Compress PDF · FREE & LOCAL
Compress a PDF for email.
Check the real savings.
Reduce PDF file size locally by choosing Original quality, Balanced, or Smaller file. Compare actual before-and-after sizes, then reopen the download to check readability. Already compact files may not shrink.
Use it freeNo uploads. No account required.
Original · 8 MB
Compressed · 3 MB
Watch the steps · 3-step illustration
Illustrative walkthrough, not the live editor. Expand and read at your own pace; no autoplay or motion.
- Step 1
Open a PDF and choose Compress.
Original · 8 MB (example) - Step 2
Try Balanced and compare the actual sizes.
8 MB → 3 MB (illustrative) - Step 3
Download and check image detail before sending.
Check small labels + photographs
A SMALL TASK, FINISHED
How to compress PDF
Open the document
Choose a PDF up to 80 MB. Compression happens locally in your browser, with no document upload or account.
Choose a setting
Open Compress. Try Original quality for lossless cleanup, Balanced for image compression, or Smaller file for more aggressive image reduction.
Compare and keep
Read the actual size and percentage saved. Download the result and inspect image detail before attaching it to your email.
A NOTE BEFORE YOU START
Useful tools.
Honest limits.
- Results depend on the PDF. Already compact or text-only documents may not shrink. Compression does not return a larger file than the input used for that download.
- Balanced and Smaller file downsample ordinary RGB/grayscale images and recompress them as JPEG. Fine image detail can be lost; text stays selectable and page dimensions stay unchanged.
- Transparent, masked, specialized-color, and oversized images are retained. With no pending page or annotation edits, compression preserves the original document structure.
Compress PDF: common questions
Can I guarantee a PDF under an email size limit?
No. There is no target-size guarantee. Check the output against your mail service’s attachment limit, allowing room for other attachments and email encoding overhead.
Does Original quality reduce image quality?
No. It uses lossless cleanup to repack streams and remove unreachable objects. It may save less space than settings that also recompress images.
Should I choose Balanced or Smaller file compression?
Try Balanced first if lossless cleanup is not enough. Smaller file reduces eligible images more aggressively and can lose fine detail. Compare the size and inspect small image labels and photos in the downloaded PDF; the smallest file is not always the most useful.
Why is my compressed PDF nearly the same size?
Text-only or already compressed PDFs may have little space to save. Some image types are retained rather than recompressed. Try a source-document export with smaller images, remove genuinely unnecessary pages, or use an approved sharing method if the full file still exceeds the attachment limit.
Which PDF workflow fits your task?
Small corrections, signatures, and page changes
Use Paperwork for supported selectable-text edits, drawn signatures, compression, and page organization. PDF contents stay on your device; no account is required.
Rewriting paragraphs or rebuilding the layout
Edit the original document in the application that created it when possible, then export a new PDF. Paperwork does not automatically reflow paragraphs.
Scans, sensitive redaction, or verified signing
Choose a tool with OCR for scanned text, secure redaction for removing sensitive content, or certificate-based signing when the recipient requires it. Paperwork does not provide these features.