Compress a PDF
Free, instant, and private. Compression happens entirely in your browser — your PDF is never uploaded anywhere. And if compressing would make your file bigger, it says so instead of pretending.
Drop a PDF here, or click to choose a file
Compressed in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
0 bytes leave your deviceWhy this compressor
- Nothing is uploaded. Most online compressors send your document to their servers. This one shrinks it on your own device, so contracts, statements, and personal records stay with you.
- Honest numbers. You see exact before → after sizes. If the result isn’t smaller, there’s no download — a compressor should never hand you a larger file.
- A real lossless option. Tidy the file structure without touching a pixel or a glyph — many tools quietly recompress your images even on their “light” setting.
- No sign-up, no limits. No account, no email, no watermarks, no daily quota.
- Free. No ads on this page, and never any selling of your data — there is no data to sell.
How to use it
Drop a PDF onto the box above (or click it to pick a file). ChooseLossless to tidy the file without changing anything visible, or Strong for scanned documents — pages are re-rendered as 150 DPI images at their original size, which is where the big savings live. Click Compress and check the before → after numbers. Everything stays on your device from start to finish.
Frequently asked questions
Is this PDF compressor really free?
Yes. No account, no trial, no watermark, and no limit on files or pages.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The compression runs inside your browser on your own device — you can confirm in your browser’s network inspector that nothing is sent. When you close the tab, nothing remains anywhere.
How much smaller will my PDF get?
Honestly: it depends, and this tool tells you instead of overselling. Lossless mode tidies the file structure — typically single-digit percent. Strong mode re-renders pages as 150 DPI images — often 50–80% smaller on scanned documents, but it would make a text PDF larger, in which case the tool refuses and says so.
What is the difference between the two modes?
Lossless changes nothing about your pages — text stays selectable, images keep full quality; only the file’s internal structure is rewritten. Strong replaces each page with a 150 DPI JPEG at the original page size: much smaller for scans, but text stops being selectable and fine detail is reduced.
Why did it refuse to compress my file?
Because the result would have been bigger than the original, and a “compressor” should never hand you a larger file. Text-based PDFs are usually already compact — rasterizing them inflates massively. That refusal is the tool working as intended.
Does it work with password-protected PDFs?
Not directly — remove the password first with the Unlock tool (also on this site, also entirely in your browser), then compress.