Compress PDF Files
Shrink scanned documents and image-heavy PDFs so they fit upload limits for email, forms, and online applications, without sending them to a server.
How to compress PDF Files
- 01.
Add your PDF.
- 02.
Choose a quality level.
- 03.
Process and download the compressed PDF.
Best for scans and photos
Every page is rebuilt at 150 DPI as an optimized image. Scanned documents, photographed pages, and PDFs full of pictures usually become much smaller; for example, a 1.1 MB scan of a two-sided ID card came down to about 490 KB.
Important to know
The compressed PDF stores each page as an image, so its text can no longer be selected or searched. PDFs that are mostly digital text are already compact; if compression cannot make the file smaller, the original PDF is kept and you are told so.
What happens by type of PDF
Pages are rebuilt as optimized images. That suits some PDFs better than others:
| Type of PDF | Result |
|---|---|
| Scanned documents and photographed pages | Usually much smaller |
| Brochures and catalogs with photos | Usually much smaller |
| Text exported from Word or Google Docs | Often no gain; the original is kept |
| Fillable forms and links | Fields and links stop working |
| Digitally signed PDFs | The signature is no longer valid |
Common problems and how to fix them
The PDF did not get smaller
Digital text PDFs are already compact. The original is kept and you are told so; no heavier file is produced.
I can no longer select the text
Compressed pages are images. Keep the original if you need to copy or search the text.
The upload portal still rejects it
Try a lower quality, or Resize PDF to reduce the page resolution further.
🔗 Keep going without uploading again
Need separate images instead of a document? Use PDF to JPG. Need pages at a specific pixel size? Use Resize PDF.
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Frequently Asked Questions
We answer your questions about privacy, features, and limits.