Compress PDF

What this compressor does

This version is intended for scanned PDFs, photographed documents and files with large pictures. It renders each page in your browser, saves that page as a compressed JPEG image, and creates a new PDF from those images. The original file is never uploaded.

That approach can reduce a large scan substantially, especially when it came from a phone scanner or contains full-page photos. It is less useful for a text-only PDF exported from Word, a website or a government portal. Those files are often already compact, and the rebuilt copy can be larger. When that happens, the tool keeps the original file available instead of presenting a larger download as an improvement.

Choose a compression level

Balanced is a sensible first try for ordinary scans. Smaller file lowers the image resolution and JPEG quality. Smallest file is for screen reading or an upload form with a tight size limit. It can make small print and stamps harder to read, so open the downloaded file and inspect every page before submitting it anywhere.

The tool does not promise a particular target size. The final size depends on the pictures, page count, colours and scanner settings in the original PDF.

Important changes in the result

The output is an image-only PDF. You cannot select, search or copy its text. Forms, links, bookmarks, annotations and embedded files are not preserved. A digital signature is no longer valid after any PDF is rebuilt. Password-protected PDFs are not supported by this tool.

For a text document that needs to remain searchable, use the original PDF or reduce image sizes before creating the PDF. Desktop software can sometimes make additional savings by changing fonts and internal PDF objects; that work is not available in this browser-only version.