Will Max Compress affect text quality?

Max Compress converts each page to a JPEG image, so text becomes part of the image and is no longer selectable, searchable, or copy-able. For documents you need to edit or search, use Smart Compress instead.

Does Max Compress preserve colours and images accurately?

At 75% quality (default), images and colours are nearly indistinguishable from the original for screen viewing. Printed output at 75%+ quality also looks very good. Reduce quality below 65% only if file size matters more than visual fidelity.

Free PDF Compressor — Reduce PDF File Size Online

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Drop your PDF here

or click to browse from your device

One PDF at a time · No file size limit · Password-protected PDFs not supported

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Compressed Successfully!

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Original

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Compressed

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Save as filename

.pdf

How It Works

Reduce PDF Size in 3 Steps

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1. Upload your PDF

Drop or browse to select your PDF. File size, page count and metadata are shown immediately — no processing yet.

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2. Choose Mode

Smart Compress for text-preserving lossless reduction. Max Compress for the deepest reduction (pages become images).

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3. Download

See original vs compressed sizes. Name your file, then download — your browser handles everything, nothing was ever uploaded.

Mode Comparison

Smart vs Max — Which to Choose?

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Smart Compress

Uses pdf-lib to restructure internal PDF objects, applying object streams and removing redundant data. The original PDF content is unchanged — only the container is optimised.

✓ Text remains selectable and searchable ✓ Hyperlinks continue to work ✓ Forms, comments and annotations preserved ✓ Fast — processes in under 5 seconds for most files ~ 10–40% typical reduction

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Max Compress

Renders every page to a JPEG image using PDF.js, then rebuilds the PDF with pdf-lib. This achieves the maximum possible reduction by converting all content to compressed image data.

✓ 50–80% typical reduction ✓ All visual content preserved as JPEG ✗ Text not selectable or searchable ✗ Links, forms and annotations removed ✗ Slower — processes each page individually

FAQ

Common Questions

Does this PDF compressor upload my files?

No. All compression happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript, pdf-lib, and PDF.js. Your files never leave your device. The tool works completely offline after the page loads.

What is the difference between Smart Compress and Max Compress?

Smart Compress restructures the PDF's internal data using lossless compression — text, links, and forms are fully preserved. Typical reduction is 10–40%. Max Compress renders each page to a JPEG image, achieving 50–80% reduction but making text non-searchable and removing interactive elements.

How much can I reduce a PDF file?

Smart Compress typically reduces PDFs by 10–40% depending on how optimised the original was. Max Compress can reduce image-heavy PDFs by 50–80%. For already-optimised PDFs, gains may be smaller. Try Smart first; if you need a smaller result, use Max.

Will Max Compress affect how the PDF looks?

At 75% quality (default), the visual output is nearly identical to the original for screen viewing. At lower quality settings visible JPEG artefacts may appear, especially around sharp text edges. For documents with lots of text, keep quality at 80%+ in Max mode.

Can I compress password-protected PDFs?

No. Password-protected PDFs cannot be processed. Please remove the password first using your PDF reader, then compress the unlocked file with this tool.

My PDF didn't get smaller after Smart Compress — why?

Some PDFs are already well-optimised. If the compressed output is not smaller than the original, this tool will keep the original file so you never download a larger result. Try Max Compress for a more significant reduction in those cases.

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