Compress PDF

Reduce PDF file size online for free. Optimise PDFs for email and web sharing.

Drop a PDF to compress

.PDF, APPLICATION/PDF supported

About this tool

Large PDF files can be slow to email, upload, or share. This PDF compressor reduces file size by re-encoding the PDF structure using object stream compression — a technique that packs PDF objects more efficiently without removing content. It works especially well on PDFs generated by tools that do not apply stream compression (common in older software, export tools, and scanned documents).

  • ✅ Free to use, no sign-up required
  • ✅ Files never leave your device
  • ✅ Instant conversion
  • ✅ Works on any browser and device

How it works

The tool uses pdf-lib to re-save the PDF with the useObjectStreams option enabled, which compresses the internal object streams using deflate compression. This does not downsample images or remove content — it optimizes the structural encoding of the PDF. The tool displays the original and compressed file sizes so you can see the reduction.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will my PDF be compressed?
It depends on how the PDF was originally generated. PDFs from older tools or scanners that do not apply compression can be reduced by 30–70%. PDFs that are already optimized may see little or no reduction.
Will this reduce the quality of images in my PDF?
No. This tool compresses PDF structure only — it does not downsample, re-encode, or remove images. Your visual content remains unchanged.
Is there a better way to get a much smaller PDF?
For maximum compression, especially on scanned PDFs with large images, you would need a tool that re-encodes images at lower quality. This browser-based tool focuses on lossless structural compression only.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Password-protected PDFs cannot be processed. Remove the protection first.

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