Compress PDF Online
Reduce file size — ideal for email, sharing or storage. Minimal quality loss!
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How to compress a PDF
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Upload your PDF.Drop the file or click to browse. We instantly analyse it and show how much of the size comes from images — that is the part compression actually shrinks.
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Pick a preset (or use the slider).Ultra is aggressive (best for chat); Small is web-friendly; Medium is balanced for email; Large keeps near-original quality for printing.
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Compress and download.Start compression. The progress bar stays on the page, and when the smaller PDF is ready you can download it with one click.
Who is it for?
Compress PDF is for anyone who hits a size wall: students uploading a thesis to a portal with a 150 MB cap, freelancers emailing a photo-heavy proposal that bounces back as too large, and job seekers whose scanned CV is rejected by an application form. A common case is a phone-scanned contract that comes out at 150 MB — drop it here, pick Medium, and it fits any inbox or web upload in seconds.
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What is PDF Compression?
PDF compression shrinks the file size of a PDF — usually a lot — by re-encoding the photos and scans inside it at a lower resolution and a slightly different JPEG quality. Text, vector logos, links and form fields stay untouched, so the result still looks like the original to the human eye but is small enough to email, attach to a contact form, or upload over a slow connection. PDF7 typically reduces image-heavy PDFs by 60-90%.
Compression is the difference between a 150 MB scan that gmail rejects and a 4 MB version that fits in any inbox. We offer four presets — Ultra, Small, Medium, and Large — that trade size for quality the way a real human would: Ultra for chat apps, Medium for everyday email, Large for printing. Drag the slider for fine control if you need a specific target.
Behind the scenes, most of a heavy PDF's size comes from scanned pages and embedded photos saved at print resolution, even though a screen only needs a fraction of that detail. Compression keeps the layout pixel-for-pixel the same and only lowers the resolution and JPEG quality of those images, so a 150 MB report can drop to 3 MB while still reading cleanly on any monitor or phone. The Ultra preset goes one step further and converts color scans to grayscale, which is ideal for receipts, contracts and black-and-white documents where color was never needed. Because everything runs in your browser session and the file is deleted right after, you never have to trust a stranger's server with a sensitive contract just to make it smaller.
Why compress PDFs with PDF7?
Honest size estimate
We tell you the truth: image-heavy PDFs shrink a lot, text-only PDFs barely change. No fake "you saved 90%" lies.
Vector content untouched
Text remains selectable and crisp, hyperlinks still work, form fields stay fillable. Only photos are recompressed.
Four presets + manual slider
From extreme compression for chat to near-original for printing — pick a preset or fine-tune with the slider.
No watermark, no signup
Free output, no logo stamps, no email registration, no upload limit nagware.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my text-only PDF only shrink 2%?
Compression mostly affects embedded images. If your PDF is text + tables with no photos, there is little to compress — that is normal, not a bug.
Will my compressed PDF still print well?
Yes for the Large or Medium preset. Ultra and Small reduce image resolution to roughly 1080p — perfect for screen viewing but a bit grainy if you print at A3+ size.
Is there a file size limit?
You can upload PDFs up to 150 MB per file. For larger files we recommend splitting first, then compressing each part.
Will compression damage my PDF?
No. We re-encode images but never touch text, vectors, fonts or interactive elements. The PDF structure is preserved exactly.
Can I compress a PDF more than once?
You can, but each pass re-encodes the images again, so quality drops a little every time and the size gains shrink fast. We recommend compressing the original once with the right preset rather than running an already-small file through repeatedly — re-compressing a file that is mostly text or vectors usually saves almost nothing.
Does compressing remove passwords, signatures or bookmarks?
No. Bookmarks, the table of contents, internal links and document metadata are carried over to the compressed PDF unchanged. If a PDF is password-protected you will need to enter the password first so the file can be opened and processed; digital signatures, however, are tied to the exact original bytes, so any edit — including compression — will mark them as no longer valid, just as it would in any PDF editor.
Are my files safe? Are they stored on your servers?
Your files are processed in memory only and automatically deleted once the download is complete — they are never stored on our servers or shared with third parties.