Compress PDF
Local only — nothing is uploaded unless you save or share it.
Reduce PDF size without turning the text into a picture.
- Drop your PDFs in — one, or several at once
- Pick how hard to compress, or leave images untouched
- Download them individually, or the whole batch as a ZIP
Text, fonts and vector graphics are never re-encoded — only the images inside the file.
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About this tool
Almost all of a large PDF is the pictures inside it. A scanned contract is ninety per cent JPEG and a handful of per cent everything else, which is why tools that only rewrite the file's internal structure report a saving of two or three per cent on exactly the documents people wanted to shrink. This one goes after the images: each embedded picture is decoded, re-encoded at a lower quality and put back, while the text, fonts and vector drawings are left untouched. That matters, because the other common trick is to render every page to a photograph of itself. It shrinks beautifully and quietly destroys the document — the text stops being text, so it can no longer be searched, selected, copied or read aloud. Here a compressed contract is still a contract. Three strengths are offered, and it is worth trying the gentlest first since the difference is often smaller than you expect. If a file is already well compressed you are told so plainly rather than handed something two per cent smaller and a cheerful message. Everything runs in your browser, so a document you are compressing before sending it somewhere never gets sent here first.
Frequently asked questions
Will the text still be selectable and searchable?
Yes. Only the embedded images are re-encoded; text, fonts and vector graphics are copied through untouched. This is the main difference from compressors that flatten each page into a picture — those shrink more, but the text stops being text and can no longer be searched, copied or read by a screen reader.
How do I reduce PDF size?
Drop the file in and pick how hard to squeeze. What actually shrinks is the images inside — a scanned page or a photograph pasted into a report — because that is where nearly all the weight of a large PDF lives. The text is left exactly as it was, which is the difference between this and the compressors that flatten every page into a picture and leave you a document you can no longer search.
Why did my file barely get smaller?
Either it is mostly text, in which case there was never much to remove, or its images are already well compressed. It can also happen when the pictures are in a format this tool will not touch, such as JPEG 2000 or an image carrying a transparency mask. The result tells you which, rather than leaving you guessing.
Which strength should I choose?
Balanced suits most documents and is the default. Light is worth trying first when the images matter, such as a portfolio or anything being printed. Strong is for getting a bulky scan under an upload limit, where legibility matters more than fidelity.
Can compressing make a file bigger?
It can in principle, when images are already compressed harder than the setting you chose. The tool checks, and if the result would be larger it keeps your original and says the file is already optimised rather than handing back something worse.
Is my document uploaded anywhere?
No. The PDF is read into your browser and rewritten there, so it never reaches a server. That matters here in particular, because the reason for compressing a document is usually that you are about to send it to someone.
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