Compress PDF Online Free — Reduce File Size Instantly

Shrink your PDF with one-click presets or dial in exact quality and resolution settings. Free, fast, no signup required. Results delivered instantly.

Processed on our server— Your file is uploaded to run this feature, and isn't stored long-term.

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About This Tool

Three presets, total control

Pick Extreme to slash file size for email and archiving, Recommended for the best quality-to-size balance, or Light when you want near-original quality with a modest size saving.

Not happy with a preset? Slide the Image Quality and Resolution Scale controls to any value. Your file is securely processed on our server and deleted after compression — never stored or shared. Want to reduce size further? Try removing unnecessary pages or splitting the PDF into separate files first. After compressing, you can merge multiple PDFs into one, add a text watermark, or eSign the document before sending.

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Compression Presets

Extreme, Recommended, and Light — pick the right trade-off in one click.

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Manual Control

Override any preset by dragging the quality and resolution sliders.

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Private & Secure

Your file is processed only to apply compression, then deleted — never stored or shared with third parties.

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Free & Fast

Compress PDFs up to 20MB per upload, completely free — no signup.

Quick Start

How to Compress a PDF

Upload PDF

Drop your PDF or click 'Select PDF to Compress'. File securely uploaded to our server (up to 20MB).

Choose Preset

Pick Extreme, Recommended, or Light from the settings panel on the right.

Fine-Tune

Optionally drag the Image Quality and Resolution Scale sliders to dial in exact settings.

Compress & Download

Click 'Compress PDF' — your smaller PDF is ready to save in seconds.

Use Cases

When to Use PDF Compressor

From email attachments to web uploads, PDF compression solves file-size problems across every workflow.

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Email Attachments

Shrink large reports or proposals so they fit within email size limits without losing readable quality.

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Website Uploads

Reduce PDF file size before uploading to a CMS or document portal to improve page load times.

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Cloud Storage

Free up Google Drive or Dropbox space by compressing large PDF archives and scanned documents.

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Scanned Documents

Compress oversized scanned PDFs that are bloated with high-resolution image data from scanners.

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Mobile Sharing

Make PDFs lightweight enough to share quickly over messaging apps or mobile platforms.

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Bulk Archive Prep

Reduce the size of document batches before archiving to save long-term storage costs.

Compress a PDF to a smaller size (for email or upload limits)

Need a PDF under a limit — an email cap, a 25 MB attachment, or a portal that rejects large files? Start with the Extreme preset and compress; the tool shows the new file size right away. If it's still too big, drag the Image Quality and Resolution Scale sliders lower and run it again until it fits.

Honest note: this compressor works by lowering image quality and resolution, not by targeting an exact byte count — so to hit a number like 100 KB you nudge the sliders and re-check the size. Image-heavy and scanned PDFs shrink the most; mostly-text PDFs are already small and won't drop much.

Reduce scanned-PDF size without losing readability

Scanned documents are usually huge because each page is a high-resolution image. The Recommended preset typically cuts them dramatically while keeping text readable. If pages still look fine at Extreme, use that for the smallest file. Already trimming pages? remove unneeded pages first, then compress — fewer image pages means a smaller result.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the preset. Extreme softens images noticeably. Recommended is a good balance for most documents. Light is nearly indistinguishable from the original.

Extreme: 30% JPEG quality, 0.75x scale — maximum size reduction. Recommended: 60% quality, 1.5x scale — best all-round balance. Light: 85% quality, 2x scale — minimal quality loss.

Yes. Move either slider and the preset switches to 'Custom'. You have full control over Image Quality (10–100%) and Resolution Scale (0.5x–2x).

Yes. Files are securely uploaded to our server, processed using industry-standard libraries, and deleted after a short time, not stored long-term — never stored or shared long-term.

Yes, the maximum file size is 20MB per upload. For larger PDFs, split them first, compress the parts separately, then merge the results.

Image-heavy and scanned PDFs compress dramatically. Text-only PDFs with vector content may not shrink much, as they're already very compact.

It compresses by lowering image quality/resolution, not by targeting an exact byte size. Start with Extreme, compress, and check the size shown; if it's still too big, drag the Image Quality and Resolution Scale sliders lower and run again until it fits. Image-heavy/scanned PDFs shrink most.