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Compress PDF (Reduce to a Target Size)

Got an upload limit to meet? Just enter the target size — the file is adjusted until it fits under it. No file size limit.

0 B uploaded — this page has not sent your files anywhere?

Private by design — this tool never uploads your files anywhere. Everything runs inside your browser, and the finished file is saved straight to your device.

Other conversion sites upload your file to a server, process it there, and say they delete it after a while. Until that happens, your file sits on someone else’s server. Here there is no upload step at all. The more sensitive the file — contracts, ID scans, medical records — the more that difference matters. See how to verify it →

Get a PDF under an upload limit without guessing at settings

Job sites, government portals and email all tend to cap attachments, often at something like 5 MB. Enter a target size here and the tool adjusts the compression strength until the file fits, using either a mode that keeps the text and shrinks only images, or one that turns every page into an image. Your file is never uploaded.

A closer look

The default mode, Keep text, rewrites the document with Ghostscript compiled to WebAssembly and recompresses the images and fonts inside it. The text stays as vector outlines, so after compression you can still select, search and copy it, and it stays sharp when you zoom. With “Fit to a target size” selected, the lightest compression (images at roughly 300 dpi) is tried first and used as is if it already fits; if even the strongest (roughly 40 dpi) cannot get under the target, the tool tells you so. Between those two it narrows the range by halves to find the lightest setting that fits, in up to six attempts. The first run downloads the compression engine, about 15 MB, once.

Convert to images draws every page as a picture and stores it as a JPEG. That works well on scans, which are pictures to begin with, and on files the text-keeping mode cannot shrink enough, but the result is an image-only PDF: text can no longer be selected, and links and form fields are gone. Either mode writes a new file, so a PDF carrying a certificate-based digital signature may show that signature as invalid afterwards; if you must submit the signed original, do not compress it. Light, text-only PDFs are usually optimized already and barely shrink, and the result message says so and suggests keeping the original.

How to use it

When it helps

Portfolio for a job applicationBring an image-heavy portfolio under the attachment cap of an application form.
Government or grant paperworkUse Convert to images on scanned supporting documents to pass a per-file size limit.
Email attachmentsAim a little lower, say 10 MB, to leave room for the recipient’s mailbox limit.
Sending print filesPick “Light — print quality first” to keep images near 300 dpi while trimming the transfer size.

Common snags

It says it “Could not get under” the target.Even the strongest setting was too big; the smallest result reached is still saved. Switch the method to “Convert to images” and try again, and if it is still too large, split the PDF with Split PDF and submit it in parts.
It says the PDF is password-protected.Compress an unlocked copy made with Unlock PDF, then lock the result again with Protect PDF if you need to.
The text looks blurry after compressing.This happens with Convert to images, or when a scan was squeezed hard. Raise the target size a little and a lighter setting is chosen, which brings the sharpness back.
It says the file is already smaller than the target.No compression was needed, so no new file was created. If the portal still rejects it, check whether its limit is in KB rather than MB.

Tip Here 1 MB means 1,048,576 bytes, but some sites treat a 5 MB limit as 5,000,000 bytes. Switch the unit to KB and enter something like 4800 so the file does not bounce right at the edge.

PDF Compression FAQ

Which method should I pick?

Stick with the default, Keep text. It recompresses only the images inside the document while the text stays vector — so after compression you can still select, search and copy text, and printing stays sharp. If your PDF is a scan, or the text-keeping mode does not shrink it enough, try Convert to images.

How much smaller will it get?

PDFs full of photos or scans typically shrink by 50–90%. Already-optimized, lightweight PDFs may barely shrink — the result message will tell you if that happens.

I need to fit under an upload limit (e.g. 5MB).

Set Amount to Fit to a target size (recommended) and type the size you need in Target size. The compression level is adjusted automatically until the file fits under it — and because the lightest setting that clears your target wins, no more quality is thrown away than necessary. If the text-keeping mode cannot reach your target, switch the method to "Convert to images". Still too big? Split the PDF and submit it in parts.

Does it hit the target size exactly?

It gets you under the target. Compression works by picking a level and letting the resulting size fall out of it, so an exact "1.00MB" is not possible. Instead we try several settings and keep the best result that does not exceed your target. If the target cannot be reached at all, we say so and report the size we actually achieved.

Is there a file size limit?

No. Because nothing is uploaded and everything runs inside your browser, there is no upload cap to hit. A 100MB file or larger is fine — the limit is your device's memory, not a server policy. There is no daily task limit either.

Why is the first run slow?

The text-preserving mode runs the same kind of compression print shops use, right inside your browser. The compression feature is downloaded once on first run (~15MB). Your file itself is still never uploaded.

Does it work on password-protected PDFs?

Remove the password first with Unlock PDF, then compress.