DocomintCompress PDF
Shrink a PDF's file size instantly in your browser — no upload, no quality guesswork.
Drop your PDF here
or choose a file from your device
What is a Compress PDF?
A PDF that's too large to email or upload usually isn't the text — it's embedded images at print resolution. Compression re-encodes those images and strips redundant internal structure, trading a little image sharpness for a much smaller file, without changing page count or layout. If you have a hard limit to hit — an email attachment cap, a portal's upload limit — you can also target a specific file size directly instead of guessing at a level.
How to use the Compress PDF
- Add a PDF file
- Pick a compression level, or enter a target file size
- Download the smaller file — its embedded photos are re-encoded on your device
Example
A 40MB scanned PDF with photo-heavy pages often compresses down to 6-10MB — enough to clear a typical 10MB email attachment limit — while staying readable on screen.
Why use Compress PDF
Target a specific file size
Enter a size like "5MB" and it tries progressively stronger compression until the result fits, so you only lose as much quality as actually necessary.
See exactly what changed
After compressing, view the original and new size side by side, plus how many embedded images were actually re-encoded.
Nothing uploaded
Compression runs entirely in your browser via WebAssembly — your PDF never reaches a server.
What can you create?
Clear an email attachment limit
Shrink a scanned contract or report under a typical 10-25MB attachment cap.
Meet a portal's upload limit
Compress a large PDF to fit a job application, government, or court filing portal's size cap.
Speed up sharing and storage
Shrink photo-heavy PDFs before archiving them or sending over a slow connection.
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No — Compress PDF runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript/WebAssembly. Your PDF is never sent to a server.
Is there a file size limit?
Free use covers files up to 100MB per file; signing up for Pro raises that to 500MB.
How much smaller will my file get?
It depends on the original file — compression here works by re-encoding to remove overhead or redundant data. The exact reduction varies; try it and compare the before/after size.
Which compression level should I pick?
Recommended is the right default for most files — a real, visible size cut with images that still look good on screen. Maximum pushes further for a hard limit like an email attachment cap, at the cost of noticeably softer images; High quality barely shrinks the file but keeps images closest to their original sharpness, useful when you're compressing mainly to clean up file structure rather than to save space.
Can I compress a PDF to a specific size, like "under 5MB"?
Yes — turn on "Compress to a target file size" and enter your limit in MB. It tries High quality first, then Recommended, then Maximum, stopping at the first one that fits, so you get the smallest quality hit that still meets your target.
Will compression make my text blurry or hard to read?
No — compression targets embedded images; vector text stays crisp at any zoom level regardless of how aggressively the surrounding images are compressed.