About this tool
Many websites limit uploads to 1 or 2 MB. Compress PDF has two modes. Keep text shrinks the photos inside your PDF and leaves the text, fonts and links as they are, which suits typed documents and reports with pictures. Scan mode saves every page as a compressed picture, which gives the smallest files for scans but makes the text unselectable. You can also type a target size, and the tool tries stronger settings until the file fits.
How to use it
- Choose the PDF. The page tells you whether it has selectable text or looks like a scan.
- Pick a mode and a level, or type a target size such as 500 KB.
- Select Compress PDF, compare the sizes and download the result. If the file cannot be made smaller, you get your original back.
When this is useful
- Meet a 1 MB or 2 MB upload limit.
- Send a scanned document by email or WhatsApp.
- Shrink a report that has large photos without losing its text.
- Save storage space on your phone.
Tips for best results
- Start with Keep text and the Recommended level.
- Type a target size if a form has a limit, such as 500 KB.
- Use Scan mode only for scans, or when Keep text cannot reach your limit.
- Remove pages you do not need first with Remove pages.
Good to know
Keep text mode recompresses the JPEG photos inside the PDF. Photos stored in other formats are left as they are. Scan mode rebuilds each page as a picture, so links, form fields and selectable text are not kept.
Have an exact size limit?
If your form states a size, open the tool with that target already set: compress to 500 KB, compress to 1 MB, or compress to 2 MB.
Questions and answers
Which mode should I use?
Use Keep text for typed documents, reports and forms, so the text stays selectable. Use Scan mode for scanned pages when you need the smallest file and do not need to select the text.
What does the target size do?
Type a size such as 500 KB and the tool tries stronger settings, one step at a time, until the file fits. If it cannot reach the target, you get the smallest file it made, and the tool tells you so.
Why did I get my original file back?
A PDF that is mostly text has nothing large to shrink, so a new file could end up the same size or bigger. In that case the tool returns your original instead of a worse file.
Why does Scan mode turn the text into a picture?
To get the smallest scans, each page is saved again as a compressed picture. That is what makes the file so much smaller, but the text can no longer be selected.
Your files stay with you
This tool opens and changes your file inside your own browser. Your documents are not uploaded to a server. Keep a copy of your original file, and on a shared computer delete downloaded files when you are done.