PDF Compress
PDFCompress PDF files with three quality levels, strip metadata and thumbnails to reduce size, and compare the file size and page quality before and after.
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About PDF Compress
Compress PDF files online in your browser with three configurable quality levels: High quality (structure cleanup, removes redundant objects and stream overhead), Standard (metadata removal, strips author, title, and producer info plus structure cleanup), and Maximum (metadata plus embedded thumbnail removal with full structure optimization).A real-time before/after size comparison shows the exact byte savings achieved. All operations run locally via pdf-lib; nothing is uploaded. Ideal for reducing PDF file sizes before email, meeting upload limits on web forms, or archiving documents with minimal storage overhead. Note this tool performs structural compression, not pixel-level re-encoding: it strips redundant object streams, cross-reference tables, metadata, and thumbnails, but does not recompress embedded images. For image-heavy scanned PDFs, use an image compressor or OCR rebuild for larger savings. High quality mode is the safe choice when you still need to edit the document later.
How to Use
- Open the PDF Compress tool
- Upload the PDF file
- Adjust the output options as needed
- Click the Process button; results appear in real time
- Copy or export the result
Use Cases
- Email attachments — Compress PDFs before emailing to reduce attachment size and improve delivery success.
- Document archiving — Batch compress PDFs to save storage space and improve transfer efficiency.
- Web uploads — Compress PDFs to meet file size limits for website uploads.
- Cleanup before sharing — Compress and strip metadata like author and keywords before sharing externally.
- Storage optimization — Structurally compress long-term archived PDFs to reduce cloud or local storage usage.
FAQ
Does compression reduce PDF quality?
High quality mode only cleans structure without affecting content. Standard mode removes metadata (author, title, etc.) while preserving content. Maximum mode removes thumbnails but text and image quality remain unchanged.
Can I compress encrypted PDFs?
No. Password-protected PDFs must be decrypted first before compression.
Is my file uploaded to a server?
No. All operations run locally in your browser; your file never leaves your device.
Does it compress structure or images?
This tool is structural: it cleans redundant object streams, cross-reference tables, metadata, and thumbnails. It does not re-encode images themselves.
Why does my scanned PDF barely shrink?
Scanned PDFs are mostly JPEG image data, so structural cleanup cannot shrink them much. Re-encode or downscale the images for real savings.
Can metadata be restored after compression?
No. Standard/Maximum modes irreversibly remove XMP metadata such as author and keywords. Choose High quality if you need to keep copyright info.