Make a PDF smaller by shrinking the pictures inside it and saving them again, right in your browser.
Compression
Your files will appear here.
What it does
Large PDFs are slow to send and can be over the size limit of an email or a form. Compress PDF saves the pictures it can read in a PDF again as JPEGs, shrinks the ones stored at much more detail than the page shows to the level’s resolution, keeps a new version only when it’s smaller, and saves the file again without the parts nothing in it uses any more. Text, fonts and drawings aren’t changed.
Each file’s card shows its size before and after and how many pictures got smaller, such as “Balanced · 1 of 2 images smaller · 3 pages”, and the box below the files shows the total saving.
How to use it
Drop your PDFs on the box, paste them, or select Choose files. Select “Try a sample” to see a 3-page example newsletter.
Choose Smaller file, Balanced or Better quality under Compression. Every PDF is compressed at once, and again when you change the level.
Select Download PDF to save the result. With several PDFs, select Download on a card to save one, or Download all to save them together in a ZIP file.
Press Ctrl+Enter (⌘+Enter on a Mac) to compress every PDF again, or Esc to stop the ones still working.
Good to know
A picture is shrunk when its resolution at the size it’s shown is more than 1.25 times the level’s: 96 pixels per inch at Smaller file, 150 at Balanced and 220 at Better quality. When the tool can’t tell the size a picture is shown at, it keeps its pixels and only saves it again.
A picture is replaced only when its new version takes fewer bytes. A picture saved as a JPEG can show softer detail, and a chart or screenshot can get faint smudges around sharp edges.
Some kinds of pictures are left as they are, such as black-and-white scans, CMYK pictures, masks and very small pictures.
A file made to the PDF/A archive standard is compressed and keeps its PDF/A label, but it may no longer pass a PDF/A check. A PDF/A-1 file is saved without the compact layout newer PDFs use, because PDF/A-1 doesn’t allow it.
Digitally signed PDFs, and PDFs protected with a password or restrictions, are refused.
Files are named after yours with -compressed added, such as report-compressed.pdf.
Limits
You can compress up to 10 PDFs at once, each up to 100 MB and 1,000 pages.
Privacy
Your PDFs stay on your device: the tool runs in your browser and doesn’t upload them. The compressed file keeps your document’s details, such as its title and author. When the site shows ads, Google can use cookies for them: in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, Google asks for your consent first, and elsewhere Google’s own policies apply. The Privacy page explains how.
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Frequently asked questions
What gets smaller?
The pictures inside the PDF, such as photos, scanned pages and charts. Pictures the tool can read are saved again as JPEGs at the level you choose, and one stored at much more detail than the page shows is shrunk to the level's resolution; a new version is used only when it's smaller. Text, fonts and drawings aren't changed. Parts of the file that nothing in it uses any more are left out of the new file.
Why didn't my PDF get smaller?
A PDF of mostly text has few pictures to shrink, and pictures that were already compressed hard may not get smaller when saved again. A picture is replaced only when its new version takes fewer bytes, and a file is offered only when it's smaller than yours. When it isn't, its card says the file is already compact and has no download: keep your original, or try Smaller file.
Which level do I pick?
Balanced, the default, shrinks pictures to 150 pixels per inch at the size they're shown and saves them at JPEG quality 70 out of 100. Smaller file goes to 96 pixels per inch and quality 50, for smaller files with softer pictures. Better quality goes to 220 pixels per inch and quality 85, for sharper pictures in a larger file. Changing the level compresses your PDFs again, so you can compare the sizes.
What stays the same?
The pages, their text, links and comments, the bookmarks, the form fields, and the document's title and author are kept, and each picture keeps its place and size on the page. Your original file isn't changed: the result is a new file, such as `report-compressed.pdf`.
Why is a signed or protected PDF refused?
A PDF with a digital signature, including a certification or usage-rights signature, is refused, because changing it would break the signature: keep it as it is, or ask the sender for an unsigned copy. A PDF that needs a password to open, or that its owner locked with restrictions such as no printing or copying, is refused too: the tool doesn't remove protection someone else set. Save a copy without the protection in the app you normally use, then add that copy.
Which pictures are left as they are?
Pictures the tool can't save again as a JPEG without changing how they look, such as black-and-white scans stored at one bit per pixel, pictures in CMYK print colours or with a limited palette, JPEG 2000 and other less common formats, JPEGs in a rare variant, masks, pictures whose see-through areas are set by a colour, and pictures with an unusual colour setup. Very small pictures, stored in under 1 KB, are left too, and so are pictures over 50 megapixels or 16,384 pixels on a side. These stay byte for byte as they were.
How many PDFs can I compress at once?
Up to 10 PDFs at once, each up to 100 MB and 1,000 pages.
Are my PDFs uploaded?
No. Your PDFs are read and compressed by your browser, on your device, and they aren't uploaded. There's no account or sign-up.