Compress PDF
Reduce your PDF file size in seconds. Shrink large PDFs for emailing, uploading or sharing — without sacrificing readability.
How to Compress a PDF
Drag and drop your PDF into the box above or click to browse your device. Files up to 100MB are accepted — no account needed.
Our tool analyses your PDF and applies intelligent compression, reducing image data and optimising file structure to shrink the file as much as possible.
Your compressed PDF is ready in seconds. Download it and use it — it looks and reads just like the original, just in a smaller file size.
Compress PDF Online — Reduce File Size Instantly
PDFMadeSimple's PDF compressor reduces the file size of any PDF directly in your browser. Upload your PDF and get back a smaller version in seconds — no software to install, no account required. Works on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.
Whether your PDF is too large to email, too big to upload to a portal, or simply taking up too much storage space, our compressor brings the file size down significantly while keeping your document clear and readable.
Why Compress a PDF?
PDF files can grow very large — especially when they contain scanned pages, high-resolution photographs, or embedded images. A 50MB PDF is inconvenient to share and may be rejected by email servers or upload forms with size limits. Compressing reduces the file to a more manageable size without changing what the document contains.
Common reasons to compress a PDF include:
- Reducing a PDF below the 10MB or 25MB limit imposed by email providers
- Meeting the file size limit on a job application, planning portal or government form
- Saving storage space on a phone, tablet or laptop
- Making a PDF faster to load and share on slow connections
- Reducing the size of a PDF before merging multiple files together
- Shrinking a scanned document to a more practical size
How Much Will My PDF Be Reduced?
The amount of compression depends on what's inside your PDF. PDFs containing many large images — such as scanned documents, brochures or photo portfolios — can often be reduced by 50–80%. Text-based PDFs with few images will see smaller reductions because the text content itself is already compact. In all cases, the file structure is optimised for the smallest possible output.
Does Compressing a PDF Reduce Quality?
Our compression is designed to produce a file that remains fully readable. Text is never degraded — only image data within the PDF is optimised. The result is a document that looks clear on screen and prints well at normal sizes. For professional printing at very large sizes, you may prefer to retain the original uncompressed file.
Is It Safe to Upload My PDF?
All files uploaded to PDFMadeSimple are transferred over SSL encrypted connections. Once your compressed PDF has been created, both the original and the compressed file are permanently deleted from our servers within 24 hours.
We are GDPR compliant and do not read, store or share your documents with any third party.
Compress PDF on Any Device
PDFMadeSimple works in any modern browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge. Whether you're on a Windows PC, a Mac, an iPhone or an Android phone, the compressor works identically on all platforms. No app, no plugin — just upload your PDF and download the compressed result.