Compress PDF
Shrink a PDF so it slips under an email size limit. Everything happens in your browser — the file never leaves your device.
How the compression works
This tool rebuilds each page as a compressed image, which is exactly how the popular online compressors get big size reductions. The trade-off is honest: the text in the result is no longer selectable or searchable, because every page has become a picture. That is perfect for emailing a scanned contract, a photo-heavy brochure or a portfolio, and less ideal if you need to copy text out of the file afterwards. It all runs in your browser with JavaScript — your PDF is never uploaded, logged or stored.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The whole thing runs in your browser — your document never leaves your device. That is ideal for contracts, invoices and anything confidential.
Why did my text stop being selectable?
To shrink the file, this tool turns each page into a compressed image. That is what makes it small, but it also means the words are now part of a picture rather than real text. If you need selectable text, keep the original — or use the compressed copy only for the version you are emailing.
Which setting should I pick?
"Balanced" is the sweet spot for most files. Choose "Strong" when you must get under a strict size limit and can accept softer images; choose "Light" when the pages contain fine detail you want to keep crisp.
My file barely got smaller — why?
PDFs that are mostly plain text are already very small, so rasterizing them does not help and can even make them slightly bigger. This tool shines on PDFs full of scans and photos. If yours did not shrink, it probably did not need to.
Will it work on a big or multi-page PDF?
Yes, though very large documents take longer and use more memory, because each page is rendered and re-encoded one by one. A progress line keeps you posted.
Can it open a password-protected PDF?
No. Remove the password first in your PDF reader, then compress the unlocked file.
Making a PDF small enough to actually send
Almost everyone has hit the wall where an email bounces because the attachment is too big, or an upload portal refuses a file over a few megabytes. PDFs are usually the culprit, and it is almost always because of the pictures inside them — a scanned contract, a photo-heavy brochure or a portfolio can easily run to tens of megabytes. Compressing the file shrinks it to something you can attach, upload or share without hitting a limit, while keeping every page exactly where it was. Doing that in your browser means the document — which is often confidential — never has to travel to a stranger's server first.
Why a PDF gets big in the first place
Plain text takes almost no space; a page of writing is a few kilobytes. The weight comes from images: a scanner or phone camera captures far more detail than a screen or a printed page can show, and a PDF happily stores all of it. A single full-page scan at high resolution can be larger than a hundred pages of text. That is why a text document barely shrinks here while an image-heavy one can drop by 80% or more — this tool works on the part that is actually taking up the room, and there is little to gain on a file that was already lean.
How the compression works, and the trade-off
The tool renders each page, re-saves it as a compressed image, and rebuilds the PDF from those images — the same approach the well-known online compressors use to get big reductions. The honest trade-off is that text on the result is no longer selectable or searchable, because each page has become a picture. That is perfectly fine for a scan you are emailing, or any document you just need to send and view. If you need to copy text out of the file later, keep your original and use the compressed copy only for sending.
Choosing a setting
"Balanced" is the right choice for almost everything: a clear result at a much smaller size. Reach for "Strong" only when you are up against a hard limit and can accept softer images — a scanned form still reads perfectly fine. Pick "Light" when the pages carry fine detail, small print or diagrams you want to keep crisp, and a modest size cut is enough. Whichever you pick, the tool shows you the before-and-after size so you can see exactly what you gained and try a different level if you want to.
Privacy and what to do when it barely shrinks
Everything happens in your browser with JavaScript, so your PDF is never uploaded, logged or stored — ideal for contracts, invoices, medical letters and anything you would not hand to a random website. If a file barely shrinks, that is a good sign, not a fault: it means the PDF was mostly text and already small. In that case, if you still need it smaller for email, consider splitting it into parts, or sending a shared link instead of the file itself. And remember to remove any password first — a locked PDF cannot be opened for compression until it is unlocked.
