Compress PDF — Free Online
Make heavy PDFs light enough for email (25MB limits), job portals, university uploads and WhatsApp. Choose maximum shrinkage or a gentle lossless clean-up that keeps every word selectable.
Drop a PDF to compress
Perfect for scanned documents, assignments & email attachments
100% private — processed on your deviceHow to use the Compress PDF
- 1
Add your PDF
Drop the document — you'll see its pages and current size right away.
- 2
Pick method & level
'Smallest size' rebuilds pages as optimized images (ideal for scans). 'Keep text' losslessly cleans file structure. Balanced suits most people.
- 3
Compress & compare
We show before → after with the exact percentage saved. Download and you're ready to upload anywhere.
Why use Tools Stars for this?
- Scanned PDFs commonly shrink 70–95% with the rebuild method
- Three strength levels for stubborn upload limits (down to 96 DPI extreme)
- A text-safe lossless method when you must keep words selectable & searchable
- Before/after size bar with honest results — if your PDF is already tiny, we say so
- Private: bank statements, ID scans and contracts stay on your device
Frequently asked questions
Which method should I choose?
If your PDF is mostly scans/photos or you must hit a strict size limit, use 'Smallest size'. If it is a born-digital document (Word export, report) and you need copy-paste to keep working, use 'Keep text selectable'.
How do I get my PDF under 1MB / 500KB for a portal?
Choose Strong, and if it is still too big, Extreme. Multi-page scanned sets shrink the most. If a single huge photo page remains stubborn, compress its picture with our Image Compressor first, then rebuild via Image to PDF.
Why did my PDF barely shrink with 'Keep text'?
That method is lossless — it only removes waste, so well-made PDFs have little to lose. Switch to 'Smallest size' for dramatic reduction.
Will print quality suffer?
Balanced (150 DPI) prints crisply for documents. Keep your original for archival printing, and use compressed copies for sharing/uploading.
You may also like
All toolsImage to PDF
Turn JPG & PNG images into a clean PDF. Reorder pages, pick A4 / Letter / Fit.
Use toolNewMerge PDF
Combine multiple PDFs into one file — drag the order, get a single tidy document.
Use toolSplit PDF
Extract pages, delete pages, or save every page as its own PDF in seconds.
Use toolPDF to JPG
Turn every PDF page into a JPG, PNG or WebP image at up to 300 DPI print quality.
Use tool