Compress PDF Online Free
PDF too big for email? We'll shrink it down without making it look terrible.
Drag & drop PDF file here
or click to browse
Common situations
File too big? You're not the first. These are the situations people run into most.
Email attachments
Gmail, Outlook, and most providers cap attachments at 25MB. If your PDF is bigger than that, it's not going anywhere until you shrink it.
Government portals
Applying for permits, visas, or filing paperwork online? Those upload forms almost always have strict size limits — sometimes as low as 5MB.
WhatsApp & Telegram
Messaging apps have their own file size caps. Compressing before sending means your PDF actually goes through instead of getting stuck.
Website uploads
If you're hosting PDFs on a website, smaller files load faster for visitors. Nobody wants to wait 10 seconds for a menu or brochure to open.
Cloud storage
Running low on Google Drive or Dropbox space? Compressing your PDFs can free up a surprising amount of room, especially if you've got dozens of scanned documents.
How it works
Drop your PDF
Upload it or drag it right in.
We compress it
Pick a level if you want, or let us handle it.
See the size difference
We'll show you before and after.
Download the smaller version
That's it. You're done.
What actually happens during compression
It's not magic, though it can feel like it when a 24MB file becomes 5MB. Here's the short version: we look at the images inside your PDF and re-encode them at a smarter compression level. Most PDFs store images at way higher quality than anyone actually needs for viewing or printing. We bring that down to a level where it still looks sharp, but takes up a fraction of the space.
On top of that, we strip out stuff you'll never miss. Duplicate font data, leftover metadata from whatever app created the file, embedded thumbnails that serve no purpose — it all adds up. Some PDFs carry around kilobytes of editing history and production data that's completely invisible to anyone reading the document. We clean all of that out. Your text, your layout, your links — those stay exactly where they are.
Frequently Asked Questions
How small will it get?
Depends on what's in it. Image-heavy PDFs can drop 60-80%. Text-only ones won't shrink as much — they're already pretty lean.
Will it look blurry?
Text stays sharp. Images get compressed but we keep it looking good.
Any size limit?
100MB per file.
Is this actually free?
Free free. Not free-trial free.
What if I need the original size back?
Keep your original. We don't modify it — we create a new compressed copy.
Why is my PDF so big in the first place?
Usually it's images. A PDF with a few high-res photos or scanned pages can easily balloon to 20-30MB. Embedded fonts and redundant metadata add up too, though images are almost always the main culprit.
Can I compress a scanned PDF?
Scanned PDFs are basically giant images, so yes — and they tend to compress really well. You'll often see a 50-70% size reduction on scanned documents.
Will links and bookmarks still work?
They'll survive compression just fine. Hyperlinks, bookmarks, and table of contents entries all stay functional.
What if the compressed file is still too big?
Try our split tool to break it into smaller pieces. Sometimes the content itself is just dense, and splitting is the better move.
Can I compress multiple PDFs at once?
Right now it's one at a time. If you've got a bunch, you could also merge them first and then compress the combined file — that sometimes works out smaller than compressing each one individually.
Does it work on password-protected PDFs?
You'll need to remove the password first. We have a free unlock tool on this site — use that, then come back to compress.
What's the difference between low and high compression?
Low compression keeps images closer to their original quality but won't shrink the file as much. High compression is more aggressive — smaller file, but images might look slightly softer. For most documents, the difference isn't noticeable.
Built by
Sanskar Tiwari
Founder of IndianAppGuy Tech. Shipped 25+ products to 2M+ users, including MagicSlides and SheetAI. I build tools that solve real problems without making you sign up for stuff you don't need.