Squeeze a heavy PDF down so it is easy to email or upload, all in your browser.
PDFs balloon in size the moment they contain scanned pages or high resolution photos, and then an email bounces for being over the limit or a form refuses the upload. Compress PDF shrinks that file so it slips under those caps while still looking right on screen. It targets the heavy parts, usually the images, and leaves you a lighter version of the same document.
You add the PDF you want to slim down, let the tool process it, and download the smaller result. There is nothing to configure for a normal file, and the original is never overwritten, so you always keep the full quality copy. If the first pass is not small enough you can run the output through again, though there are limits to how far a file will go.
Most of a bloated PDF is image data, so compression works by re-encoding those images at a more sensible resolution and quality rather than by throwing away pages. Text and vector graphics stay crisp because they are not photographs. A file that is mostly real text will barely shrink, since there was little weight to remove in the first place, while a folder of phone-camera scans can drop dramatically.
Compress when a file is too big to send or store and a small drop in image sharpness is an acceptable trade. If the document is already small or is pure text, compression has little to offer and you can skip it. When you need every pixel of a photo preserved for print, keep the original and send it another way instead of squeezing it.
Typical uses include getting a scanned contract under an email attachment limit, fitting a portfolio into an application portal, reducing a photo-heavy report before posting it, and lightening a batch of receipts so they sync faster. Anyone scanning documents on a phone, where files come out surprisingly large, benefits most.
Compression runs entirely in your browser, so the file is processed on your own device and never uploaded, with no sign up and no watermark stamped on the result. Because the work is local, a very large scan will use more of your device's memory and take a little longer on a modest phone than on a laptop.
Compression mainly reduces image data, so a document that is almost entirely text or vector graphics has little to trim. If your file was already lean or made of real text rather than scans, only a small reduction is possible.
Yes, text and vector shapes are not treated like photographs, so they stay crisp. The size savings come from re-encoding embedded images, which is where the bulk usually hides.
The tool aims for a sensible balance between size and appearance for a general file. If the result is still too big you can run it through again, keeping in mind that each pass gives diminishing returns and a slight further loss in image detail.
No, compressing reduces file size by re-encoding images, while flattening bakes form fields and annotations into the page. They solve different problems, though a flattened file can sometimes compress a little better.
Very likely, because phone and flatbed scans store pages as large images, which is exactly what compression targets. Those files often see the biggest reduction of all.
No, every page stays in place and nothing is deleted. Only the way images are stored changes, so the document reads the same from start to finish.
For everyday office printing it usually looks fine, since screen and desk-printer resolution is forgiving. For fine-art or large-format print where every detail matters, keep the original rather than the compressed copy.
Polished Pixels. All tools. About. Contact. Every tool runs in your browser and your files are never uploaded.