Compress PDF
Make scan-heavy PDFs smaller with a quality level you can see — without uploading the file.
- Runs in your browser — files never leave your device
- Fewer clicks, keyboard friendly
Drop a PDF here, or click to choose
One PDF at a time — it stays on this device
Your PDF is compressed in this browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Pages are rebuilt as JPEG images. Selectable levels work best for scans and image-heavy PDFs; selectable text, links, forms, and signatures are flattened.
150 dpi, JPEG quality 78% — a sensible choice for readable scans.
How to use
- Choose a PDF or drop it into the file area.
- Pick Balanced, Smaller, or Smallest according to the quality you need.
- Wait while each page is rebuilt on this device; the before-and-after sizes appear automatically.
- Open the downloaded PDF and check the pages at normal reading size before submitting it.
Choose the level for the job
Balanced renders pages at 150 dpi with JPEG quality 78%, which is a sensible starting point for ordinary scans. Smaller uses 110 dpi and 65% JPEG quality for email or on-screen reading. Smallest uses 80 dpi and 50% quality when a strict upload cap is more important than fine detail. Each option is visible before processing, rather than hiding the quality trade-off behind a generic label. Compression cannot promise a smaller result for every PDF: a text-only or already optimized PDF may stay similar in size, and the result panel reports that honestly.
What this compressor changes
This tool renders each source page and rebuilds it as a JPEG image on a PDF page of the same physical dimensions. That makes it particularly useful for scanned paperwork, photographed pages, and image-heavy handouts, where large embedded images dominate the file size. It accepts one PDF up to 100 MB and 500 pages. Pages are processed one at a time, and an unusually large page is rendered below the selected DPI when needed to stay within a 20-megapixel canvas instead of rejecting the whole document. The trade-off is intentional: searchable or selectable text, links, fillable form fields, layers, and digital-signature information are flattened into the page image. Keep the original PDF if you need any of those features later.
Private compression, not an upload workflow
The leading online results iLovePDF, Smallpdf, and PDF24 all show an upload or cloud-processing step. Smallpdf says uploaded files are automatically deleted after one hour, while PDF24 says processing happens on its servers. Here, the PDF is read, rendered, and rebuilt in your browser; no file is sent to a server and no account is required. This is useful for scans containing IDs, contracts, financial records, or student documents.
Frequently asked questions
Does this upload my PDF?
No. The PDF is read, rendered, compressed, and downloaded entirely in the browser on your device. Once this page has loaded, the document itself is never sent to a server.
Which compression level should I use?
Start with Balanced at 150 dpi and JPEG quality 78% for readable scans. Use Smaller at 110 dpi and 65% for everyday sharing, or Smallest at 80 dpi and 50% only when meeting a strict size limit matters more than fine detail.
Will a compressed PDF keep searchable text and links?
No. This tool rebuilds every page as a JPEG image, so selectable text, hyperlinks, fillable form fields, layers, and signature data are flattened. Keep the original file whenever those features are needed.
Why did my PDF not get much smaller?
A text-only PDF or one that already contains efficiently compressed images may have little removable data. Rebuilding it can therefore produce a similar size, and occasionally a larger one; the tool shows the exact before-and-after sizes rather than claiming a fixed reduction.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
Not yet. Password-protected PDFs are stopped before processing because the browser cannot read their pages without unlocking them. Remove the password in a PDF reader you trust, then add the unlocked copy here.
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Updated 2026-10-19