Compress PDF to a Target Size
Shrink a PDF to a target size for a strict upload limit.
Your files stay on your device
This tool reaches a hard size limit by turning each page into a picture of itself. The result looks the same but its text is no longer selectable or searchable. Keep your original.
Choose the PDF to compress
Any PDF, including scans
or drag and drop here
Your compressed PDF
- Before
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- After
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- Reduction
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How to use Compress PDF
- Read the warning at the top. Compressing to a hard limit turns the text in your PDF into a picture of text.
- Choose the PDF. Its page count and current size are shown so you know what you are starting from.
- Pick the target size your upload allows, or type an exact figure in KB.
- Press Compress. Every page is redrawn, so a long document takes a while. The progress line keeps you posted.
- Compare the before and after sizes, then download. Keep your original either way.
Read this before you compress
To hit a hard KB limit, this tool turns every page into a picture and rebuilds the document from those pictures. That has one consequence worth saying plainly: the text becomes a picture of text. It will look right, print right and upload fine, but you will not be able to select or search it, and a screen reader will not read it.
For an upload with a strict size limit, that is usually a fair trade. For a contract or a CV, it is not. Keep your original either way.
How the target is reached
The tool works down a ladder of quality settings, from near-original to heavily compressed, and stops at the first one that lands under your target. So you get the best quality that fits, rather than a fixed amount of damage every time.
Every page is redrawn on each attempt, so a long document takes a while. The progress line tells you which attempt and which page it is on, and anything over forty pages gets a warning before you start.
A worked example
A 12 MB scanned PDF of six pages needs to go under 500 KB for a portal. The first attempts come in far too large, and after a few steps down the ladder the tool lands at roughly 400 KB. That is about 97% smaller, and still clear on screen and in print.
When this will not help
- A PDF that is already small and text-only. Turning it into pictures will usually make it larger. The tool tells you when that has happened, so you keep the original.
- Password-protected files. Remove the password first in whatever made the document.
- Very large documents on a phone. Everything is held in memory. If a job fails partway, split the PDF and do it in parts.
- Forms you still need to fill in. Form fields, digital signatures and annotations do not survive. Fill the form first, then compress.
Frequently asked questions
Will my text still be selectable?
No, and this is the trade the tool makes. Each page is turned into an image so the file can hit a hard KB target. It looks and prints the same, but the text can no longer be selected, searched or read aloud by a screen reader.
How does it decide how much to compress?
It works down a ladder of resolutions and quality settings and stops at the first one that lands under your target. You get the best quality that fits, rather than a fixed amount of damage.
Why is it taking so long?
Every page is redrawn from scratch on each attempt, and a large scanned page is a lot of pixels. A document over forty pages gets a warning before you start, and the progress line shows where it is.
My PDF got bigger instead of smaller. Why?
Because it was already small and text-based. Turning crisp text into a picture costs more space than it saves. The tool tells you when this has happened, so keep your original and find another way to meet the limit.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Remove the password in whatever made the document first. A PDF that only restricts printing or editing is usually fine.
What happens to form fields and signatures?
They do not survive. Form fields, digital signatures and annotations all belong to the document structure, which gets rebuilt. Fill in any form before compressing, and never compress a signed document that must stay valid.