How does PDF compression work?

This tool renders each PDF page to a canvas image and rebuilds the PDF using JPEG compression at your chosen quality. This is lossy compression — ideal for image-heavy or scanned PDFs. Text-heavy PDFs may lose sharpness since text becomes a rasterized image.

Will my text still be selectable after compression?

No. This tool rasterizes each page, which means text becomes an image and is no longer selectable or searchable. For text-heavy documents, consider using a lower compression level to maintain visual quality.

How much can I reduce a PDF file size?

Typical reductions range from 30% to 80% depending on the original content. Image-heavy PDFs (scans, photos) compress the most. Text-heavy PDFs may only reduce by 20–40% since the text was already compact.

What quality setting should I use?

For general use, Medium (60%) offers the best balance of size and quality. For scanned documents you only need to read, Low (40%) saves the most space. For archival quality, High (80%) keeps the output sharp.

Is there a page limit?

No page limit. Large PDFs are processed one page at a time to manage memory efficiently. Processing time depends on page count and your device speed.

Compress PDF

Reduce PDF file size by re-rendering pages at your chosen quality. Works best on image-heavy and scanned PDFs.

Your files never leave your device

How compression works: Each PDF page is rasterized (drawn as a JPEG image at the quality and resolution you choose). Lower quality and smaller scale mean smaller files but more visible compression. Text and vector graphics become part of those images, so text may no longer be selectable or as sharp as in the original PDF — especially at low quality settings.

Drop your PDF here or browse

Supports PDF files

How to Compress PDF

Upload your PDF by dragging and dropping it or clicking the upload area.
Choose a Quality preset — Medium (60%) is recommended for most files.
Choose a Resolution Scale — 1.5x gives the best size vs quality balance.
Click "Compress PDF" and wait for page-by-page processing.
Review the before/after file size comparison and download your compressed PDF.

Why Use This Tool?

Large PDF files are slow to email, upload, and share. This tool re-renders each page as a JPEG image at your chosen quality level and rebuilds the PDF — often reducing file size by 40–80%. It works best for PDFs containing scanned pages, photos, or graphics. Text-heavy PDFs can also be compressed but text will become rasterized (image-based), so a higher quality setting is recommended for those. Everything runs 100% in your browser — your PDF is never uploaded anywhere.

Compress PDF

How to Compress PDF

Why Use This Tool?

Frequently Asked Questions