Smaller files, without wrecking the quality
Most of a large PDF's size is usually its images: scanned pages, photos and screenshots stored at a much higher resolution than anyone needs on screen. Compress PDF reduces those images to a sensible resolution and re-encodes them efficiently, then rewrites the file's structure to remove waste. Text, vector graphics, links and form fields are left as they are, so text stays sharp and selectable.
Four levels let you choose the trade-off:
- Lossless: only tidies the file structure. Nothing visible changes.
- Recommended: large images are reduced to about 150 DPI, good for screens and everyday printing.
- Strong: about 100 DPI, the smallest file that stays comfortably readable.
- Maximum: each page becomes a single compressed image. Best for scans, but text can no longer be selected.
How to compress a PDF
- 1
Open the PDF
Choose the file you want to make smaller.
- 2
Pick a compression level
Recommended suits most documents. You can also turn images to grayscale for an extra saving.
- 3
Compress and compare
See the original and new sizes, then download the smaller copy.
Features
Four levels
From lossless clean-up to maximum shrinking.
Text stays sharp
Only images are recompressed, never text or vector art.
Grayscale option
Drop color from images in documents that don't need it.
Honest results
If a file can't be made meaningfully smaller, we say so instead of handing you a bigger one.
Why some PDFs barely shrink
A PDF that is mostly text, or was already optimized when it was exported, has little to remove. Exports from Word or Google Docs are typically small already. The biggest savings come from scans and documents full of photos, which often shrink by 70 to 90 percent at the Recommended level.
Compress PDF: frequently asked questions
It depends on what's inside. Image-heavy files and scans often shrink a lot. Text-only files may shrink very little.
No, except at the Maximum level. Only images are recompressed and text is left untouched.
No. Compression happens in your browser, so even confidential files stay on your device.
Try Strong first. For scans, Maximum gives the smallest result. You can also remove pages you don't need with Delete Pages.
No. The lossless, Recommended and Strong levels keep forms, links and bookmarks. Maximum turns pages into images, which removes them.