Compress PDF
Compress PDF re-renders and recompresses a PDF with pdf.js and pdf-lib in your browser, by quality level or down to an exact target like 200 KB, 500 KB, or 2 MB, with no upload.
Drag and drop, or click to upload a PDF
PDF file · processed on your device, never uploaded
At a glance
- Accepts
- One PDF file
- Outputs
- A smaller PDF at the quality or target size you chose
- Where it runs
- Entirely in your browser, on your device
- What leaves your device
- Nothing - the file never leaves your device
- Limits
- No size or count cap; bounded by your device's memory; pages are re-rendered, so text becomes imagery
- Account
- Not required - there is no sign-up
- Price
- Free, with no watermark and no usage cap
- Made by
- Visrut
- Last updated
- 8 October 2026
Compress PDF re-renders every page to an image at a resolution you choose, then rebuilds a new PDF from those images - the standard approach for shrinking scanned or photo-heavy documents. It runs on pdf.js and pdf-lib entirely in your browser tab; your file is never uploaded anywhere. Because it works by rasterizing, the output's text is no longer selectable or searchable - it's a real tradeoff, not a bug, and it's the right tool specifically for image-heavy PDFs, not text-heavy ones. "Target file size" mode is built for the common case of a hard limit - compress a PDF to 200 KB or 500 KB for an upload form, or to 1, 2, or 5 MB for email, and it finds the best quality that still fits.
How to use it
- Drag and drop, or click to upload a PDF.
- Pick a compression level - Light for print, Medium for email, Heavy for the smallest file.
- Or switch to "Target file size" if you have a hard limit to hit - 200 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB, 2 MB, 5 MB, or a custom size - and let it find the best quality that fits.
- Check the before/after size comparison, then download the result.
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded to a server to compress it?
No - every page is re-rendered and recompressed entirely in your browser using pdf.js and pdf-lib. The file never leaves your device.
Why is the text in my compressed PDF no longer selectable?
This tool compresses by rendering each page to an image at a lower quality, then rebuilding a new PDF from those images - the same technique most "compress PDF" tools use for scanned or photo-heavy documents. That trades selectable/searchable text for a much smaller file. If you need the text layer kept intact, this isn't the right tool for that PDF.
How do I get a PDF under a specific size, like 2 MB for an upload form?
Switch to "Target file size", pick or type the limit, and compress. It tries progressively stronger settings and stops at the first result that comes in under your target, so you get the best quality that still fits. If even the strongest setting misses, it says so and hands you the smallest result it managed.
Can I compress a PDF to 200 KB or 500 KB, like a government or job application portal asks for?
Yes - in "Target file size" mode, pick "Under 200 KB" or "Under 500 KB", or type any size in KB or MB. It runs the same progressively-stronger ladder down to 60 DPI, so a small target on a short scanned or image-heavy PDF is realistic; a very small target on a mostly-text PDF may not be reachable, since rasterizing text rarely shrinks it much.
What's the difference between Light, Medium, and Heavy?
They're render resolutions. Light renders pages at 300 DPI and keeps print-grade detail. Medium uses 150 DPI, which is the right call for email and sharing. Heavy uses 72 DPI for the smallest possible file, at the cost of visibly softer images.
What kind of PDF does this work best on?
Scanned documents and PDFs full of large photos - exactly the files that get huge because of embedded images. A PDF that's mostly plain text is already small and won't shrink much (and will lose its selectable text for little benefit).
Does compressing reduce the page count or content?
No - every page stays, in the same order, at the same visual size. Only the resolution and image quality each page is rendered at changes.