How to compress a PDF
- Click Select PDF file or drop a PDF onto the page.
- Choose Recommended, or pick Target file size and type the limit you need, such as 200 KB.
- Tick Black and white for scanned text documents to make them even smaller.
- Click Compress PDF and download the result.
Which setting should I use?
| Setting | Best for |
|---|---|
| Less compression (150 DPI) | Documents you may print, contracts, forms with small print |
| Recommended (110 DPI) | Email attachments and most online uploads |
| Extreme (72 DPI) | Reading on screen only, very strict limits |
| Target file size | Portals with a fixed limit like 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB |
Why scanned PDFs are so big
A phone scan stores every page as a full-resolution photo, often 3000×4000 pixels, so a five-page scan can easily reach 10–20 MB. Upload portals and email providers need far less: 100–150 pixels per inch is plenty for reading text on screen. This tool redraws each page at the resolution you choose and saves it as a well-compressed JPEG inside a new PDF with the same page size, which is why scans shrink so dramatically.
Tips for hitting a strict limit
- Remove pages you don't need with Split PDF; every page costs space.
- Use black and white for text documents; colour adds 30–50% for no benefit.
- Start from a straight, well-lit scan. Shadows and grey paper take more bytes than clean white.
- Have photos instead of a PDF? Combine them with JPG to PDF, then compress here.
Safe for confidential documents
Bank statements, ID cards, contracts and medical records should not be uploaded to a stranger's server just to make them smaller. Here the PDF is opened, re-rendered and saved entirely inside your browser, and nothing is sent over the network. You can check this in your browser's developer tools: the Network tab shows no upload while you compress.
Common sizes: 100 KB, 200 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB. Your PDF never leaves your device.
Frequently asked questions
How much smaller will my PDF get?
Scanned documents and PDFs full of photos usually shrink by 60–90%. PDFs that are mostly typed text are often already small and may not shrink at all; in that case the original is kept.
Will the text still be readable?
Yes at Recommended and Less compression. Extreme compression is fine for on-screen reading but may look soft when printed.
Why can't I select the text after compressing?
To shrink the file, each page is re-saved as an optimized image, which is the same thing a scanner produces. Keep the original if you need selectable or searchable text.
Is there a file size or page limit?
No fixed limit. Very large PDFs (hundreds of pages) depend on your device's memory and take longer, because everything happens locally.
Are my documents uploaded?
No. The PDF is processed entirely in your browser and never leaves your device.