Compress your PDF
Drop a PDF file here
or click the button below to browse a PDF file from your device.
Compression runs locally in your browser for maximum privacy.
You’ll see how much space you saved right after compression. Your original file is never modified.
Compression details
This tool re-saves your PDF with an optimized internal structure. In many cases this reduces size, especially for PDFs generated by office tools or scanners.
For extremely large, image-heavy documents you may still need a dedicated desktop or server-side optimizer, but this covers most everyday use-cases.
Why use this Compress PDF tool?
GoPDFTools gives you quick, privacy-first PDF compression without installing anything.
Instant size reduction
Quickly shrink PDFs so they’re easier to email, upload and share with clients or colleagues.
Privacy by design
Compression happens entirely in your browser — your documents never touch our servers.
Balance size and quality
Choose a compression strength that fits your workflow, from fast and light to more aggressive.
Compress PDF – Frequently asked questions
Questions people ask most about shrinking PDF file size with GoPDFTools.
What is a Compress PDF tool?
A Compress PDF tool reduces the file size of your PDF documents while keeping the content readable and visually clear. This is especially useful when you need to email PDFs, upload them to online forms, share them via messaging apps, or store large numbers of files on your device or in the cloud. With GoPDFTools, PDF compression happens directly inside your browser, so your documents never leave your device and remain fully private.
Why compress a PDF file?
PDFs that contain high-resolution images, scanned pages or detailed graphics can become very large. Many platforms, email providers and portals have strict size limits for uploads or attachments. Compressing your PDF helps to:
- Make email attachments smaller and easier to send
- Upload documents faster to websites and government portals
- Save storage space on your device or cloud drives
- Improve loading time for recipients who open your PDF
- Prepare documents for online submission or application forms
How does GoPDFTools Compress PDF work?
GoPDFTools analyzes your PDF and optimizes images, embedded content and structure using client-side technology. Images can be recompressed and downscaled to a more efficient size, while the core document structure is kept intact. All processing is done locally using modern JavaScript and WebAssembly, so your files are never uploaded or stored on remote servers — giving you both privacy and speed.
Key features of this PDF compressor
- ✔ Reduce PDF size while keeping text readable
- ✔ No watermarks or sign-up required
- ✔ Fast, in-browser compression — no uploads
- ✔ Multiple compression levels (from high quality to smaller file)
- ✔ Ideal for scanned PDFs, reports, forms and portfolios
- ✔ Works on desktop, laptop and mobile devices
How to compress a PDF online
- Click Choose PDF or drag your PDF into the upload box.
- Select your preferred compression level (for example: high quality, balanced or maximum compression).
- Click Compress PDF and let the tool optimize your file.
- Download the compressed PDF instantly once the process is complete.
When should you compress PDFs?
- When your file is too large to attach in email
- When online portals or job applications have strict size limits
- For sharing documents over slow or mobile connections
- When archiving long-term records to save space
- After scanning multi-page documents at high resolution
Related tools
You can combine this tool with: Merge PDF, Split PDF, Delete & Reorder Pages, PDF to JPG, Images to PDF.
Extended FAQs
1. Does compressing a PDF reduce quality?
Compression may slightly reduce image quality, but text remains clear and readable. You can choose stronger
or lighter compression based on your needs.
2. Are my PDFs uploaded or stored?
No — all compression is done locally in your browser. Files are never uploaded to our servers.
3. How much can I reduce the file size?
It depends on the content. Scanned image-heavy PDFs can often be reduced significantly, while text-only PDFs
may compress less.
4. Does this tool add watermarks?
No watermarks — your document remains clean and professional.
5. Can I compress multiple PDFs?
You can compress them one by one. If you want to merge them, first use
Merge PDF and then compress the result.
6. Is there a size limit?
There is no strict limit in the tool — only your device memory and browser capabilities.
7. Will the compressed PDF still be printable?
Yes, especially when using balanced or high-quality settings.
8. Can I compress scanned PDFs?
Yes — scanned PDFs often see the biggest improvement.
9. Is this tool free for business and commercial use?
Yes — you can freely use it for client work, internal documents and professional projects.
10. Does this tool work on mobile?
Yes — you can compress PDFs from your phone or tablet browser.
11. Does it change the content or layout?
No — only images and data are optimized. Layout, text and structure stay the same.
12. Can I use this tool offline?
After loading the page once, many browsers allow it to continue working offline.
13. What if my PDF is already optimized?
In that case, the file size might not reduce much — but the tool will never increase the size unnecessarily.
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