# Compress a PDF to Make It Smaller

Make scanned and photo-heavy PDFs small enough to email or upload. Text stays sharp by default, and if a file cannot get smaller, you keep the original.

_Source: https://sharelargefilesfree.com/tools/compress-pdf · Updated 2026-09-29_

**Quick answer:** To make a PDF smaller, add it here and choose how strongly to compress; text stays sharp and selectable by default. Scanned and photo-heavy PDFs shrink the most, and if a file cannot get smaller you keep the original. Nothing is uploaded.

## How to use it

1. Choose one or more PDFs.
2. Keep “Keep text” for normal documents, or pick “Scan-style” for scans.
3. Pick light, medium or strong compression, then press Compress PDF.
4. Compare the sizes, then download or send the smaller file.

## What this compressor can and cannot do

Most of the size of a big PDF comes from pictures: photos in a brochure, or every page of a scan. This tool works on those.

- **Keep text (recommended)** finds the JPEG photos inside the PDF, re-saves them at a lower quality and, if they are larger than any screen or printer needs, at a lower resolution. Text, vector drawings, links and page layout are left untouched. Typical savings on photo-heavy files are 30 to 80 percent.
- **Scan-style** redraws every page as a compressed image. It gives the smallest files for scanned documents, but the text becomes part of the picture, so it can no longer be selected or searched. Use it for scans, not for documents you have typed.

We are honest about the limits: a PDF that is mostly typed text is usually already compact, and there is little to gain. In that case the tool tells you and keeps your original instead of handing you a file that is bigger or worse.

## Choosing a compression level

| Level | Photos inside | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Light | high quality, up to about 2600 px | Printing, portfolios |
| Medium | good quality, up to about 2000 px | Email and screens (most people) |
| Strong | lower quality, up to about 1500 px | Upload portals with tight limits |

Need to get under a specific size for an email attachment? [Reduce PDF size for email](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/tools/reduce-pdf-size-for-email) keeps trying until the file fits.

## Your documents stay with you

Online compressors usually upload your PDF to their servers. Here the compression runs in your browser, in a background worker, so tax returns, medical records and contracts are never sent anywhere. That also makes it quick on slow connections, since nothing has to go up and come back down.

## Still too big?

Some files are simply large: a 300-page scanned book will never be a 2 MB attachment. There is no need to squeeze it until it is unreadable. Choose **Send with a link** after compressing, or skip compression altogether, and send the full-quality file through our free transfer service. See [what to do when an attachment is too large](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/email-attachment-too-large) and the [file size limits](https://sharelargefilesfree.com/file-size-limits) of popular apps.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why did my PDF not get smaller?

It is probably mostly text or already optimised. Text takes very little space, so there is nothing meaningful to remove; the original is kept in that case. Scanned or photo-heavy PDFs compress much better.

### Will the text still be selectable?

Yes with “Keep text”. With “Scan-style” pages become images, so text can no longer be selected or searched.

### Is my PDF uploaded to compress it?

No. Compression happens on your device and nothing is uploaded unless you choose to send the result.

### Can I compress several PDFs at once?

Yes. Add several files; each is compressed separately and you can download them together as a ZIP.

### Does it work on password-protected PDFs?

No. Remove the password first, then compress the unprotected copy.