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Compress a PDF

Upload a PDF, choose how hard to compress its images, and download a smaller file with the text and form fields untouched.

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Runs on our servers. 2 free office & advanced conversions without an account, 10 a month on the free plan.

PDF · up to 25 MB

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What it does

Compress PDF, explained

Compress PDF makes a file smaller by recompressing the images inside it. In scanned documents, phone photos saved as PDF and image-heavy brochures, images are almost all of the file size, so that is where the savings come from.

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Use it when an email bounces for size, when a court e-filing system, job application or landlord portal caps uploads, or when you archive hundreds of scans. A PDF exported from Word with only text and simple charts is usually small already and will shrink little.

There are three levels. The lightest re-encodes images while keeping their resolution; the stronger levels also lower image resolution, which is where blurry small print can appear. Text, vector drawings, fonts, links, bookmarks and form fields are left alone. If no level can make the file smaller, you get your original back unchanged, never a bigger file.

Compression runs in PDFBetter's processing container, not in your browser. If you can't upload a file, the browser-only light mode restructures the PDF on your device (object streams, unused objects) without touching images. To cut size by dropping content instead, use Remove pages or Split PDF.

How to do it

Compress a PDF in 4 steps

  1. 1A heavy file

  2. 2Pick a level

  3. 3A smaller copy

  1. 1

    Upload the PDF

    Files up to 25 MB work without an account; the Free plan allows 50 MB and paid plans more. Unlock password-protected files first.

  2. 2

    Choose a level

    Start with the middle level. Pick the lightest level for documents with fine print or signatures you need to stay crisp, and the strongest for photo-heavy files.

  3. 3

    Compress and compare

    The result shows the original and new size side by side. Open the preview and zoom into the smallest text before you accept it.

  4. 4

    Download

    Download the smaller PDF, or try another level if the result is too soft or still too large.

Example

Before and after

Before

A 14-page rental application with pay stubs and an ID card photographed on a phone and saved as PDF, rejected by a property manager's upload form.

After

The same 14 pages at the middle level: photos re-encoded, the typed application text and its form fields unchanged, and the pay-stub figures still readable at normal zoom.

Settings & formats

What you can control

Compression level
Three levels from light (re-encode images, keep resolution) to strongest (lower image resolution as well).
Light mode in your browser
Restructures the file on your device without recompressing images. Smaller savings, nothing uploaded.

Input

PDF

Output

PDF

Good to know before you start

  • PDFs made mostly of text and vector graphics shrink little because there are few images to recompress.
  • The strongest level lowers image resolution, so small print on scanned pages can blur, especially when printed.
  • Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked before compression.
  • Each run uses one Office & advanced conversion from the monthly allowance: 2 without an account, 10 on the Free plan, 500 on Pro.
If something goes wrong
The file came back the same size
No level could make it smaller, so you received your original unchanged. The images are probably already compressed, or the file is mostly text. Removing pages you don't need is the next option.
Scanned text looks blurry after compressing
Go back and choose a lighter level. The strongest level downsamples images, which hurts fine print and thin signatures first.
The portal still rejects the file
Check whether the limit is per file or per submission. If it is per file, split the PDF into parts with Split PDF and upload them separately.

Compress PDF: questions people ask

Does compression remove form fields, links or bookmarks?

No. Only embedded images are recompressed. Fillable fields, their values, links and bookmarks stay as they were.

Will my text become less sharp?

Real text is drawn from fonts, not pixels, so it stays sharp at any level. Only text that is part of an image, as in a scan, is affected by image compression.

What happens to a digital (certificate) signature?

Any change to the file's bytes invalidates a certificate-based digital signature, and compression changes them. Compress before the document is digitally signed, or send the signed original.

Is the compressed PDF searchable?

It is exactly as searchable as the original. A scan with no text layer was not searchable before either; run OCR PDF to add one.

Why do you never return a larger file?

Recompressing an already efficient image can make it bigger. PDFBetter compares the result with your upload and keeps whichever is smaller.

Should I compress or password-protect first?

Compress first, then protect. Compression needs an unlocked file, and protecting last keeps the final file encrypted.

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