How to Compress a PDF (Reduce File Size, Free)
Scanned contracts and image-heavy reports can be enormous — too big for email limits and slow to upload. The Compress PDF tool shrinks them in your browser, so sensitive documents stay private while you cut the file size dramatically.
Why PDFs get so large
Most PDF bloat comes from images — high-resolution scans and embedded photos. A scanned page can be several megabytes on its own. Compressing re-encodes those page images at a lower resolution and quality, which is where the big savings come from for image-heavy and scanned PDFs.
How to compress a PDF
- Open the Compress PDF tool and add your file. 2. Choose a compression level — Recommended is a good balance. 3. Compress and download the smaller PDF. It all runs in your browser, so the document never leaves your device.
What to expect
Scanned and image-heavy PDFs shrink the most, often by 50-80%. Because pages are rebuilt as compressed images, selectable text becomes flat — perfect for sharing and archiving scans. If you need to keep text selectable, or to drop pages, use the Organize PDF tool to remove what you don't need first.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF for free?
Open the Compress PDF tool, choose a compression level, and download the smaller file — free, in your browser, with no upload.
Why didn't my PDF get much smaller?
Text-only PDFs are already small, so there's little to compress. The biggest savings come from scanned or image-heavy documents.
Will the text stay selectable?
This tool rebuilds pages as compressed images for maximum size reduction, so text becomes flat — ideal for scans.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Compression happens in your browser, so your document stays private.
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