How much smaller will my PDF get?

It depends heavily on what's inside the file. PDFs with large, high-resolution embedded images typically shrink the most — sometimes 60-90% — since image data is usually the biggest contributor to file size. A PDF that's mostly text was probably already small and won't shrink as dramatically.

Will compression make my PDF blurry?

At light and medium settings, image quality loss is generally hard to notice on screen. Maximum compression trades more visible quality for a smaller file, which is useful when file size matters more than print-level image fidelity, like for email attachments.

Does compression affect the text, or only images?

Text stays fully selectable and sharp at any compression level — this tool only re-encodes embedded raster images and optimizes font subsetting and internal PDF structure. Text is vector data, not pixels, so it isn't degraded by compression the way images are.

Can I compress a scanned PDF made entirely of images?

Yes, and scanned PDFs are often where compression makes the biggest difference, since every page is effectively one large image.

Will compressing remove any pages or content?

No. Compression only changes how existing content is encoded — every page, image, and piece of text in the original remains in the output, just stored more efficiently.

What's a realistic target if I need to get under an email attachment limit?

Try medium or maximum compression first and check the resulting size shown on screen; if it's still too large, the file likely has very high-resolution source images and may need pages split across multiple emails instead.

Can I undo compression if I don't like the result?

Since your original file never leaves your device, it's untouched on your computer — just re-upload it and try a lighter compression setting if the first result isn't what you wanted.

Is my file uploaded to a server?

No. Every operation on this page runs locally in your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly. Your file is never transmitted anywhere, which also means it works without an internet connection once the page has loaded.

Compress PDF

Shrink PDF file size by compressing embedded images and optimizing fonts.

Processed entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded anywhere.

Why compress PDFs with Tools Root

PDFs balloon in size mainly because of embedded images saved at unnecessarily high resolution, or fonts and metadata that don't need to be duplicated throughout the file. Compression targets exactly that — the visual content and structure stay intact, but the file takes up less space and uploads or emails faster.

What actually happens during compression

This tool re-encodes embedded raster images at a quality level you choose, and optimizes internal PDF structure like font subsetting and object streams. It does not rasterize your text into images, which is a shortcut some compressors use that makes text blurry and unselectable — text here stays exactly as sharp and searchable as the original.

Common use cases

Getting a scanned document under an email attachment size limit, shrinking a design portfolio PDF for faster web download, reducing storage costs for a large archive of digitized paperwork, or preparing a file for a web form that enforces a maximum upload size.

How to compress a PDF

1Upload the PDF you want to shrink.
2Choose a compression level, from light (best quality) to maximum (smallest file).
3The tool re-encodes embedded images and optimizes internal fonts and structure.
4Download the smaller PDF and compare the before/after file size shown on screen.

Frequently asked questions

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