Compress PDF Online, Free
Make scanned and image-heavy PDFs small enough to email and upload
🔒 No upload • No account • No watermark • Runs in your browser
Compress PDF reduces file size by redrawing each page at a lower image quality. It works very well for scans and photos.
How to use Compress PDF
- Select your PDF.
- Pick a level: light, recommended or extreme.
- Press Compress PDF.
- Compare the sizes and download the smaller file.
Features
- Three compression levels.
- If the result would be larger than the original, you keep the original.
- No upload, which matters for scanned IDs and statements.
- No watermark.
Good to know
- Pages become images, so text is no longer selectable afterwards. Skip this tool for text-heavy documents you still want to search.
- Compress last, after merging, rotating or editing.
Questions and answers
Why did my text-only PDF not shrink?
Text PDFs are already tiny. Compression helps with scanned pages and photos.
Is compression reversible?
No. Keep your original.
Which level should I use?
Start with recommended. Use light for small print, extreme only when you must hit a strict size limit.
Privacy
This tool runs inside your browser. Your file is read into your device’s memory, processed there and handed back as a download. It is not sent to a FirePDF server. You can test this by switching off your internet connection after the page has loaded and running the tool again. Read the Privacy Policy and the Security page for details.
Want more background? Read the step-by-step guide.