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Compress PDF

Reduce PDF file size by recompressing the images inside it.

or drag it here

application/pdf, .pdf · up to 150 MB

Processed on the server, deleted after download

Fill in the form and press “Compress PDF” to see the result here.

How to use it

  1. 1Choose your file, or drag it onto the upload area.
  2. 2Adjust the options if you need something other than the defaults.
  3. 3Press the button. The job is queued and you will see it move through waiting, converting and ready.
  4. 4Download the result. The server copy is deleted as soon as you do.

About the Compress PDF

Almost all the size in a large PDF is images. Ghostscript re-encodes them at the resolution the preset implies, which is where the saving comes from - text and vector graphics are already tiny.

A text-only PDF will barely shrink, because there is nothing to compress. A scanned document can easily drop by 80% or more.

The presets correspond to intended use: screen for viewing, ebook for sharing, printer and prepress for output. Compressing below what you need is a one-way loss, so keep the original.

This tool needs a full PDF engine and therefore runs on the server. Every other PDF tool here works in your browser.

Questions people ask

Why can this not run in my browser like the other PDF tools?

Recompressing embedded images means decoding every image stream in the document, re-encoding it, and rewriting the object structure around it. That needs a complete PDF implementation - Ghostscript - which has no browser equivalent.

Will the text stay selectable?

Yes. Only the images are recompressed; the text layer and vector graphics are untouched.

Why does this tool upload my file when the others do not?

Because the software it needs does not exist in a browser. Most tools here run entirely on your device; the ones that need FFmpeg, LibreOffice or a full PDF engine cannot. Those run on an isolated worker with no network access, and the file is deleted as soon as the result is sent to you.

What happens to the file I upload?

It is stored under a random name that is not guessable, processed by an isolated worker, and deleted as soon as you download the result - and in any case automatically after 60 minutes. Uploads are never indexed, shared or used for anything besides producing your result.

Is it free, and do I need an account?

Yes, it is free, and there is no account, no sign-up and no watermark on the result. The project is funded by optional donations.