How to compress a PDF without losing quality
Email services commonly cap attachments at around 20-25 MB, and many application portals accept even less. A PDF full of photos or scanned pages can easily go over that limit.
Here is why PDFs get big and how to shrink them while keeping them readable.
Why PDF files get so large
- Images. A single full-resolution photo can be several megabytes.
- Scans. Every scanned page is a picture, often at a very high resolution.
- Embedded fonts and unused data that some programs leave behind.
How to compress a PDF online for free
- Open the Compress PDF tool.
- Add your PDF.
- Pick a compression level. A lighter level keeps more detail; a stronger level gives a smaller file.
- Download the compressed PDF and check that it still looks right.
The compression runs in your browser, so your document stays on your device.
Choosing the right level
Documents that are mostly text barely shrink, because text is already small. Files made of scanned images or photos shrink a lot. Start with the lighter setting; if the file is still too big, try the stronger one and zoom in to confirm the text is still easy to read.
Other ways to keep PDFs small
- Scan at 150-200 DPI for ordinary documents instead of 600 DPI.
- Resize photos before you put them in a document.
- Merge files first, then compress once, rather than compressing every file.
Still too big?
Split the document into two parts with the Split PDF tool and send them separately, or share it through a cloud-storage link instead of an attachment.