Reduce PDF file size
Reduce PDF file size when a document is too big to send. We shrink the images inside, so a text-only file won't get much smaller.
Drop your files here
Pick your files
Accepted: .pdf. Up to 50 files, 300 MB each, 500 MB in total.
Your files stay on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
How to reduce PDF file size
- Add your PDF.
- Pick light, balanced or strong, or type a target size in MB.
- Press Start, check the new size, and download.
What this tool can shrink
It recompresses the photos and scans inside your PDF, and lowers their resolution on stronger settings. It also packs page data more tightly, merges duplicates, and removes leftovers such as thumbnails and data no page uses. In our tests, a PDF of 12-megapixel photos shrank by more than 90% on Balanced, a paper with figures by 18%, and a long report by 8%. You can also turn the images black and white, and remove the title, author and other document details.
What it can't shrink
Text-only PDFs barely change. Government forms we tested didn't get any smaller, because their size comes from embedded fonts, and we don't shrink fonts yet. When that happens, you'll get your original file back and a note saying so, unless you chose black and white images or removing document details, which always make a new file. Text always stays sharp and selectable.
Which level should you choose?
Light keeps photos close to the original. Balanced suits most email and upload limits. Strong gives the smallest file, and photos will look visibly softer when you zoom in. Target size tries each level in turn, then stronger ones, and stops at the first that fits, so you get the best quality under your limit.
Formats and limits
It takes standard PDFs up to 300 MB each, or 100 MB on a phone, and up to 50 files at once with 500 MB per task. Password-protected files need the password removed first. CMYK images, common in print files, are left as they are.
Questions people ask
Will my PDF lose quality?
Images can, on every level, and most on Strong or a small target size. Text never does.
Why didn't my file get smaller?
It's probably mostly text and fonts. Try removing pages you don't need instead.
Can I hit an exact size?
Choose Target size and type it in MB. If a file can't get that small, usually because it's mostly text and fonts, you get the smallest version we could make and a note saying so.