How to compress a PDF
- Drop your PDF on the box.
- Choose Strong compression for scans, photos and image-heavy documents, and pick a preset: Recommended (110 dpi) suits most email and upload limits; Print quality keeps more detail.
- Or choose Lossless to keep text selectable. It cleans up and re-saves the file, which helps most with PDFs exported by some office apps.
- Press Compress PDF, compare the before and after sizes, and download.
Which option should I use?
Most oversized PDFs are big because of images: scanned pages, phone photos of documents or high-resolution graphics. Strong compression renders each page and saves it as a well-compressed JPEG at a sensible resolution, which commonly cuts file size by 70–95%. That is ideal when a job application portal, university system or government form limits uploads to 1, 2 or 5 MB. The trade-off is that pages become images: you can no longer select or search the text, and links stop working. Keep the original if you need those.
Lossless compression keeps everything intact. It rewrites the file with compact object streams and strips metadata, which can save a little or a lot depending on how the PDF was made. If a compressed result is not smaller, the tool tells you and gives you back the original.
Tick black and white to remove colour as well, which shrinks colour scans further and is often accepted for official documents.
Private compression
Online compressors usually upload your document. Here the PDF engine runs in your browser, so tax returns, IDs and medical letters stay on your device.
How can I compress a PDF to under 1 MB?
Use Strong compression with the Recommended or Smallest preset. A typical 10-page scan drops well under 1 MB at 110 dpi.
Why is the text no longer selectable?
Strong compression turns pages into images. Use Lossless mode, or run OCR on the result, if you need selectable text.
Does compression reduce print quality?
At 72–110 dpi, printed text looks slightly soft. Choose 150 or 200 dpi for documents you will print.