Compress PDF to a Target Size
Pick a PDF, choose a target size (1MB, 2MB, 5MB, 10MB or your own number), and this tool shrinks it to fit — right inside your browser. Your file never leaves your device. Free with ads.
How to use it
- Choose a PDF or drop it onto this box.
- Pick a target size. If the upload form says "max 5MB," aim for 4.8MB to be safe.
- Choose a mode. The default is Keep-text mode, which keeps your text selectable.
- Compare the first page of the original and the result side by side, then hit Save.
Why aim a little low? Some systems count 1MB as 1,000,000 bytes and others as 1,048,576 bytes, so a file sitting exactly at "5MB" can still get rejected.
Will text get blurry if I compress to 1MB?
Not in Keep-text mode. It only re-compresses the photos and scanned images inside the PDF and leaves text, links and search untouched. Photos can get softer when you squeeze a photo-heavy file very small, so zoom in on the preview before you save.
What if it can't reach my target size?
When the tool says Keep-text mode got it down to some size at best, switch to Strong mode. Strong mode turns each page into an image, so it almost always hits the target — but text in the result can no longer be selected or searched. That's why the tool never switches modes without asking you.
How much smaller do files actually get?
We tested 10 sample files we made ourselves — scans, photo-heavy, text-only and mixed (2026-11-05, Mac arm64, Chrome 156.0.8078.80 (headless)).
| Sample | Original | Keep text | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text only, 5 pages | 6KB | - | - |
| Text only, 100 pages | 110KB | - | - |
| Scan, 8 pages | 6.94MB | 979KB (-86%) | 969KB (-86%) |
| Scan with text, 6 pages | 4.61MB | 985KB (-79%) | 981KB (-79%) |
| Photos, 3 pages | 2.85MB | 950KB (-67%) | 967KB (-66%) |
| Text and photos, 4 pages | 1.00MB | 906KB (-10%) | 877KB (-12%) |
| Lossless images, 3 pages | 8.31MB | 596KB (-93%) | 392KB (-95%) |
| Transparent PNG, 2 pages | 2.01MB | 296KB (-85%) | 561KB (-72%) |
| Large photo, 1 page | 2.69MB | 956KB (-64%) | 429KB (-84%) |
| Scan, 1 page | 1.78MB | 980KB (-45%) | 868KB (-51%) |
Target 1MB. * = target not reached.
Across the samples, Keep-text mode cut size by 66% on average and Strong mode by 68%. Text-only PDFs shrink the least because they have few images to begin with.
Is my file really not uploaded?
Right — the file stays on your device. To check for yourself, open your browser's developer tools (F12), go to the Network tab and run a compression. You'll only see the page and the PDF code loading (plus ad requests once ads are live) — nothing close to the size of your PDF. Step-by-step instructions are on the About page.
What this tool can't do
- Password-protected PDFs can't be opened.
- Files over 100MB on a computer or 50MB on a phone get a warning before processing starts.
- Some unusual image types (such as CMYK print images) are left as they are to avoid damaging quality.
FAQ
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. It is built for Chrome on Android and Safari on iPhone. Very large files (tens of MB) can run out of phone memory, so a computer is the safer choice for those.
Can I set the target in KB?
Yes. Type the target in KB or MB. MB accepts one decimal place, so you can aim for something like 4.8MB to leave a safety margin.
Will my original file be changed?
No. The result is saved as a new file and your original stays untouched. If you don't like the result, change the target or the mode and run it again.
Can I compress several PDFs at once?
Not yet, it's one file at a time. If you plan to send them as one file anyway, merge them first and then tap 'Compress this file' on the result screen.
Is it really free?
Yes, it's free with ads. There's no account, no install and no watermark. Ads shown on the page pay for running the site.