Compress PDF files down to size
Shrink a heavy document down to something that fits the attachment limit, while the text stays sharp.
Coming soon
We’re building Compress. In the meantime, try one of the related tools below.
How to make a PDF smaller
- 1
Open the file
The PDF that bounced back as too large.
- 2
Pick a level
Light, Recommended or Strong, depending on how small it has to be.
- 3
Download
The before and after sizes are shown, so you can try another level if needed.
Private by design
Your files are processed on your own device and never uploaded to a server.
Fast
No waiting for uploads or downloads. Results are ready in seconds.
Free, no signup
Use every tool without creating an account or adding a watermark.
Why the file is big
Almost never the text. A hundred pages of writing is a rounding error next to one photograph. PDFs get heavy because of images: scans at 600 dpi, phone photos dropped in at full size, screenshots pasted from a presentation. Compression resamples those images to a resolution that still looks right and re-encodes them, which is why a scanned pack collapses by 80% while a plain report barely moves.
Which level to use
- Light — going to a printer, or the document has to stay pixel-faithful.
- Recommended — email, review, filing. The default for a reason.
- Strong — an upload form with a hard limit, where legible is the requirement.
The old and new sizes are shown before you save, so you can step up a level if the first try did not get you under the limit.
The limits you are fighting
Gmail and most corporate mail servers cut off around 25 MB per message, and many refuse earlier once the attachment is encoded. Government portals, banks and job application forms are stricter still: 5 MB, 2 MB, sometimes 500 KB. Compressing is nearly always faster than scanning the document again at a lower setting.
When compression is not the answer
If one page alone is over the limit, or the document is already text-only, there is nothing left to squeeze. Send it in parts with Split by size, or cut what does not need to go with Delete pages.
Frequently asked questions
How much will it shrink?
Scans and photo-heavy files commonly drop by 70–90%. A plain text report barely moves, because there is nothing heavy in it.
Will the writing go blurry?
No. Text and vector art are left alone; the savings come from the images.
It is still too large.
Split the document into parts under your limit, or drop the pages you do not need to send.