Compress PDF

Reduce file size by choosing the compression method that best suits your document. Supports multiple PDFs.

Click to select files or drag and drop

One or more PDF files

Your files never leave your device.

What is PDF Compression?

PDF compression reduces the file size of your PDF documents by optimizing images, removing redundant data, and using more efficient encoding methods. This is essential for:

  • Email attachments: Stay within email size limits
  • Website uploads: Faster loading times for web documents
  • Storage management: Save space on your devices and cloud storage
  • Sharing efficiency: Quicker transfers via messaging apps
  • Document management: Organize archives more efficiently

Compression Benefits

  • ✓ Reduce size by up to 90%
  • ✓ Preserve text quality
  • ✓ Multiple algorithm options
  • ✓ Batch processing
  • ✓ 100% free & secure

How to Compress PDF Files

1

Upload PDF

Drag & drop or select your PDF files. Process multiple files simultaneously. Your files stay on your device.

2

Choose Compression

Select compression level and algorithm based on your needs. Preview estimated size reduction before processing.

3

Download Results

Download compressed PDFs individually or as a ZIP archive. Compare original and compressed file sizes.

Compression Guide

Level Best For Size Reduction Quality
High Quality Official documents, presentations 10-30% Excellent
Balanced General use, email attachments 30-60% Very Good
Small Size Web uploads, large documents 60-80% Good
Extreme Archival, text-only documents 80-90% Acceptable

Vector Algorithm: Best for text-heavy PDFs with vector graphics. Preserves sharp text edges.

Photon Algorithm: Best for scanned documents and complex images. Optimizes photographic content.

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the compression level you choose:

  • High Quality: Minimal quality loss, text remains sharp
  • Balanced: Small quality reduction, perfect for most uses
  • Small Size: Noticeable compression artifacts in images
  • Extreme: Significant quality loss, best for text-only

We recommend using "Balanced" for most documents as it offers the best trade-off between size and quality.

Yes, but you need to decrypt them first:

  1. Use our Decrypt PDF tool to remove password protection
  2. Compress the decrypted PDF using this tool
  3. If needed, use our Encrypt PDF tool to re-add protection

Note: For security reasons, we cannot process encrypted files directly.

Our tool can handle large PDF files, but browser memory limits apply:

  • Recommended maximum: 500MB per file
  • Total batch size: Up to 2GB
  • Browser dependency: Performance varies by browser and device RAM

For very large files (1GB+), we recommend:

  1. Split the PDF using our Split PDF tool
  2. Compress each part separately
  3. Merge back using our Merge PDF tool

Choose based on your PDF content:

Vector Algorithm

  • ✓ Text documents
  • ✓ Reports with charts
  • ✓ Presentations
  • ✓ Documents with logos

Photon Algorithm

  • ✓ Scanned documents
  • ✓ Photographs
  • ✓ Art portfolios
  • ✓ Image-heavy PDFs

Yes, 100% secure:

  • Local processing: All compression happens in your browser
  • No uploads: Files never leave your computer
  • No servers: No temporary storage on our servers
  • No tracking: We don't track or analyze your documents
  • Automatic cleanup: Files removed from browser memory after download

For extra security, you can work offline or use private/incognito browsing mode.

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