How to compress a PDF file
- Open the PDF in the box above.
- Choose the compression. Balanced suits most files. Strong makes the smallest file.
- Click Compress PDF. You see the size before and after.
What the tool changes
- Large JPEG images are scaled down and saved at a lower quality.
- The internal structure of the file is packed tighter.
- Text, links and vector drawings stay as they are.
- Other image types are left alone, so some files shrink less.
More PDF tools
Removing pages also makes a file smaller: delete the ones you do not need.
Upload a PDF and download its tables as Excel or CSV.
Extract tables from your PDFQuestions and answers
Which PDFs get smaller?+
Files with JPEG images: scans, photo reports, brochures. These often shrink by half or more. A PDF of plain text is already small and will barely change.
Why did my file not get smaller?+
Only JPEG images are reduced here. If a file has none, or they are already small, the tool says so and downloads nothing, rather than hand you the same file with a new name.
Will the text get blurry?+
No. Text and vector drawings are not touched. Only images are resized and saved again, which is why they lose some detail.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?+
No. The tool works inside your browser, so the file never reaches a server.
Can I compress to an exact size, such as 300 KB?+
Not yet. Try Balanced, then Strong, and check the result. The size depends on the images in the file.