Make your PDFs small enough to send and upload
Scanned PDFs or PDFs full of photos can weigh tens of megabytes: too much to email (Gmail and Outlook cap attachments at around 20–25 MB) or to upload to a government form, job portal or school platform. This tool shrinks the images inside the PDF and restructures the file so it weighs much less, while the text stays sharp. Pick the level you need: Extreme for the smallest file, Recommended for a good balance between quality and size, or Low if you're going to print it.
How to compress a PDF
- 1
Drag your PDFs into the box or tap "Choose files". Up to 5 at once, 50 MB each.
- 2
Choose the compression level. "Recommended" is the best choice for email and online forms.
- 3
Download each compressed PDF, or all of them together in a ZIP file.
PDF compression questions
Are my PDFs stored on your server?
No. Compressing a PDF requires processing it on our server, in an isolated environment, and the file is deleted as soon as it's done, whether it succeeded or failed. We keep no copies and nobody looks at it.
How much smaller will my PDF get?
It depends on the content. PDFs with photos or scans usually shrink by 50% to 90%. Text-only PDFs are already small and barely change: in that case we tell you it's already optimized.
Will I lose quality?
Only in the images, depending on the level. With "Recommended" they end up at 150 dpi, enough to read on screen without noticing a difference. Text keeps its full quality.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Remove the password first with the program you created it with.
How do I compress a PDF to send by email?
Upload it here with the "Recommended" level. Most PDFs end up well under Gmail's and Outlook's 20–25 MB limit.