Need to compress PDF files before sending, uploading, or sharing them? FreePDFConvert lets you compress PDF documents online and reduce their file size without installing software.

Upload your PDF, choose a compression level, and download the optimized document. PDF compression is especially useful when a file is too large for email, an online form, cloud storage, or another upload service.

How to Compress a PDF

The easiest way to compress a PDF is to use an online PDF compressor. Upload the original document, select the desired compression level, and download the smaller PDF.

Upload your PDF file.
Select a compression level.
Start PDF compression.
Download the compressed PDF.

Compress PDF to 100KB, 200KB, 300KB or 500KB

If you need a specific file size, such as 100KB, 200KB, 300KB, or 500KB, start with your original PDF and use an appropriate compression level. The exact final size depends on the PDF's images, fonts, pages, and embedded resources.

Compress PDF for Email and Uploads

Large PDF files can be difficult to attach to email or upload to websites. Compressing the PDF can make it smaller and easier to send, upload, and share while keeping the document usable.

Compress PDF on Mac and iPhone

You can compress a PDF from a Mac, iPhone, or other modern device using a web browser. There is no need to install a dedicated PDF compression application for basic compression.

Compress PDF Without Losing Quality

The goal of PDF compression is to reduce unnecessary file size while maintaining useful document quality. Text and vector content can remain sharp, while image-heavy PDFs may achieve greater reductions depending on their contents and the selected compression level.

For documents where the main goal is specifically to make a PDF smaller, you can also use our Reduce PDF Size tool.

Frequently asked questions

How do I compress a PDF?

Upload your PDF to the compressor, choose the compression level you need, apply compression, and download the smaller PDF. The process is designed to reduce file size while keeping important text and document content readable.

Can I compress a PDF online for free?

Yes. You can compress a PDF online for free with FreePDFConvert without installing desktop software.

How can I compress a PDF to 200KB?

Upload your PDF and choose a stronger compression level to reduce its file size. The final size depends on the original PDF, its images, fonts and other embedded content.

How can I compress a PDF to 100KB?

Upload the PDF and use a higher compression level. Reaching 100KB depends on the original file size and the amount of content that can be optimized.

How can I compress a PDF to 300KB?

Upload your PDF, select an appropriate compression level and download the compressed version. PDFs with large images generally have more room for size reduction.

How can I compress a PDF to 500KB?

Upload your PDF and select a compression level that reduces the file toward your target size. The achievable result depends on the original PDF contents.

How do I compress PDF documents for email?

Compress the PDF before attaching it to your email. Reducing the file size can make the document easier to upload and send when an email service has attachment-size limits.

How do I compress a PDF on Mac?

You can compress a PDF online from a Mac browser. Upload the PDF, choose your compression level, process the file and download the smaller PDF.

How do I compress a PDF on iPhone?

Open the PDF compressor in your iPhone browser, upload the PDF, select the compression level and download the compressed file.

Can I compress a PDF without losing quality?

PDF compression can reduce file size while preserving readable text and document structure. The amount of quality change depends on the compression level and the images contained in the PDF.

What does compress PDF mean?

Compressing a PDF means reducing the file size by optimizing content such as images, embedded resources and other data while keeping the document usable.

Is PDF compression safe?

PDF compression should preserve the document content needed for normal use. Avoid uploading documents containing highly sensitive information unless you are comfortable using the service.