Compress PDF
Reduce the size of a PDF document while keeping structure intact.
- Free, no sign-up
- No watermark
- Files deleted automatically
or drop a file here · paste with Ctrl+V
Up to 1 GB
Suggested tools
About Compress PDF
Compress PDF makes a PDF smaller by rebuilding its internal structure: objects are packed into compressed object streams and redundant structure is removed. Nothing visible changes — text, images and layout stay exactly as they were.
Because images are not re-compressed, savings depend on how the PDF was made: files exported by some programs shrink noticeably, while PDFs that are mostly photos or scans shrink only a little. In that case, compress the images before making the PDF. Files are sent over HTTPS, processed on our server and deleted automatically after you download the result.
How to use Compress PDF
- Upload the PDF.
- Press Compress.
- Compare the before and after size and download the result.
Key features
- Lossless — no change to text or images
- Compressed object streams
- Before/after size and percentage saved
- Clear message for protected or damaged files
When to use Compress PDF
- Shrinking PDFs exported from office software that contain a lot of internal overhead.
- Reducing size without any visible change, when quality must stay exactly the same.
- A quick first step before trying image-based methods for scanned documents.
Tips and common problems
- Scanned PDFs mostly contain images — reduce the images (resize/compress) and rebuild the PDF for real savings.
- Removing unneeded pages often saves as much as compression.
- Converting colour scans to grayscale can reduce size noticeably for black-and-white documents.
Frequently asked questions
Scans are mostly images, and this tool does not lower image quality. Compress the scan images first (Image Compressor), then rebuild the PDF with Image to PDF.
No. The compression is lossless; the PDF looks and prints exactly the same.
Remove pages you don't need, convert colour scans to grayscale with Grayscale PDF, or split the document into parts.
Guides
- How to Merge PDF Files — Learn how to combine multiple PDFs into a single document in the right order, for free, without installing software — plus tips on quality, order and privacy.
- How to Reduce PDF Size for Online Form Uploads — Why PDFs exceed upload limits (200 KB, 1 MB, 2 MB) and the methods that really shrink them: compressing scans, grayscale, removing pages and splitting.