Optimize for the destination
Choose settings suited to email attachments, web publishing or print-quality document delivery.
PDF optimizer and compressor
Compress PDF Online
Reduce PDF file size for email, uploads and web publishing.
Free, no account
Signed links, auto-deleted
Up to 20 MB per file
One optimized PDF document · signed download link, valid for 30 minutes · files removed after 24 hours
What it does
Built for real compress pdf work.
Reduce PDF file size
Use compression and resolution controls to make a PDF easier to upload, send, store or share.
Keep quality visible
Review the optimized PDF after processing, because compression affects images, text clarity and embedded detail.
Useful for
When this converter saves time.
- Reduce a scanned PDF before attaching it to email.
- Meet a website or portal upload-size limit.
- Make a large PDF faster to download or share.
- Optimize a PDF before sending it to a colleague or client.
In detail
About compressing and optimizing PDF files
Most oversized PDFs are oversized for one reason: the images inside them are stored at far higher resolution than anything will ever display or print. A scanner producing 600 DPI colour pages, a report full of screenshots pasted at full size, a deck exported with uncompressed photographs — each ends up too large for an email attachment or an upload limit, even though nothing on the page needs that much data.
Optimization rewrites the document through Ghostscript. Images are downsampled to the resolution you choose and re-encoded, duplicate images appearing on several pages are stored once, and fonts are compressed. The text layer, the fonts and the document structure are preserved, so the result stays searchable and its text can still be selected and copied. That is the important difference between this and converting pages to images: the PDF remains a PDF.
Because the saving comes almost entirely from images, results vary enormously. A scanned document can lose most of its size; a text-only contract may barely move, because there was never much to remove. Compression is not reversible, so always open the optimized file and check the pages that matter — small type in a scan and fine detail in a chart are the first things to suffer. Encrypted or password-protected PDFs cannot be read at all; remove the protection first.
- Input format
- PDF, one document per conversion (not password-protected)
- Output
- One optimized PDF, text layer preserved
- Profiles
- Balanced, web and email, print quality
- Image resolution
- 72, 150 or 300 DPI
- Maximum file size
- 20 MB per upload
- File retention
- Deleted after 24 hours, links expire in 30 minutes
How it works
Compress and optimize a PDF in three steps.
Use the PDF optimizer when a document is too large for email, an online upload limit, web publishing or a storage workflow.
-
01
Upload the PDF.
Choose the source PDF you want to compress or prepare.
-
02
Select an optimization profile.
Choose web, email or print settings with the resolution and compression you need.
-
03
Review the smaller PDF.
Open the result, check important pages and download the optimized document.
Compatibility
Supported input and output formats.
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| PDF, one document | Optimized PDF document |
Clear file handling
Built for a quick, controlled conversion.
No account is required. Files are processed on the configured FileMixr storage disk, and signed preview or download links expire after 30 minutes.
- Up to 20 MB per upload
- Signed result links
- Files scheduled for deletion after 24 hours
Good to know
Compress PDF questions, answered.
How much smaller will my PDF get?
It depends entirely on the source. PDFs built from photographs or scans often shrink substantially, because the images inside them are downsampled and re-encoded. A PDF that is mostly text may barely change, since text and fonts are already compact.
Which profile should I pick?
Web and email gives the smallest file and is right for attachments. Balanced suits general sharing. Print quality preserves the most image detail and produces the largest result.
Does compressing a PDF reduce quality?
Image quality can drop, because compression re-encodes the pictures inside the document and the chosen resolution caps how much image detail is kept. Text stays selectable. Always open the result and check pages that matter before sending it on.
Will text stay searchable and selectable?
Yes. Optimization keeps the text layer and embedded fonts, so the compressed PDF stays searchable and its text can still be selected and copied.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Encrypted or password-protected PDFs cannot be read by the optimizer. Remove the protection in your PDF reader first, then upload the unprotected file.
Continue with FileMixr
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