About this Compress PDF tool
Many websites, government portals and email services limit attachments to 2, 5 or 10 MB, and scanned PDFs are often far bigger than that. This tool shrinks your PDF on your own device, so you can send or upload it without the file ever leaving your computer or phone.
Three levels are available. Strong and Medium redraw every page as an optimised image. They give huge savings on scanned documents and photo-heavy PDFs, but the text is no longer selectable. Basic repacks the PDF without changing how it looks, which keeps text selectable but usually saves less.
How to use Compress PDF
- Choose or drop your PDF.
- Pick a compression level. Strong gives the smallest file.
- Click Compress PDF.
- Check the new size and download the smaller PDF.
Features
Big savings on scans
Scanned PDFs typically shrink by 60–90%.
Three levels
Strong, medium, or lossless basic optimisation.
Black and white option
Convert colour scans to greyscale for an even smaller file.
Never larger
If a file can't be made smaller, your original is kept.
Private
The PDF is compressed in your browser, never uploaded.
Which level should I choose?
- Scanned documents, ID copies, photos in a PDF: Strong. The result is still clear enough to read and print.
- Brochures and reports with images that you'll view on screen: Medium.
- Contracts or text documents where you need to copy or search text: Basic.
Need it even smaller? Remove pages you don't need with Remove PDF pages first.
Frequently asked questions
How much will my PDF shrink?
Scanned and image-heavy PDFs usually shrink by 60–90% with the Strong level. PDFs that contain mostly text are already small and shrink less.
Will the text still be selectable?
With Basic compression, yes. Strong and Medium turn each page into an optimised image, so the text can be read and printed but not selected or searched.
How do I compress a PDF to under 1 MB or 200 KB?
Use the Strong level and tick “Convert to black and white”. If it's still too big, split the PDF and compress the parts separately.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Compression runs completely in your browser, which makes it safe for ID documents and contracts.
Why did my file not get smaller?
Some PDFs are already well optimised. If the result would be bigger than the original, we give you the original back and suggest a stronger level.