How much can a PDF be compressed?

Scanned and image-heavy PDFs often shrink by 50–90%. Text-only PDFs are usually already small, so savings are smaller.

Which compression level should I choose?

Recommended keeps good quality for screens and printing. Extreme makes the smallest file for email. Less keeps print quality.

Will text stay selectable?

Yes. Compression mainly resamples images; text and vector graphics stay sharp and searchable.

Can I process very large PDFs?

Yes. Uploads are split into small parts and sent in parallel, so PDFs of 1 GB and more upload reliably and resume after a dropped connection.

Files are sent over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers and deleted automatically within an hour. You can also delete them immediately from the download screen. We never share or read your documents.

Optimize PDF

Compress PDF

Reduce PDF file size while keeping the best possible quality.

Files up to 2 GB
Encrypted & private
Auto-deleted within 1 hour
Free, no sign-up, no watermark

How it works

How to use Compress PDF

1
Select the PDF you want to make smaller.
2
Pick a compression level: extreme, recommended or less.
3
Click Compress PDF and download the optimized file.

Three levels

Trade size for quality — from email-ready extreme compression to near-original.

Never bigger

If a file is already optimized, you get the original back instead of a larger copy.

Grayscale option

Convert colour documents to grayscale for even smaller files.

FAQ

Compress PDF questions

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