Choosing a Compression Level
Light renders pages at the highest scale and JPEG quality of the three settings — the smallest visible quality change, best for documents you still need to look sharp. Medium is a reasonable default for general size reduction. Maximum renders at the lowest scale and quality for the smallest possible file, and is best reserved for already-scanned or image-heavy documents headed to a strict size-limited portal, since it's the setting most likely to make text look soft or blurry.
When this tool is the right choice
This compressor is a strong fit for scanned reports, photographed pages, and image-heavy PDFs where the pages were never selectable text to begin with. For a text-based contract, resume, or report where you need to preserve copy-paste text, searchability, or embedded form fields, either accept the tradeoff explicitly or look for a text-preserving compression approach instead.
Related guides
Read these guides if you want extra help with compression settings, email limits, and related PDF workflows.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
How does this PDF compressor actually reduce file size?+
It re-renders each page of the PDF as an image at your chosen quality level, then rebuilds a new PDF from those images. This works well for scanned pages and image-heavy documents, but it means every page becomes a flattened image rather than staying as live text.
Will the text in my PDF still be selectable and searchable after compressing?+
No. Because compression works by rendering each page to an image, the output PDF no longer contains selectable, searchable, or copyable text — even if the original document did. If you need to keep text selectable, do not use this tool on that file.
Is this tool a good choice for compressing a resume before a job application?+
Be cautious. Many applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse resume text directly from the PDF. Since this tool converts every page into an image, an ATS may no longer be able to read the resume's text after compression. For resumes, try Light compression only if the file must be smaller, and verify the result opens and reads correctly before submitting.
Does this always reduce PDF file size by 80%?+
No. Reductions of 50–80% are common on scanned or image-heavy PDFs. Text-heavy documents can shrink much less, and in some cases the rendered-image version can end up larger than a well-optimized text-based original, since a photo of a page of text takes more data than the text itself.
Why does the tool say "No further reduction possible" on my file?+
This means the image-rendered version at your chosen quality level didn't come out smaller than the original. This is more likely on already-compact, text-based PDFs. Try a lower quality level (Maximum), or consider that this file may not be a good candidate for this specific compression method.
Which compression level should I use?+
Use Light for documents where readability and quality matter most, such as contracts or reports you'll print. Use Medium as a general default. Use Maximum only for scanned documents or image-heavy files headed to a strict size-limited portal, since it produces the most visible quality loss.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server during compression?+
No. The PDF file's contents are read and processed in your browser. The tool does load its PDF-rendering library from a public CDN, but your document itself is not sent anywhere.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?+
No. The tool needs to read the PDF's pages to render them, so an encrypted or password-protected file will fail to process until the password is removed first.
Does compression affect PDF forms or embedded links?+
Yes, significantly. Since every page is flattened into an image, interactive form fields, clickable links, and bookmarks from the original PDF do not survive compression. Use this tool on final, non-interactive documents, not on fillable forms you still need to be interactive.
Will small text still be readable after Maximum compression?+
Not always. Maximum compression uses the lowest render scale and JPEG quality, which can make small fonts or fine print blurry. Check the result before relying on it, especially for documents with dense small text.
Is it free to use?+
Yes. The tool is free with no signup, no watermark, and no forced software installation.
Does it work on mobile?+
Yes, the interface is responsive, though rendering many pages as images can be slower on an older or lower-powered phone than on a desktop.
How many pages can I compress at once?+
There's no fixed page limit, but each page is individually rendered to an image, so very long documents take proportionally longer and use more of your device's memory.
What's the difference between this and Compress PDF to 100KB?+
Compress PDF to 100KB is the same underlying approach tuned toward a specific 100KB target for portal uploads. Use this general compressor when you want to choose a quality level directly instead of targeting an exact file size.
Should I merge or split PDFs before or after compressing?+
Usually merge first, then compress the combined file once, since compressing several small files separately can produce a larger total than compressing one merged document. If you only need part of a document, split it first, then compress just the pages you need.