendering each page as a compressed image, so it's best for scanned or image-heavy PDFs.

Click to choose PDFs or drag & drop them here

The tool tries several quality and resolution combinations to get the output at or below the selected target. Results depend on the original PDF.

Important: this converts each page into a compressed JPEG image inside a new PDF. That means text is no longer selectable or searchable afterward, and fine print may look softer. It works best on scanned documents or image-heavy PDFs — for text-heavy PDFs, this may not shrink the file much and will cost you selectable text, so weigh that trade-off first.

Compress PDF files when a document is too large to email, upload or store. The updated compressor adds two reference-style workflows — Exact size for targeting a maximum file size and By compression for choosing a compression level — while keeping the existing browser-based PDF compression workflow.

Why compress a PDF?

Large PDFs can be difficult to attach to email, upload to forms, submit to portals or store in limited space. Compression reduces the output size by lowering the image quality and/or rendering resolution used to build the compressed PDF.

How to compress a PDF

  1. Select one or more PDF files.
  2. Choose Exact size and enter a target such as 3 MB, or choose By compression and select a compression level.
  3. Use the quick target buttons when you want a common size such as 1 MB, 2 MB, 3 MB, 5 MB or 10 MB.
  4. Start compression and download the resulting PDF or ZIP package.

Exact size versus compression level

Exact size attempts to produce an output at or below the selected target by trying a sequence of image quality and resolution settings. By compression gives you direct control over the quality and resolution trade-off. The final size depends on the source PDF, page count and image content, so an exact byte-for-byte size cannot be guaranteed for every document.

Important: this compressor rasterizes pages

The current browser compressor re-renders each page as a JPEG image inside a new PDF. This can significantly reduce image-heavy or scanned documents, but the resulting pages do not retain the original selectable/searchable PDF text layer. Fine text may also become softer at stronger compression settings. For text-heavy PDFs where selectable text must be preserved, use a compression method that can optimize the original PDF objects rather than rasterizing pages.

Which compression setting should you use?

Start with a balanced setting when readability matters. Use stronger compression when the PDF must meet a strict upload limit. For scanned forms and image-heavy documents, compare the final page appearance before submitting or archiving the compressed file.

PDF compressor FAQ

Can I compress a PDF to 3 MB?

Yes. The Exact size mode includes a target-size field and quick target options; it attempts to produce an output at or below the selected size.

Will compressed PDF text remain selectable?

This browser compressor re-renders pages as JPEG images, so the resulting text is not preserved as a selectable PDF text layer.

Which PDFs compress best?

Scanned and image-heavy PDFs generally have more image data to reduce. Results vary with the source document.

What is By compression mode?

By compression lets you choose a quality/resolution trade-off instead of specifying a target file size.

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