PDF Compressor
Reduce a PDF’s size with a clear quality tradeoff. Try structural compaction first, or rebuild scanned pages as compressed images. See the actual savings before downloading.
1. Open your PDF
One static, unencrypted PDF up to 20 MiB. Structural compaction supports 200 pages; image compression supports 50. Forms and signed PDFs are unsupported.
No PDF loaded.
Choose a PDF to begin.
2. Choose how to compress
Structural compaction rewrites PDF objects using compressed object streams. It keeps page text, images and interactive page content without reducing image quality. An already compact PDF may not shrink.
Selectable text, search, links, comments, bookmarks, attachments and document metadata are not carried over. Colors and fine detail may change. Visible page dimensions and orientation are retained; very large pages use a capped resolution.
Metadata removal does not remove visible page content or attachments. If a candidate is larger, the original file is retained and no changes are applied.
3. Review the result
Review your PDF before sharing. Savings depend on how the original document was made; there is no guaranteed size target.
Preview and compare page artwork
Preview shows page artwork. Comments and interactive annotations may not appear. Compare small text and detailed graphics, especially with image compression.
Using PDF Compressor
Try measured PDF size reduction locally and choose the right tradeoff for your document.
- Choose one static, unencrypted PDF up to 20 MiB. Structural compaction supports 200 pages, and image compression supports 50 pages. Forms and signed documents are unsupported.
- Try Compact structure to keep page text and image quality. For scans, choose Compress as images, select resolution/quality and acknowledge the image-only output.
- Compare the measured sizes, preview original and result pages, and download the smaller PDF or size report. If the candidate is larger, the original is retained unchanged.
Example
A 10 MiB original produces a 4 MiB candidate. The result saves 6 MiB (60%). A 12 MiB candidate instead gives no savings, and the 10 MiB original is kept.
Questions & answers
Will every PDF become smaller?
No. Some PDFs already use efficient compression. The tool measures the candidate and keeps the original if rewriting does not reduce its size. There is no guaranteed percentage or upload-size target.
Which method keeps selectable text?
Compact structure keeps existing page content, including text and images, and does not lower image quality. Image compression replaces pages with JPGs, so text becomes part of an image and cannot be selected or searched.
When should I choose image compression?
It can help with large scanned or image-heavy PDFs when a smaller screen copy matters more than detail. Compare small text and diagrams before sharing. Resolution is capped at 4,096 pixels per edge and about 12 million pixels per page.
What happens to links, comments and bookmarks?
Structural compaction retains existing PDF content. Image compression does not carry over links, comments, bookmarks, attachments or document metadata. Forms and signed PDFs are rejected rather than modified.
Does removing metadata make the PDF anonymous?
No. The structural-mode option removes document title/author information and catalog XMP metadata, but visible page content, attachments and other embedded information can still identify people. If the original is retained because the candidate is larger, no metadata changes are applied.
Are my PDF files uploaded?
No. Inspection, rendering, compression and preview run in this browser using local libraries. Clear or close the tool to release the document.
Guides for this tool
Examples and checks to help with your next step.
Help improve this tool
Report a problem or suggest an improvement
Describe the issue without pasting private tool input. Feedback goes to our admin inbox.
