Compress PDF

To compress a PDF, add it to PDFWrangle, choose a compression level or type the size you need, and download the smaller file. You see the original and new size side by side. It's free with no limits and no sign-up, you can compress several PDFs at once, and your files never leave your device.

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🔒 Files never leave your device✓ No sign-up∞ No usage limits

Want to check that your file isn't uploaded? Compress without uploading: how to verify it yourself

How to compress a PDF

  1. Add one or more PDF files.
  2. Choose Low, Recommended or Strong, or tick Target size and type a size such as 1MB or 200KB.
  3. Compress, check the new size and download.

Compression level or target size

If you turn on Target size, it takes priority over the level: PDFWrangle steps the image quality down until the file fits or can't get any smaller.

Why some PDFs barely shrink

PDFWrangle compresses the images inside a PDF and leaves text and fonts as they are. Scans and photo-heavy files shrink a lot; a text-only PDF exported from Word may already be close to its smallest size, and PDFWrangle will tell you when that's the case.

For scanned documents, Convert pages to images goes further by rebuilding each page as a compressed image. The catch: text in the result can no longer be selected or searched.

Compress to a specific size

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Frequently asked questions

Will compressing a PDF make the text blurry?

No. Text and fonts are not changed; only the images inside the file are recompressed. The exception is Convert pages to images, which turns every page, text included, into a picture.

What if my PDF can't reach the target size?

You get the smallest version PDFWrangle could make, with a note explaining why. Try Convert pages to images for scans, remove pages you don't need with Delete pages, or rescan at a lower resolution.

Can I compress several PDFs at once?

Yes. Add as many PDFs as you like and each one is compressed with the same settings.

Is there a file size limit?

PDFWrangle doesn't set one. Because everything runs on your device, very large files depend on how much memory your browser has; a computer handles big files more comfortably than an older phone.

Are my files uploaded?

No. Your browser does all the work on your own device, so files are never sent to a server. Close the tab and nothing is left behind.