🚀 Optimize PDF

🗜️ Compress PDF

Reduce PDF file size while controlling quality.

Compress PDF renders every page as a JPEG image in a new PDF. Quality and scale control visual detail. Text is no longer selectable, and interactive features are not retained. The output may be smaller or larger than the original.

🗜️ Compress PDF Files stay in your browser

📄

Drop PDF file here

or click to browse · Up to 1 file · 100 MB max

Quality (70%)

Image scale

Choose a file to begin.

Tool guidance maintained by Leslie 路 Updated November 6, 2026. Report an incorrect result.

How to use Compress PDF

Upload the PDF.
Choose a quality percentage and image scale.
Click Compress PDF.
Compare the output size and readability with the original before downloading.

Features

Quality slider from 10% to 100%
Scale control for image-heavy PDFs
Compare size before and after
Private browser processing

Pages become JPEG images. Selectable text, links, forms, and interactive features are not retained. The result may be larger than the original.

Worked example: Compare a scan with a small text PDF

Tested October 17, 2026 with synthetic, non-sensitive files on this website. The files below are the inputs and actual browser-downloaded outputs from that test.

Decide whether an image-based rewrite actually helps before replacing a file. We tested both an image-only scan and a small two-page text PDF using the same settings.

Try the example

Download either input below and choose it in the tool.
Use Quality 70% and Image scale 1x.
Run compression and compare the displayed sizes. Download the result only after considering the size and quality trade-off.

What we observed

The scan changed from approximately 282 KB to 56 KB, about 80% smaller in this sample.
The text PDF changed from approximately 1.8 KB to 22 KB. The interface correctly reported that it was larger and recommended keeping the original.
The text PDF still had two pages, but text was no longer selectable: pages had become images.

When this is useful

Image-heavy documents when the output is smaller and remains readable at the size you need.

Limits of this example

The 80% result applies only to this sample and these settings. Text-only PDFs can grow substantially. This method removes selectable text, links, forms, and other interactive features; it is not lossless optimization.

Check your own output

Compare file sizes and zoom in on small text and fine lines. Keep the original if the output is larger, blurred, or needs search and form features. Lower scale may reduce size further but can also reduce readability.

Trade visual detail for a possible size reduction

Try this when a scan or image-heavy attachment exceeds a portal limit and you can accept an image-only PDF. Quality controls JPEG encoding; scale controls the number of rendered pixels. Lowering scale can reduce detail more visibly than a small quality change. Begin with a copy and compare the reported input and output sizes.

Before accepting the result, inspect the smallest text, decimal points, barcodes, and diagrams at the size they will be read. Every page is rebuilt as an image: searchable text, links, forms, and other interactive features are not retained. If the output is larger or those features matter, keep the original; this is not a lossless PDF optimizer.

Frequently asked questions

There is no guaranteed reduction percentage. You choose quality and scale; the tool does not optimize them automatically. The output may be smaller or larger, especially for text-only PDFs. Compare both sizes and keep the original.

No. Every page becomes an image, so text is no longer selectable or searchable. Higher quality can improve visual clarity but does not restore a text layer.

No. Keep the original file if you may need full resolution later.

Yes. Pages are rendered as JPEG images, which can soften text and graphics. Links, forms, and selectable text are not preserved in the new image-based PDF.