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Compress a PDF and Make It Smaller

Shrink big PDFs for email and upload forms. Choose how much to compress, see the new size, and keep your text sharp and searchable.

How to compress a PDF

  1. 1

    Choose your PDF

    Pick the file you need to make smaller, up to 100 MB. It opens for the current task and is not retained by PilotPDF.

  2. 2

    Pick how much to compress

    Recommended suits most files. Choose Strong for an even smaller file, or Basic if the images must stay exactly as they are.

  3. 3

    Check the size and download

    You'll see the old and new sizes. Try another level to compare, then download the one you want.

Where the size in a PDF comes from

Text takes up very little room. A 50-page report of plain text is often well under 1 MB. What makes PDFs big is pictures: photos, scanned pages and screenshots, often saved at far higher resolution than anyone will ever see.

That's why Recommended and Strong focus on the images. They scale big pictures down to a sensible size and save them more efficiently, while every word stays real text you can search and copy.

Basic doesn't touch the images at all. It just repacks the file more tightly, which helps most with PDFs made by older software.

Getting under an upload limit

Job sites, visa portals and university forms often cap uploads at 1 MB, 2 MB or even 200 KB. Choose "Get it under a size" and pick the limit: the tool tries the gentlest settings first and stops as soon as the file fits, keeping the text whenever it can.

For scanned documents that only need to be read, not searched, Pages as images often gives the smallest file of all. It turns every page into one picture, so the text can't be selected afterwards.

Always open the compressed copy before sending it, and zoom in on anything small like signatures, stamps or tiny print, to make sure it's still clear.

Have a fixed limit? Compress a PDF to 1 MB.

From the blog

Your files are never retained by PilotPDF

PilotPDF does not keep copies of your original files, completed files, passwords, or document contents after processing.

Read our privacy policy for details about analytics and data handling.

Related tools

Compress Image

Make photos smaller before you put them in a PDF.

Split PDF

Send a big PDF in smaller parts.

Delete PDF Pages

Remove pages you don't need to send.

Merge PDF

Combine files, then compress the result.

Frequently Asked Questions

Choose your PDF, pick a level (Recommended suits most files), and click Compress PDF. You'll see the old and new sizes, then download the smaller copy.
Recommended for most files: it shrinks large photos and scans while keeping text sharp. Strong if you need it smaller still. Basic if you can't accept any change to the images. Pages as images only for scans where you don't need to search the text.
Yes with Basic, Recommended and Strong: only the pictures inside the PDF are made smaller. Pages as images turns each page into a picture, so the text can no longer be selected or searched.
PDFs that are mostly text are already small, so there's little to save. The biggest savings come from PDFs full of photos or scans. If nothing gets smaller, your original is kept so you never get a bigger file.
With Recommended, photos are scaled to at most 2000 pixels and saved at good quality, which looks the same on screen and in normal printing. Strong goes further, so check fine detail if it matters.
Yes. Pick a level, compress, then pick another and compress again. The size of each level you try is shown next to it, so you can download whichever suits you.
Choose "Get it under a size" and pick the limit. The tool tries the gentlest settings first and stops as soon as the file fits. For scans, tick "Allow pages as images" if you don't need to select the text.
Up to 100 MB. Large files take longer, and phones with less memory may struggle with very big scans.
Remove the password with Unlock PDF first, then compress the unlocked copy.
No. PilotPDF does not retain your original or compressed PDF.