Compress PDF
Reduce PDF file size by rebuilding and optimizing the document.
Shrink PDFs to fit any limit
This tool rebuilds your PDF with optimized internal structure and object streams, reducing file size — entirely in your browser, so contracts, statements and ID documents never leave your device.
What compresses well (and what doesn't)
PDFs are containers, and their size depends on what's inside. Scanned documents (each page is a photo) are the largest and benefit most from compression. Text-based PDFs exported from Word are already small — there's little fat to trim, and a 200 KB text PDF may shrink only marginally. Image-heavy reports sit in between.
Getting under strict upload limits
For 100–200 KB portal limits with a scanned document: 1) scan at 150–200 DPI instead of 600, 2) scan in grayscale rather than color if allowed, 3) compress the result here, and 4) if still over, compress the source images first with our Image Compressor and rebuild via JPG to PDF. Resolution at scan time matters more than anything done after.
Quality trade-off
Structural compression is lossless for text and vectors — your fonts stay crisp. Only embedded photos can lose detail, and only when aggressive recompression is applied.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my PDF barely shrink?
It was probably already efficient — text-based PDFs exported from Word or Google Docs have little redundancy to remove. Scanned and image-heavy PDFs compress much more.
Will text become blurry?
No — real text in a PDF is vector data and stays perfectly sharp. Only embedded photographs are subject to quality trade-offs.
Is my document uploaded anywhere?
No — compression runs locally in your browser, making it safe for sensitive files like bank statements, contracts and ID proofs.
How do I get a scanned PDF under 100 KB?
Rescan at lower DPI (150–200) in grayscale if possible, compress the page images first, then rebuild the PDF. Compressing a 600-DPI color scan after the fact has limits.