Shrink a PDF and cut its file size
Drop your PDF, pick a level (light, medium, strong or maximum), and click Compress PDF. The JPEG images inside are recompressed and the file structure is optimized, and you see the size before and after. Everything runs in your browser, so your document is never uploaded and no server sets a size cap.
- ✅ Free
- 🔒 No sign-up
- 📱 Works on mobile
- ⚡ Instant results
🔒 Everything runs in your browser. Your data and files never leave your device.
How PDF compression works
A PDF is almost always heavy because of its images. Text and fonts add only a few KB. So this tool works on the JPEG images in the document: it decodes them, shrinks them if they are larger than needed, and re-encodes them at a lower quality. An image is replaced only if the new version is at least 5% smaller.
\[ \text{savings (\%)} = \dfrac{\text{size before} - \text{size after}}{\text{size before}} \times 100 \]
The file structure is also rewritten with compressed object streams, which saves a few KB even on a PDF with no images.
Which level should you choose?
| Level | JPEG quality | Max image size | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 82% | 4,000 px | Documents to print or archive |
| Medium | 66% | 1,800 px | Email attachments, portal uploads |
| Strong | 50% | 1,200 px | Tight limits (1 or 2 MB) |
| Maximum | 55% | Pages at 100 dpi | Heavy scans where text isn't needed |
If the savings shown are small, the file is already optimized or its images aren't JPEGs (as with some PNG images and black-and-white scans).
What this tool doesn't do
- It leaves non-JPEG images (PNG, black-and-white scans, CMYK images) untouched.
- It doesn't remove text or forms at the Light, Medium, and Strong levels.
- Maximum turns each page into an image: the size drops sharply but text is no longer selectable. Keep the original.
- It can't bypass a password: an encrypted PDF is rejected with a message.
3 real-life examples
A 12-page scan to email
Your scan is 24 MB, too big for a 10 MB email limit. At Medium, 3,000 px photos drop to 1,800 px at JPEG 66%, and you typically end up around 4 to 6 MB, a 75% to 83% saving. If that isn't enough, go to Strong.
A 2-page resume with a headshot
A 2.8 MB resume is mostly one high-resolution headshot. At Strong, the photo is cut to 1,200 px and the file drops under 500 KB with no visible change on screen, clearing the 1 MB cap many job portals set.
A text-only report
A 40-page, text-only report weighs 380 KB. The tool shows little or no savings because there are no JPEG images to recompress. That's expected: the file is already light.