How to compress a PDF
- Select the PDF you want to make smaller.
- Choose a compression level. Recommended suits most files.
- Select Compress PDF and download the smaller file.
About this tool
Large PDFs are usually large because of the photos and scanned pages inside them. This tool re-compresses those images and resizes any that are bigger than needed. Text, lines and drawings are left untouched, so they stay sharp and searchable.
It works best on scanned documents, photo-heavy reports and PDFs made from phone pictures. Files that are mostly text are already small, so they shrink very little.
Questions
How much smaller will my PDF get?
It depends on the file. Scanned documents and PDFs with photos often shrink by 50 to 90 percent. Text-only PDFs shrink very little, because there's not much to compress.
Will the text become blurry?
No. Only images are re-compressed. Text stays as real text, so it's sharp at any zoom and you can still search and copy it.
Which level should I choose?
Start with Recommended. If the file is still over a portal's size limit, try Strong. Use Light when photo quality matters most.