About PDF Compress

PDF Compress is a free tool for making PDF files smaller. It exists because nearly every other online PDF compressor works the same way: you hand your document to a stranger's server, it gets processed somewhere you cannot see, and you are asked to trust a deletion promise you have no way to verify.

We thought that was a strange trade to make for a file-size problem — especially for contracts, medical records, and financial statements. So this tool does the work where the file already is: inside your own browser.

How local compression works

When you choose a PDF, your browser reads it into memory. PDF.js renders each page onto a canvas at a resolution chosen by your compression level. Each rendered page is then re-encoded as a JPEG at a matching quality setting, and jsPDF assembles those images back into a new, smaller PDF that your browser hands you as a download.

Every one of those steps runs on your device. There is no upload request, so there is no server copy to delete.

What this approach is good at

• Scanned documents and image-heavy PDFs. These are where the biggest savings live — often well over half the original size.
• Privacy-sensitive files. Nothing leaves your machine, so there is nothing to intercept or retain.
• Working offline. Once the page has loaded, compression keeps working without a connection.
• Batches. Up to 20 files at a time, up to 100 MB each.

What it is honestly not good at

We would rather tell you the limits than have you discover them:

• Text becomes an image. Because pages are rasterised, selectable text and text search do not survive compression. If you need a searchable PDF, use the Low setting sparingly or keep your original.
• Already-optimised text PDFs. A lean, text-only PDF may not shrink much, and can occasionally grow.
• Very large files on old phones. Processing uses your device's memory and CPU, so a 100 MB scan on a budget handset will be slow.

Always keep your original file. Compression cannot be undone.

Cost

The tool is free, with no account, no daily task limit, and no watermark. Running costs are minimal precisely because we do no server-side processing — there is nothing to pay for beyond hosting a few static files.

Contact

Bug reports, feature requests, and corrections are welcome at hello@compresspdf.tooladda.online.

See also our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.