How do I compress a PDF?

Click Add files and choose your PDFs. Pick a compression Mode (Basic or Max), adjust options, then click Compress & Download.

What’s the difference between Basic and Max compression?

Basic re-saves the document (optionally stripping metadata) and keeps vectors/text selectable—smaller savings, lossless. Max rasterizes each page into a JPEG at your chosen DPI/quality—largest size reduction, but the result is an image-only PDF.

Which DPI and quality settings should I use?

For a good balance, try 96–150 DPI and 60–75 JPEG quality. Use lower DPI/quality for smaller files, higher for clearer images. Grayscale can further reduce size.

Does text remain selectable after compression?

Yes with Basic mode. No with Max compression, because pages are rasterized to images.

Yes. All processing happens locally in your browser using Web APIs, pdf-lib, and PDF.js. Files never leave your device.

Why is the Compress button disabled?

It enables once the pdf-lib library finishes loading and at least one PDF is added. If it stays disabled, reload the page and try again.

Can I compress multiple PDFs at once?

Yes. Add multiple PDFs. The tool outputs a ZIP when more than one file is processed.

PDF Compress — Reduce file size

Choose Basic (keeps vectors) or Max compression (rasterize pages) with DPI/quality. Everything runs locally.

Privacy-first • Local processing

Add PDFs

📄

Drag & drop PDFs here

PDF — or click to select

Tip: For big savings, use Max compression with DPI 96–150 & quality 60–75.

Compression options

Mode Remove document metadata

Help

Basic: re-saves your PDF and strips metadata. Text stays selectable. Small reductions.
Max compression: turns each page into a JPEG at your chosen DPI/quality. Biggest size cuts; text becomes an image.
Large PDFs can take time and memory to rasterize. Try lower DPI for faster results.

Shrink PDFs quickly — right in your browser

This PDF compressor gives you two approaches: Basic (lossless re-save) or Max compression (rasterized pages with DPI/quality). Everything is private and local.

Basic vs Max compression

Basic re-saves and can strip metadata; text stays selectable. Max rasterizes pages to JPEG for the biggest size cuts.

Recommended settings

Try 96–150 DPI and 60–75 quality. Enable Grayscale for further savings.

Keep text selectable

Use Basic mode. Max compression turns pages into images.

Batch compress

Add multiple PDFs. The tool will download a ZIP when more than one file is processed.

Privacy

Everything runs locally in your browser—no uploads or servers involved.

Button disabled?

Wait for the library to load and ensure you’ve added at least one PDF. Reload if needed.

Last updated: October 20, 2025

PDF Compress — Reduce file size

Add PDFs

Compression options

Shrink PDFs quickly — right in your browser

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