Compress PDF
Reduce PDF file size while maintaining quality
What is PDF compression?
Compress PDF reduces the file size of your PDF documents using server-side Ghostscript processing, which achieves significantly stronger compression than browser-only methods. It's ideal for emailing large PDFs, reducing storage usage, or meeting file size limits on online forms.
Your file is uploaded over an encrypted HTTPS connection, compressed, and the result is streamed back to your browser. Both the original and compressed files are deleted from the server immediately after the download completes — they are never stored, logged, or accessible after processing.
How to use Compress PDF
Upload your PDF
Click the upload area or drag and drop your PDF. Files up to 50 MB are supported.
Choose a compression level
Select Screen (maximum compression), Ebook (balanced), Printer (high quality), or Prepress (archival quality).
Click Compress PDF
Your file is sent to the server, compressed with Ghostscript, and the result is sent back to your browser.
Download the compressed PDF
Review the file size reduction shown, then download your compressed PDF.
Frequently asked questions
How much will my PDF be compressed?
Compression results vary depending on content. PDFs heavy with high-resolution images typically compress by 50-80%. Text-heavy PDFs may only reduce by 10-30% since text is already very compact in PDF format.
Is it safe to upload my PDF for compression?
Yes. Files are transferred over encrypted HTTPS and processed on our server using Ghostscript. Both the original and the compressed result are deleted immediately after the download completes — they are never stored or accessed after processing.
What is the maximum file size?
The maximum file size for PDF compression is 50 MB. If your PDF is larger, try splitting it first with the Split PDF tool, compressing each part, then merging the results.
Will compression affect the text or images in my PDF?
The compression level you choose controls the trade-off between file size and quality. Screen gives the smallest file but may reduce image resolution. Printer and Prepress preserve high quality at a larger size. Text content is never visually degraded.