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Compress PDF

Reduce the file size of your PDF.

Click to select files or drag and drop

One or more PDF files

Your files never leave your device.

About Compress PDF

Compress PDF recompresses images, removes unused data and optimizes fonts so your file gets smaller while text stays selectable, links keep working and forms remain fillable. Everything runs on your own device using a WebAssembly compression engine, so confidential files are never uploaded.

How to use it

  1. Select your PDFs, or drag them onto the drop area.
  2. Choose a level: Recommended for most files, Higher quality to keep images crisp, or Stronger compression for the smallest file. Optionally enter a target size.
  3. Select Compress PDF and download the result. QPDF shows the original size, the new size and the percentage saved.

Your file stays on your device

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your file is read from your device, processed in memory, and saved back to your device — it is never uploaded to QPDF or anyone else. Once this page has loaded, the tool also works with your internet connection switched off.

How QPDF keeps files private →

Good to know

  • Results depend on the document. Scans and photo-heavy files usually shrink the most; text-only PDFs are often already compact and may barely change.
  • Digitally signed PDFs are left untouched by default because any change invalidates the signature. You can override this in Custom Settings, but the signatures will be removed.
  • The “Rasterize pages” custom option turns pages into images: text stops being selectable or searchable. It is off by default and is not applied to pages that contain text unless you override content protection.
  • Very large files (hundreds of MB) are limited by your device’s memory. Close other tabs if a large file fails.

Related tools

All tools →
Compress PDF to 2 MB Aim for a file under 2 MB.
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Split PDF Split a PDF by page ranges, every N pages, or bookmarks.
Remove PDF Metadata Strip author, software and other hidden properties.
PDF to PDF/A Convert to PDF/A for long-term archiving.