Oversized PDFs usually come from scanners and phone cameras that save every page as a huge image. This compressor shrinks them in your browser: each page is rendered and re-encoded as an efficient image at the quality level you pick, which can cut a multi-megabyte scan down to a fraction of its original size.
How the Compression Works
The tool reads your PDF page by page, draws each page onto a canvas at your chosen quality, and builds a new, lighter PDF from those images. Lower settings give the smallest files and are fine for reading on screen; higher settings keep text crisper for printing. One honest trade-off: because pages become images, the text in the compressed file is no longer selectable or searchable. If you need searchable text, keep the original for your records and use the compressed copy for sending.
How to Compress a PDF
- Upload the PDF you want to shrink.
- Choose a quality level — balanced is right for most documents.
- Start the compression and wait while pages are processed.
- Compare the new size with the original shown on screen.
- Download the compressed PDF.
When a Smaller PDF Matters
- Email attachments that bounce because of size limits.
- Application and visa portals with strict upload caps.
- Sharing scanned contracts and forms over mobile data.
- Storing many documents on limited device or cloud space.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much smaller will my PDF get?
Scan-heavy PDFs often shrink by half or far more. PDFs that are already mostly text start out small and change less.
Can I still copy text from the compressed file?
No. Pages are stored as images after compression, so text cannot be selected. Choose a higher quality setting if the file will be printed.
Is my document uploaded to a server?
No. Reading, rendering and rebuilding all happen locally in your browser.