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⬇️ Download Compressed PDFWhen to use Compress PDF
Email Attachments
Reducing PDF size before emailing as an attachment (most email servers limit file size to 25 MB)
Storage Saving
Shrinking scanned document PDFs so they take less storage space on your device or cloud
Upload Optimization
Optimizing large PDFs before uploading to websites, portals, or submission systems
Faster Sharing
Compressing image-heavy PDFs for faster sharing over messaging apps and social media
How to Compress a PDF — Step by Step
Upload your PDF
Drag and drop your PDF onto the upload area or browse to select it
Choose compression level
Select Low (structure only, best quality), Medium (96 DPI, good balance), or High (72 DPI, smallest size)
Compress
Click "Compress PDF" to start. The progress bar shows real-time status
Download
When done, click "Download Compressed PDF". The result info shows how much space you saved
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ Which compression level should I choose?
Medium is recommended for most use cases — it provides significant size reduction while keeping text and images readable. Use Low if you only need to optimize the internal structure without quality loss. Use High when file size is critical and lower quality is acceptable.
✨ Will compression affect my PDF's quality?
Low compression keeps all content intact. Medium and High re-render pages as JPEG images at lower DPI, which can make text slightly softer and lose selectability. For text documents where you need copyable text, stick with Low.
📏 How much can I reduce my PDF size?
Results vary. Image-heavy PDFs can be reduced by 50-90%. Text-only PDFs may see 10-30% reduction with Medium or High compression. Low compression typically saves 5-15%.
🔒 Does PDForge store my compressed file?
No. The entire compression process happens in your browser. Your file is never uploaded anywhere. Once you download the compressed version, the data is cleared from memory.