Compress a PDF
Make big files small enough to email, including scans.
Processed on your device. This page has no server that could receive your files.
How to compress a PDF
Make large PDFs small enough to email or upload. FreePDF shrinks the photos and scanned pages inside your file while leaving text and vector graphics untouched, so documents stay sharp and searchable.
- 1Choose your PDF.
- 2Pick a level: lossless, balanced (recommended) or strong.
- 3Press Compress to see the before and after size, preview it, and download.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my file not get smaller?
Text-only PDFs are already compact. Files whose images are CMYK, black-and-white scans or JPEG 2000 cannot be recompressed yet. If nothing can be saved, your original is kept.
Does compression reduce quality?
Balanced looks the same on screen. Strong trades a little sharpness for the smallest size. Lossless never changes how the file looks.
Can it compress scanned documents?
Yes. Scanned pages stored as JPEG, or as compressed or raw pixels, are recompressed, often by more than half.
Is it safe? Are my files uploaded?
Your files are never uploaded. Everything runs inside your own browser, so there is no server that could receive, store or leak your documents. You can even switch off your internet connection after the page has loaded and it keeps working.