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Click or drop a PDF here
Scanned & image-heavy PDFs shrink the most
Quick answer: To compress a PDF online free, add your file below, pick a quality level, and click Compress PDF. The tool rebuilds each page at optimized resolution on your own device and shows exactly how much smaller the result is before you save it.
Email attachments, job portals and government forms constantly reject PDFs for being too big. This compressor shrinks scanned documents and image-heavy PDFs dramatically – often 60–90% – by re-encoding every page as an optimized JPEG at a sensible resolution, entirely inside your browser.
Because compression happens locally, it is safe for salary slips, ID scans, medical reports and anything else you would not want sitting on a stranger's server. You see the before/after size and only download if you are happy with the result.
How to compress a PDF
- Add your PDF by clicking or dropping it in the box.
- Choose a level: Balanced is right for most documents; Extreme squeezes hardest for strict upload limits; High quality keeps fine detail.
- Click Compress PDF and watch the per-page progress.
- Check the new size, then click Download.
Why use the GadgetsFocus pdf compressor?
- Typically shrinks scanned and image-heavy PDFs by 60–90%.
- Three quality presets so you can hit strict portal limits like 1 MB or 500 KB.
- Shows original size, new size and percentage saved before you download.
- No upload, no watermark, no file-size cap, no daily task limit.
- Safe for confidential paperwork because nothing leaves your device.
Honest limitations
- Pages are rebuilt as images, so selectable text and clickable links become flat (ideal for scans; less ideal for text documents you still need to copy from).
- Text-only PDFs that are already tiny may not shrink much – there is little left to compress.
- Very long documents (300+ pages) take a while on low-end phones since every page is re-rendered locally.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF to under 1 MB?
Add the file, choose the Extreme preset and compress. If the result is still above your target, run the output through the tool once more – each pass reduces resolution further. For most 5–10 page scans, Extreme lands well under 1 MB in one pass.
Will the PDF still look sharp?
Balanced keeps documents crisp for reading and printing at normal sizes. High quality is nearly indistinguishable from the original. Extreme shows mild softness on fine print – check the size read-out and pick what your upload limit allows.
Is this compressor really private?
Yes. Rendering and rebuilding are done by pdf.js and pdf-lib – two open-source libraries – running in your browser. The PDF is never transmitted, and the tool works offline once loaded.
Why did my file barely shrink?
Your PDF is probably mostly vector text, which is already compact. Image-based compression helps most on scans and photo-heavy files. Try our Merge or Split tools if your real goal is removing pages.
Can I still select text after compressing?
No – pages become high-resolution images, which is how the big size savings are achieved. Keep the original if you need selectable text, and use the compressed copy for uploading and emailing.
Related tools: Merge PDF · Split PDF · Image compressor · PDF to JPG
Last updated: July 11, 2026. Built and tested by the GadgetsFocus team on Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari (desktop & mobile). Everything on this page runs locally in your browser — we never see, store or transmit your files.