How to make a PDF file smaller (compress a PDF)
Shrink a PDF for email or upload forms while keeping text sharp and selectable — free, in your browser, with no upload.
Most of a big PDF is usually photos and scanned pages. Compressing shrinks those pictures and removes leftovers, while the text stays real text — sharp, selectable and searchable.
Steps
- On the editor's start page, choose Compress PDF and pick your file. (If a PDF is already open, choose Compress PDF in the top bar, the ⋮ menu, or the link in Save / Export.)
- Choose a level:
- Same quality — removes waste only; nothing looks different.
- Recommended — photos and scans stay sharp on screen and in print.
- Smallest — the smallest file; photos look softer when printed.
- Choose Compress, check the new size, then Download smaller PDF.
Good to know
- If you see "already compact", the pictures are already small. Try Smallest, or accept that the file is as small as it can sensibly be.
- A PDF that is mostly text is usually small already; compressing mainly helps scans and photos.
- Any edits you made are included in the compressed file.
- The file is never uploaded, so even confidential documents are safe to compress here.