Your files never leave your device. All processing happens in your browser.
Add your PDF to the Img Stop Compress PDF tool, choose Light, Recommended or Strong and click Compress PDF. The tool shrinks the pictures inside the PDF and removes unused data, while text and drawings stay sharp and selectable. You see the old size, the new size and how much you saved. Maximum turns pages into pictures for the smallest file, but text can no longer be selected.
About the Compress PDF
Most of the size of a PDF comes from the pictures inside it – photos, scans and screenshots. Compress PDF finds those pictures, makes them smaller and saves them again as JPG at a lower quality, so a heavy PDF becomes small enough for email, WhatsApp or an online application form.
Text, fonts and vector drawings are not touched, so the document still looks crisp and you can still search and copy the text. The tool also packs the file structure more tightly and removes leftover data. If a PDF cannot be made smaller, you keep the original. All of this happens in your browser – your files are never uploaded.
Key features
- Text stays sharpOnly pictures are shrunk – text and drawings stay vector and selectable.
- Three levelsLight, Recommended and Strong, from best quality to smallest file.
- Maximum modeTurns pages into pictures – the smallest result for scanned documents.
- Before and afterSee the original size, the new size and the percentage saved.
- Many files at onceCompress several PDFs and download them as a ZIP.
- Black and white optionMake pictures grayscale for an even smaller file.
How to use the Compress PDF
- Add your PDF files Drop one or more PDFs on the box, or click to choose them.
- Choose a level Recommended suits most files. Pick Strong for the smallest size that keeps the text.
- Compress Click Compress PDF and wait a few seconds.
- Download Check the new size and download the file, or all files as a ZIP.
Compress PDF at a glance
| Price | Free |
|---|---|
| Input | |
| Levels | Light, Recommended, Strong, Maximum |
| Text | Kept selectable (except Maximum) |
| Batch | Many files, ZIP download |
| Privacy | Compressed in your browser – no upload |
When to use it
- Get a scanned document under an email attachment limit.
- Meet the size limit of a job, visa or university application form.
- Share a photo-heavy brochure or portfolio on WhatsApp.
- Save storage space for an archive of scanned bills.
- Make a PDF open faster on phones and slow connections.
Tips for the best result
- Start with Recommended. If the file is still too big, try Strong before Maximum.
- Maximum is best for scans, which have no real text anyway.
- Turn on black and white for text documents that were scanned in colour.
- A PDF made only of text is usually already small – there is little to compress.
Frequently asked questions
How do I reduce the size of a PDF?
Add the PDF to Compress PDF, keep Recommended and click Compress PDF. The pictures inside are made smaller, which is where most of the size comes from.
Will compressing make my text blurry?
No. Light, Recommended and Strong only change the pictures inside the PDF. Text and drawings stay sharp, and you can still select and search the text.
What does Maximum do?
Maximum draws every page as a picture and builds a new PDF from them. It gives the smallest file for scanned documents, but the text can no longer be selected, searched or copied.
Why did my PDF not get smaller?
If a PDF is mostly text or its pictures are already well compressed, there is little to remove. In that case the tool keeps your original file and tells you it is already optimised.
Can I compress several PDFs at once?
Yes. Add as many PDFs as you like. Each one is compressed and you can download them one by one or together as a ZIP.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is compressed by your own browser, so private documents stay on your device.
Made and maintained by the Img Stop team.