Documateo

PDF Tool

Compress PDF

Shrink a PDF by recompressing its photos — pick how hard, or give a target size and we find the gentlest setting that fits. Compare a page before and after. Text and vector graphics are never touched. Runs entirely in your browser.

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Drag a PDF here, or click to browse

Single file · Max 100.0 MB

How it works

  1. 1

    Upload the PDF you want to shrink.

  2. 2

    Pick Light, Recommended or Extreme — or choose 'To a target size' and enter, say, 2 MB. Optionally convert photos to grayscale.

  3. 3

    Click Compress. Every embedded JPEG photo is recompressed in your browser; text and vector graphics are left alone.

  4. 4

    Compare any page before and after, then download the smaller file. If your PDF couldn't be made smaller, you get your original back and we tell you so.

Compress PDF — frequently asked questions

How much smaller will my file get?
It depends on what's inside. PDFs full of photos or camera scans can shrink a lot; text-only PDFs are already small and usually won't change much. After compressing we show the before/after size and how many images were recompressed.
Can I compress a PDF to an exact size, like under 2 MB?
Yes — choose 'To a target size'. We try six photo settings from gentle to strong and stop at the first one that fits, so you keep the best quality that reaches your target. If it can't fit, you get the smallest file we can make and its real size, with the reason (usually that the size comes from text, fonts, vector graphics or scans stored in formats we leave alone). It can't promise an exact number because photos are the only thing we shrink.
What does 'Convert photos to grayscale' change?
Only the embedded photos become black and white, which makes them smaller. Text, vector graphics and page backgrounds keep their colours. Use it for documents where colour photos don't matter, such as scanned forms.
Can I check the quality before using the result?
Yes — the result screen shows the same page before and after side by side with both file sizes, and you can step through the pages. Open the file in your PDF viewer and zoom in for a close look before you rely on it.
Will compression make my text blurry?
No. Only embedded JPEG photos are recompressed — text, fonts and vector graphics are never touched, so they stay sharp at any zoom.
Why did my PDF barely change, or not at all?
Some PDFs are large for reasons other than JPEG photos — for example scans saved in another image format, or lots of embedded fonts. We only touch standard JPEG photos, and we never hand back a file that's bigger than the one you gave us.
Is the compression lossy?
Photo recompression is lossy — stronger levels trade a little image detail for a smaller file. Light keeps photos closest to the original; Extreme is best for email and sharing rather than print.