Select File
or drag and drop files here
Select a PDF file to compress
How to Compress PDF Files
Upload your PDF file — stays on your device, never uploaded
Select compression level: Screen (smallest file), Ebook (recommended), Printer (high quality), Prepress (maximum)
Click Process — compression runs in your browser
Download the optimized PDF and compare before/after sizes
Compression Example: 15.2 MB to 4.8 MB
- Upload a 15.2 MB scanned PDF containing 25 pages of high-resolution images.
- Select the 'Screen' preset to maximize size reduction.
- The browser processes the file locally, reducing the total size to 4.8 MB.
- Download the optimized file, which is now 68% smaller than the original.
Compression Preset Differences
The Screen preset aggressively downsamples images, making it ideal for email attachments or web previews where file size matters more than detail. The Ebook preset balances quality and size, preserving text clarity while reducing image data enough for comfortable reading on tablets and phones. The Printer preset maintains high resolution to ensure sharp output on standard office printers. The Prepress preset applies minimal compression to retain maximum fidelity for professional printing workflows.
When To Use This Tool
- Reducing a 50-page scanned contract to fit within a 5 MB email attachment limit
- Optimizing a portfolio of high-resolution images for a client-facing web gallery
- Preparing a large training manual for offline distribution on a tablet with limited storage
- Compressing a batch of scanned receipts for quick upload to a cloud storage service
Key Features
Four Compression Presets
Select from Screen (60-80% size reduction for web), Ebook (40-60% for mobile readability), Printer (20-40% for print output), or Prepress (near-lossless for professional publishing) to balance file size against visual fidelity.
Client-Side Rasterization
Pages render locally in the browser and re-encode as JPEG, downsampling high-resolution photos without visible quality loss while preserving page layout and dimensions.
No Server Uploads
Compression executes entirely within your device memory with no network requests or external storage, ensuring confidential legal or sensitive documents remain private.
Hardware-Limited Capacity
File size constraints depend solely on your device's available RAM rather than arbitrary server caps, allowing large PDFs to process without rejection on modern hardware.
Privacy & Security
PDF compression runs 100% in your browser. Your file is never uploaded to any server — processing happens locally. No data leaves your device at any point. Suitable for bank statements, contracts, medical records, or any sensitive document.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can PDF compression reduce file size?
Image-heavy PDFs: 60-80% reduction. Mixed content: 40-60%. Text-only PDFs: 20-40% (less opportunity since text is already efficient). Compression amount depends on original image quality and chosen preset. Pre-compressed PDFs may only reduce 10-20%.
Will compression degrade visual quality noticeably?
Ebook: Imperceptible quality loss for digital viewing. Text remains crisp, images acceptable on tablets and phones. Recommended for 95% of use cases. Screen: Visible image degradation — use only for drafts or size-critical email. Printer/Prepress: Near-lossless, maintains print quality.
Is PDF compression reversible?
No. Compression permanently discards image data via downsampling and JPEG re-encoding. Always keep your original as a backup. Never compress the sole copy of an important document.
Does client-side compression work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. Scanned PDFs are image-heavy and compress well — often 60-80% reduction. Processing time depends on page count and your device speed. A 50-page scanned PDF typically completes in 15-30 seconds on modern hardware.
Can I compress password-protected or encrypted PDFs?
No. Encrypted PDFs must be decrypted before compression. Remove the password using a PDF editing tool first, compress, then re-encrypt if needed.
Why does the compressed PDF lose text selectability?
Client-side compression works by rasterizing each page to an image and rebuilding the PDF. This trades text layers for smaller file size. If you need to preserve selectable text, use a server-based tool like Ghostscript instead.