PDF – Portable Document Format
PDF is the standard format for documents that must look the same on every device. It preserves layout, fonts and images, but is difficult to edit.
More PDF conversionsDrop your PDF files here
or click to choose PDF files · up to 95MB each
How to compress PDF
- Choose your files. Click Select File or drag your PDF files into the upload box. You can add many at once.
- Pick the settings. Choose the output format. The conversion starts as soon as a file is added.
- Download. Each file appears in the list when it is ready. Download them one by one, or all together with Download all.
Related guide
- How to reduce PDF file size for email and upload formsPDF too big to email or upload? Learn why PDFs get large and how to make them smaller for free: compress the PDF, shrink images first, and fix scanned documents.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a PDF small enough for email?
Upload it here. Images inside the PDF are reduced to 150 dpi, which makes scanned and photo-heavy PDFs much smaller. PDFs that are mostly text are often small already and shrink less.
Can I compress a scanned PDF?
Yes, and scanned PDFs usually shrink the most, because they are made of large page images that are reduced to 150 dpi. The list shows the before and after size.
How do I compress a PDF file?
Click Select File or drop your PDF files onto the upload box, open Options to choose how much smaller each file should be (50% by default) and, if you like, a maximum size. The list shows the original and new size of every file.
How much smaller will my PDF be?
It depends on the image and your settings. Photographs usually shrink the most and simple graphics the least. The list shows the exact before and after size for every file.
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. To keep the service available for everyone there is a 95MB limit per file and a cap on how many files one connection can process in a short period.
Are my files stored?
Your upload is used only to make the converted file. Images are processed in memory; other files are written to a private temporary folder that is deleted as soon as the conversion finishes. Nothing is kept after the result has been sent back.
Will quality drop?
For images, a little, by design: the image is re-encoded at the Quality you choose (default 75%). Audio and video are re-encoded with high-quality settings; documents keep their text and layout as far as the target format allows. Converting never restores detail that is already missing from the original.
How this works: your file is uploaded over HTTPS and converted on this server with open-source engines (libvips for images, FFmpeg for audio and video, LibreOffice and Pandoc for documents, Calibre for ebooks, Ghostscript and Inkscape for PDF and vector files). Images are processed in memory; other files use a private temporary folder that is deleted as soon as the conversion finishes.