Compress and reduce PDF file size online for free — one file or a whole batch. Files are processed entirely in your browser, so nothing is ever uploaded.
Compress PDF
Reduce PDF file size locally in your browser — single files or batches of up to 10.
Quick answer
Compress a PDF online free and make the file smaller for email or upload limits — one file, up to 50 MB, processed in your browser. Made for anyone stuck at an attachment size cap. The PDF never leaves your device; there is no upload step at all.
Drag & drop PDF files here
or click to browse — add multiple PDFs to compress them in a batch
PDF files only — up to 50MB each
How to compress a PDF file
Compressing a PDF shrinks its file size by re-encoding images and removing redundant data, while keeping the text crisp and readable. The compression runs entirely in your browser — the file never leaves your device, which also means there's no upload wait: large documents finish compressing in seconds.
Drop your PDF into the tool
Drag your file onto the area above or click to browse it. You'll see the current size right away so you know what you're starting from.
Choose a compression level
Pick how aggressively to shrink the file. Lighter settings keep images near their original quality; stronger settings trade some image fidelity for much smaller sizes. Text stays sharp at every level.
Download the smaller file
Compressing takes seconds because it happens on your own device. Compare the before/after sizes, download the result, and you're done — nothing is stored anywhere.
Why people compress PDFs
Email attachments
Most email providers cap attachments at 20–25 MB. Compressing brings scanned contracts, reports and brochures under the limit without splitting them up.
Upload forms with size caps
Government portals, job applications and university systems often reject files over a few megabytes. Compression gets your document past the check on the first try.
Faster sharing and storage
Smaller files send faster over chat apps, take less room in cloud drives and cost less to store — handy when you archive hundreds of documents.
Key features
Real size reduction
Streams and images are re-encoded so the downloaded file is genuinely smaller, not just re-saved.
50 MB per file
Handles typical reports, scans and presentations in one pass.
Before/after feedback
You can see the effect on the file rather than guessing.
Supported formats
- Input: PDF (.pdf), one file up to 50 MB
- Output: compressed PDF (.pdf) in the same page order and page size
Privacy and security
Limitations
- Files over 50 MB are rejected; extremely complex PDFs may compress less than simpler ones.
- Some PDFs are already optimally compressed — size reduction can be small.
- Heavier compression can reduce image sharpness inside the document.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does compressing reduce PDF quality?
Our tool optimizes the PDF structure by removing redundant objects, enabling object streams, and compressing operators — without losing visual quality. For scanned/image-heavy PDFs, the reduction may be less than for text-based documents.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. All compression happens locally in your browser using pdf-lib. Files are processed in memory and never leave your device.
Can I compress multiple PDFs at once?
Yes — drop up to 10 PDFs and they are compressed one after another with live per-file status. When finished you can download each file or grab everything as a single ZIP.
What happens if one file in the batch fails?
Only that file is marked as failed with an explanation; every other file in the batch still completes normally and remains downloadable individually or in the ZIP.