How to compress a PDF
- Choose your files. Tap the upload area or drop PDFs onto it.
- Pick a level. Balanced suits most scanned and photo-heavy files.
- Download the result. You’ll see the size before and after for each file.
Compression levels
| Level | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Tidies the file’s structure. Pages aren’t changed. | Documents where text must stay selectable |
| Balanced | Redraws each page as an image at 150 dpi | Scans and photo-heavy files |
| Strong | Redraws each page as an image at 100 dpi | Hitting a strict size limit |
What happens to your text
Balanced and Strong turn each page into a picture, so you can’t select, copy or search the text afterward, and links stop working. Light keeps the text as it is, but it usually saves much less. If a level can’t make your file smaller, you get a copy that is no bigger than the original.
Why some PDFs barely shrink
Text-only PDFs are already small, so there’s often little to remove. Files that have already been compressed may not shrink further either. Scanned pages and large photos usually shrink the most.
Is it private?
Yes. Compression happens inside your browser using your device’s own processor. Your PDFs are never sent to our servers, which also means very large files can be slow on older phones.
Frequently asked questions
Are my PDFs uploaded?
No. All compression runs in your browser, so your files stay on your device.
Will I still be able to select the text?
With Light, yes. Balanced and Strong turn each page into an image, so text can’t be selected or searched afterward. Keep your original if you need that.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Remove the password first using the app you normally open the file with, then compress it here. Compressing also makes any digital signature invalid.
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