Compress PDF files, free and private.
Shrink a PDF, Word, or PowerPoint file that's too large to email or upload. Choose light, balanced, or strong compression and download the smaller file — processed entirely on your own device.
Drop PDF, Word, or PowerPoint files here, or click to choose
Choose 2 or more files of the same type — reorder them below
Guideline: up to 50 MB works well on most devices; for larger files a computer is more reliable than a phone. Check for yourself that your files aren't uploaded
Drop one or more PDF, Word, or PowerPoint files here, or click to choose
Multiple files at once are supported
Guideline: up to 50 MB works well on most devices; for larger files a computer is more reliable than a phone. Check for yourself that your files aren't uploaded
Drop one or more PDFs here, or click to choose
Multiple files at once are supported
Guideline: up to 50 MB works well on most devices; for larger files a computer is more reliable than a phone. Check for yourself that your files aren't uploaded
Drop one or more PDFs here, or click to choose
Multiple files at once are supported — each page becomes one slide
Guideline: up to 50 MB works well on most devices; for larger files a computer is more reliable than a phone. Check for yourself that your files aren't uploaded
Drop one or more PDFs here, or click to choose
Each file is split the same way
Guideline: up to 50 MB works well on most devices; for larger files a computer is more reliable than a phone. Check for yourself that your files aren't uploaded
e.g. 3, 7 — leave empty to split every page separately
Drop one or more PDFs here, or click to choose
Applied to every page, or only to the pages you enter below
Guideline: up to 50 MB works well on most devices; for larger files a computer is more reliable than a phone. Check for yourself that your files aren't uploaded
Drop one or more PDFs here, or click to choose
A page number on every page, bottom centre unless you choose another position
Guideline: up to 50 MB works well on most devices; for larger files a computer is more reliable than a phone. Check for yourself that your files aren't uploaded
Drop one or more PDFs here, or click to choose
Each file has the same pages removed
Guideline: up to 50 MB works well on most devices; for larger files a computer is more reliable than a phone. Check for yourself that your files aren't uploaded
e.g. 2, 5-7
How to reduce PDF file size
Choose your files
Add one or more PDF, Word or PowerPoint files and pick Light, Balanced or Strong.
The pictures are rewritten
In a PDF, pictures are saved again as JPEG and, with Balanced or Strong, scaled down to 200 or 144 dpi at the size they appear on the page. Text, fonts, links and form fields stay as they are.
Download instantly
Download the smaller file. The result tells you how much smaller it got, or that it was already as small as it gets.
Tips for compressing PDFs
Screenshots and diagrams: start with Light
Balanced and Strong turn every picture into a JPEG, which can blur sharp text inside screenshots or diagrams. Light only recompresses photos and leaves those images as they are.
Print colours stay with Light
Photos in print colours (CMYK) are turned into screen colours by Balanced and Strong, and their colours can shift a little. For a file that goes to a print shop, use Light or keep the original.
Several files at once
Add several PDFs and they come back in one zip, with a line that shows the total before and after. Pictures under 20 KB are left alone, because shrinking them saves almost nothing.
Honest about the limits
Compression only recompresses the images in your PDF — the text stays searchable and links keep working. A PDF that is mostly text therefore hardly gets smaller; in that case you simply get your original back.
Questions about compressing PDFs
How do I compress a PDF for free?
Drop your PDF into the tool above, choose a compression level (light, balanced, or strong), and click Compress. The smaller file is created in your browser and is ready to download as soon as it's done.
What's the difference between the compression levels?
Light keeps the best quality with the smallest size reduction. Balanced is recommended for most files. Strong gives the smallest possible file, with more visible quality loss.
Can I compress Word or PowerPoint files too?
Yes. The compressor also works on .docx and .pptx files by shrinking their embedded JPEG images, without converting the document to an image-based format.
Does compressing change the text in my PDF?
No. Only the images inside the PDF are recompressed at a lower quality. The text stays real, selectable and searchable text, and links, bookmarks and form fields are kept. If your PDF has few or no images, it hardly gets smaller — then you get the original back unchanged.
How much smaller will my PDF get?
That depends on what is in it. PDFs with photos or scans often get a lot smaller; a PDF with mostly text is already compact and hardly shrinks. After compressing you see the new size and how much was saved.
How do I make a PDF small enough to email?
Most email services accept attachments up to about 20 to 25 MB. Choose Strong; if the file is still too big, cut it into parts with Split PDF and send them in separate emails.
General questions about privacy, cost and file size are answered on the homepage. Stuck? See the help page.
Important to know
Conversion to Word or PowerPoint happens automatically. With complex layouts (tables, multiple columns), the order of text may differ from the original — always check the result yourself before using it for an exam, official document, or any other purpose where accuracy matters. This site is provided without warranty; use is at your own risk. Full terms of use.