How to use
- Choose or drop a PDF.
- Pick a compression level. Balanced suits most documents.
- Click Compress PDF and check the new size.
- Download the compressed file. If it is still too large, try Strong.
Options explained
- Strong
- Scales images to at most 1,200 pixels on the long side (about 145 dpi across an A4 page) at lower JPEG quality. Good for reading on screen.
- Balanced
- At most 1,800 pixels (about 215 dpi) at good quality. Text in scans remains easy to read when printed.
- Light
- At most 2,600 pixels (about 300 dpi) at high quality, for documents you plan to print.
- Target size
- Enter a target such as 2 MB and the tool tries its 8 levels, from light to strong, to find the best quality that fits.
The eight levels behind Target size
Strong, Balanced and Light each use one image size and JPEG quality. Target size tries these eight steps in order, from light to strong, and keeps the first one whose result fits:
| Step | Longest image side | JPEG quality |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2600 px | 82% |
| 2 | 2200 px | 75% |
| 3 | 1800 px | 70% |
| 4 | 1500 px | 60% |
| 5 | 1200 px | 50% |
| 6 | 1000 px | 42% |
| 7 | 800 px | 36% |
| 8 | 600 px | 30% |
An image smaller than the limit is not enlarged, and an image is only replaced if the new version is at least 10% smaller. If all eight steps give a file above your target, the remaining size is in parts the tool does not touch, such as fonts and vector drawings.
Frequently asked questions
A form says the PDF must be under 2 MB. How do I get there?
Choose Target size, enter 2 and compress. The tool finds the best-quality setting that stays under 2 MB. If even the strongest level is too big, the size comes mostly from text and fonts; split the file into parts first.
Why did my PDF barely shrink?
Only images are compressed. PDFs made mostly of text, embedded fonts or vector drawings are usually small already; their size cannot be reduced much without removing content.
Does compression affect text quality?
No. Text stays text, so it remains sharp and searchable. Only pictures and scanned pages are re-encoded.
Which images are left unchanged?
CMYK images, transparency masks, images with unusual colour spaces and any image that would not get at least 10% smaller. They are copied as they are.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The file is processed in your browser, so confidential documents are safe to compress here.
Privacy
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your files and text are processed on your device and are never uploaded to our servers.