Compress PDF
Reduce your PDF file size quickly and easily. Choose your compression level and download the optimized file — all processing happens in your browser.
Drop your PDF file here
or click to browse • Single PDF file
Looking to reduce PDF size for email or web upload? Our free PDF compress tool lets you shrink PDF size and decrease PDF file size with three adjustable compression levels. Choose Low for minimal reduction with zero quality loss, Medium to strip metadata and optimize streams, or Aggressive for maximum compression. This PDF compressor processes your document entirely in the browser — no files are uploaded to any server. Whether you need to compress a PDF document for sharing, condense PDF size for storage, or minimize PDF size to meet upload limits, our tool delivers instant results with complete privacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does PDF compression work?
Our tool uses the pdf-lib library to reload, restructure, and re-save your PDF. This strips unused objects, orphaned references, metadata, and redundant data. Object streams are used to pack small objects efficiently. Important limitation: Browser-based PDF compression cannot decompress and recompress embedded JPEG/PNG image data within the PDF. For image-heavy or scanned PDFs, the reduction will be modest (0–10%). Text-heavy PDFs with revision history, metadata, or unoptimized structure typically see the best results (5–25% reduction). For maximum compression of image-heavy PDFs, desktop tools like Adobe Acrobat or Ghostscript are recommended.
Will compression reduce the quality of my PDF?
Low and Medium compression levels preserve all visual content. Aggressive mode may slightly reduce embedded image quality, but text and vector graphics remain sharp.
Is there a file size limit?
Since all processing happens in your browser, it depends on your device's memory. Most modern devices can handle PDFs up to 50-100MB without issues.
Is my file safe?
Absolutely. Your PDF never leaves your device. All compression is performed locally in your browser using JavaScript — no data is sent to any server.
What compression level should I choose?
For documents you'll share via email, Medium is recommended. Use Low for minimal changes, and Aggressive when you need the smallest possible file size and can tolerate minor quality changes.