PDF tools
Compress a PDF
Make scanned and image-heavy PDFs small enough to email or upload. You see the size before and after, and the file never leaves your device.
How the compression works
Each page is rendered as an image and saved as a JPEG, then the pages are put back together as a new PDF. For scans and photo-heavy documents, where the pages are already pictures, this usually cuts the size a lot.
When it won't help, and what you give up
Because every page becomes an image, the text in the compressed PDF can no longer be selected, searched or copied, and links stop working. Keep the original if you need any of that.
PDFs that are mostly text, such as a report exported from Word, are already very compact. Turning their pages into images can make them larger, not smaller. The tool shows both sizes side by side, and when the result isn't smaller it tells you so and suggests keeping the original.
Getting the best result
Check the result before you send it: in a heavily compressed scan, small print can get harder to read. If you only need part of a long scan, split out those pages first, since fewer pages always means a smaller file.
Your files stay on your device
Scanned paperwork, such as tax forms, payslips and passports, is what most people need to compress for an upload form. The work happens in your browser, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored on a server. Once the page has loaded it keeps working offline, and it's free, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Questions
Why is my compressed PDF bigger than the original?
Your PDF is probably mostly text. Text is stored very efficiently, and turning those pages into images takes more space. In that case keep the original: it's already about as small as it will get.
Will I still be able to select text after compressing?
No. Pages are re-rendered as JPEG images, so text becomes part of the picture. It still reads fine, but it can't be selected, searched or copied.
What kind of PDFs compress well?
Scans and documents full of photos. Their pages are already images, often stored at a much higher resolution or quality than needed, so re-saving them as JPEGs usually shrinks them a lot.
Is my PDF uploaded to compress it?
No. Rendering and compression happen in your browser, on your own device, and nothing is sent to a server.