Compress PDF Online

1. Upload one PDF file (up to 200 MB).
2. Choose a compression level or pick a target file size.
3. Click 'Compress PDF' — compression finishes in a few seconds.
4. Download the compressed PDF.

A PDF scanned at 300 DPI can shrink from 10 MB to under 1 MB when re-compressed at 150 DPI — which is still readable for most document viewing. The size reduction depends heavily on whether the PDF contains raster images or just text.

PDF files from scanners, cameras, or print exports are often 10-50x larger than necessary. A 5-page scanned document can be 15 MB when the same content fits in 500 KB. Compressing PDF saves storage, gets attachments under Gmail's 25 MB limit, and meets strict upload requirements for government portals, exam forms, and job applications.

The compressor analyzes the PDF structure, then optimizes embedded images (raster content) by re-encoding them at lower resolution or higher compression. Text and vector content is preserved losslessly. Scanned PDFs (image-only) shrink the most; text-based PDFs (e.g. from Word) may shrink very little because their content is already efficient.

• Sending PDFs via email without hitting provider size limits.
• Uploading documents to government portals (IRS, USCIS, tax filing).
• Reducing scanned documents for archival without losing readability.
• Submitting assignments through university portals with size caps.
• Preparing PDFs for cloud storage or backup.
• Making email newsletters or brochures web-friendly.
• Sharing documents with mobile users on limited data plans.

Text content in the PDF is preserved losslessly — even at Maximum compression, text remains crisp because it is not raster. Only embedded images are re-encoded with quality loss. For scanned documents, quality matters more: below 150 DPI, text may become hard to read.

• Password-protected PDFs cannot be compressed.
• Text-only PDFs (from Word or Google Docs) may compress only 5-30%.
• Very aggressive compression may make scanned text harder to read.
• PDFs with embedded fonts are supported but the fonts are not subsetted.
• Encrypted PDFs require decryption before compression.

• Output PDF opens in every PDF reader — Adobe Acrobat, Preview, Chrome, Edge, Firefox.
• Accepted by every email client, government portal, exam form, and CMS.
• Works with Adobe Reader, Foxit, SumatraPDF, and mobile PDF apps.
• Compatible with IRS, immigration, and job application upload portals.
• Preserves text searchability (unlike image-only PDFs).

• For scanned PDFs, aim for 150 DPI — readable but 3-5x smaller.
• Use the 'Low' preset for documents you might print later.
• For government uploads, target the exact size limit (100KB, 200KB, etc.).
• Text PDFs compress less — if the result isn't small enough, check for embedded images.
• Batch-compress multiple PDFs by uploading one at a time.

Need to hit an exact size? Use our dedicated target-size tools:

Compressed PDF is barely smaller than the original

The PDF is likely text-only (from Word, Google Docs, or LaTeX). Text PDFs are already efficient — 5-30% is typical. Try Maximum compression, or check if there are high-resolution images embedded that could be downsampled.

PDF upload rejected — file too large even after compression

Use the target-size presets (e.g. 100KB) which force aggressive compression. For portals with 1 MB limits, consider splitting the PDF into multiple documents.

Text becomes blurry or unreadable after compression

The source PDF was a scan (image-based, not text-based). Use a lower compression level (Low or Medium) to preserve readability. Scanned text needs at least 150 DPI to stay legible.

• Adobe — PDF Reference (ISO 32000-1)
• Ghostscript — PDF compression documentation