PrivConvert

PDF tool

Compress PDF

Shrink a PDF with image optimization, lossless cleanup, or flattened page compression.

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Your file stays in this browser.

Settings

Good to know1 file · 100 MB max · 500 pages max
Upload a PDF fileResult: PDF file
  • Your PDF stays in this browser while the tool runs.
  • Encrypted or damaged PDFs may need to be unlocked or repaired before this tool can read them.
  • This tool preserves page artwork where possible, but it does not rewrite original PDF text like a word processor.
  • Optimize images preserves selectable text and document structure, but it does not downsample high-resolution JPEG scans.
  • Balanced and Strong permanently flatten every page; bookmarks, attachments, layers, digital signatures, and interactive or accessibility features are not preserved.
  • Lossless keeps image resolution and quality, so already optimized or image-heavy PDFs may shrink very little.
  • Page flattening is limited to 150 pages, 20 megapixels per page, and 220 megapixels total; split very large PDFs or choose a non-flattening mode.
  • If the selected mode produces a larger file, the original is returned by default.

Next tools

Keep working with this file

MetadataRead, update, or clear common PDF metadata fields.PDF to ImageExport selected PDF pages as PNG, JPEG, or WebP images.MergeCombine multiple PDFs into one document in file order.Add imagePlace a PNG or JPG image on top of one PDF page.

How it works

How to use Compress PDF online

  1. Choose the PDF you want to make smaller.
  2. Choose image optimization, lossless repacking, or a flattened compression level and decide whether to remove metadata.
  3. Compress the PDF in your browser, compare the file sizes, and download the smallest useful result.

Overview

Make image-heavy PDFs smaller without uploading them

Choose Optimize images to preserve selectable text and document features, Lossless to avoid lowering image quality, or a flattened mode for much larger reductions on scans and photo-heavy PDFs. Balanced uses 150 DPI for clearer pages; Strong uses 96 DPI when file size matters most.

Input

Upload a PDF file

Output

PDF file

Limits

1 file · 100 MB max · 500 pages max

Best for

Compress PDF use cases

  • Shrink scanned or photo-heavy PDFs before email or upload.
  • Use lossless cleanup when text selection, links, or forms must remain available.
  • Keep the original automatically when the selected compression mode would make the file larger.

Processing

What happens in your browser

PrivConvert uses qpdf.wasm, PDF.js, and JPEG page compression for this workflow. 3 adjustable settings. This tool checks for wasm support before running

Your PDF stays in this browser while the tool runs.

Related tools

PDF MetadataPDF to ImageMerge PDFAdd Image to PDFAdd Image WatermarkAdd Page Numbers

Guides & tests

Understand the output before you choose

Compress PDF Without Losing Searchable Text — Which compression mode keeps text and forms? Compare the results from a text document and an illustrated document.

FAQ

Compress PDF questions

See how privacy works

Is Compress PDF free to use?

Yes. This tool is free to use in your browser and does not require an account.

Are my files private?

Compress PDF uses qpdf.wasm, PDF.js, and JPEG page compression in the browser. Selected files are processed locally when the required browser features are available, while application, library, model, security, and limited analytics requests may load separately.

What limits should I know about?

1 file · 100 MB max · 500 pages max. Encrypted or damaged PDFs may need to be unlocked or repaired before this tool can read them.

Can this shrink scanned or image-heavy PDFs?

Yes. Balanced and Strong downsample each page and encode it as JPEG, which usually reduces scanned and photo-heavy PDFs much more than structural cleanup alone.

Will compressed text still be selectable?

Optimize images and Lossless preserve selectable text, links, forms, annotations, and accessibility structure. Balanced and Strong flatten every page, so those features are removed.

What happens if the compressed PDF is larger?

With Keep original when smaller enabled, the tool returns the original PDF instead of a larger cleaned copy.