Free Compress PDF

Yes. It is free, there is no sign-up, and it does not add a watermark to your pages. You can compress as many PDFs as you like for personal or business use.

No. The PDF is opened and rebuilt entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, so contracts, statements, ID documents and other private files never leave your device. That is a real difference from tools that upload your file to compress it.

It reads each page, redraws it as a high quality image at a sensible resolution, and rebuilds the PDF from those pages. Bulky, high-resolution scans and photos are the main thing that makes a PDF large, so re-saving them at a lighter setting is what brings the size down.

No, and this is the honest trade-off. Because each page is rebuilt as an image, text stays perfectly sharp to read and print but is no longer selectable or searchable. This tool is best for scanned documents, image-heavy files and decks. If you must keep selectable text, keep your original for editing.

Start with Recommended, it balances size and clarity for most files. Use Strong when you need the smallest possible file for a size-limited upload and can accept softer detail. Use Light when the pages have fine print or detailed images you want to keep crisp.

Some PDFs are already well optimised, and files that are mostly plain text can actually get larger when redrawn as images. When the result would be bigger than your original, the tool keeps your original instead, so you never end up with a heavier file. If that happens, your PDF is likely already compact.

There is no hard limit, but everything runs in your browser, so very large or very long PDFs use more memory and take longer. Long documents of hundreds of pages may be slow on a modest device. If it struggles, try one file at a time.

Not at the moment. A PDF that is locked with a password to open cannot be read, so remove the password first, then compress the file. Nothing you compress here is stored, so it is safe to work with sensitive documents once they are unlocked.

Some, and how much depends on the level. Pages are saved as images, so the higher the compression, the softer fine detail becomes. At Recommended and Light most documents still look clean on screen and in print. Compare and step back a level if a scan looks too soft.

Yes. Add a batch and they are all compressed with the level you choose. Each shows its own saving, and you can download them individually as they finish.

Yes. If you handle a lot of documents, we can build compression, splitting, merging, watermarking and text-preserving optimisation into your product or back office, running on your own servers. That is the kind of software we build at Techliphant.