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Compress PDF

Drop a PDF and shrink it for email or web. Lossless mode strips metadata and re-packs the file. Rasterise mode re-renders each page as JPEG at a chosen DPI — big savings, but you lose text selection. Nothing is uploaded.

Or drag & drop a PDF. Stays in your browser.

What is this?

A free, online PDF compressor that runs entirely in your browser. Two strategies cover most cases: keep everything but trim file structure (lossless), or re-render pages as JPEGs to shrink hard (rasterise). No upload, no signup, no watermark.

Which mode should I pick?

  • Lossless — start here. Especially good if the PDF was exported from Word / Docs / Pages with embedded metadata or duplicated fonts.
  • Rasterise — use when the file is mostly scans, the lossless save didn't help, or you need a hard email-attachment-sized cap.
  • 120 DPI / 75% quality is a good default for on-screen reading.
  • For receipts / pure-text scans, grayscale + 96 DPI shrinks dramatically.

How does it work?

Lossless mode loads the PDF with pdf-lib, strips the metadata dictionary, then re-saves with object streams enabled. Rasterise mode renders each page via pdf.js, encodes the canvas as JPEG, and embeds the JPEGs back into a fresh PDF — both libraries run in your browser.

FAQ

Will my text still be selectable / searchable?
Yes in lossless mode; no in rasterise mode. Rasterise replaces each page with a flattened image — visually identical but opaque to text tools.
My PDF didn't shrink in lossless mode — why?
It's probably already well-optimised. Most "PDF-export" programs produce tight files. Try rasterise mode or accept the file as-is.
How small can rasterise mode go?
A typical 20-page A4 document at 96 DPI grayscale lands around 1–2 MB. At 72 DPI grayscale + 50% quality, often under 500 KB.
Encrypted PDFs?
Decrypt first — encrypted PDFs are rejected on load.

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