Toolstia / Compress PDF
Compress a PDF
Large PDFs are hard to email or upload to forms. This tool shrinks a PDF on your own device, so a private document never goes to a server.
It offers two methods. The strong one turns every page into a compressed picture, which gives the biggest saving on scans and photo-heavy files. The light one keeps your text and only re-packs the file.
Drop a PDF here, or click to choose
One PDF at a time. Nothing is uploaded.
The strong method makes text unselectable because every page becomes a picture. Use the light method if you need to keep selectable text.
How it works
- Choose your PDF.
- Pick the strong or light method. For the strong method, choose page sharpness and image quality.
- Press Compress PDF. The new size is shown and the file downloads if it is smaller.
Strong or light
The strong method draws each page and saves it as a JPEG inside a new PDF. Scans, forms photographed on a phone and image-heavy documents often shrink a lot. The light method keeps text and fonts as they are and only tidies the file structure, so the saving is usually small.
What you lose with the strong method
Text becomes part of the picture, so you can no longer select, search or copy it, and links stop working. Keep your original if you need those.
When the result is bigger
A PDF that is already small, or one made mostly of text, can grow when turned into pictures. In that case the tool tells you and does not download anything, so you never end up with a worse file by accident.
Choosing quality
Medium sharpness with medium quality is readable for most documents. Use low settings to hit a tight upload limit and high settings for anything with small print.
Questions
How much smaller will my PDF get?
It depends on the file. A scanned document can shrink to a fraction of its size, while a text-only PDF may not shrink at all.
Is there a file size limit?
No fixed limit, but very large files use a lot of memory because every page is drawn. Split a huge file first if the page freezes.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Your PDF stays in your browser and is never sent anywhere.