Compress PDF Online for Free with Convertavo
Convertavo's Compress PDF tool shrinks a large PDF so it fits an email or an upload limit. Your text stays sharp. If a form requires you to submit a file that is smaller than 1 MB, you can type that in as your target size. You can see your new page compared to the old one, side by side, before downloading it.
Your files stay private
Uploads are deleted from our servers one hour after processing. Nothing is read or reused, and nothing is kept unless you save it to your account.
No account required
20 free credits a day, with no email address and no watermarks on the output.
Runs on any device
Works in any modern browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
How to compress a PDF online
Nothing to install, and no account needed.
- STEP 01
Upload your PDF
Files can be up to 25 MB without an account, 100 MB with a free one, and 200 MB to 1 GB on a paid plan, depending on the plan. Or you can paste a link instead.
- STEP 02
Pick a compression level
Balanced is the default, and it's the right call for almost every document.
- STEP 03
Add a target size if you need one
Type it in MB, so a 1 MB limit is just "1". Decimals work too: 500 KB is "0.5".
- STEP 04
Click Compress PDF
Most files are done in 5 to 15 seconds.
- STEP 05
Check the result, then download
You'll see both file sizes, plus the compressed page next to the original.
What the Compress PDF tool does
Side-by-side preview
The same part of page 1 from the original and the compressed file, with both sizes, before you download.
Target a size
Type 1 for a 1 MB limit, or 0.5 for 500 KB. The compressor steps down until the file fits, and tells you if it can't.
Text stays sharp
Only images are compressed. Text, links, bookmarks and vector graphics are left as they were.
Why is my PDF file so big?
Typically, it’s the pictures. One page of a 600 DPI (dots per inch) scan can occupy many megabytes of space.
A full page of typical typewritten text, by comparison, would usually occupy less than 50 KB (one KB is 1,024 bytes). The text is stored as small drawing instructions, not pixels. Fonts, form fields and leftover editing data add a bit more, but images decide most of the size.
So the compressor goes after the images first. It lowers them to a sensible resolution, saves them in a more efficient way, and removes data that no reader ever sees.
Which compression level should I use?
There are three levels, and most users never have to go further than the first one.
| Level | What happens | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Balanced (recommended) | A great reduction in file size, while keeping text and photos clear on screen | Most documents, email and sharing |
| Maximum compression | The file is reduced as much as possible, resulting in softer photos, but still clear text | A set limit you have to meet, such as 1 MB space |
| Light — best quality | The images are simply re-saved; with Keep original they keep their full resolution | Portfolios, brochures and anything where the pictures matter |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Extreme PDF compression
Some sites call their strongest setting "extreme", and on Convertavo it's called Maximum compression. Use it when a file has to fit a strict limit and slightly softer photos won't bother anyone.
For scanned papers, start with Balanced instead. In a scan, the words are part of the picture, so heavy compression can blur them.
What does the image quality setting do?
It decides the resolution images are reduced to, measured in DPI, the number of dots per inch. You can choose from:
- Web (150 DPI): plenty for anything people read on a screen
- Print (300 DPI): the usual standard for documents you plan to print
- Keep original: leaves the resolution alone and only re-saves the images
What do the three extra options do?
- Downsample embedded images: on by default, it shrinks large pictures to the DPI you picked.
- Remove metadata and leftover editing data: clears out metadata, the hidden details a file keeps about itself, plus data left behind by earlier edits.
- Subset embedded fonts: on by default, it keeps only the letters your document really uses, not the whole font file.
How do I compress a PDF to 1 MB, 500 KB or 200 KB?
Ever tried uploading your CV and got hit with "file too large"? It happens all the time. Job portals do it, so do college and visa forms, and the tax site too. Usually the cut-off is 1 MB. Sometimes it's 500 KB, and now and then you'll see a mean little 200 KB limit.
Most of the time the photo on your resume is to blame. Here's the fix: put 1 in the target size box and press Compress PDF. We drop the picture quality a notch, check the size, and keep going until it fits. Need 2 MB instead, or 10? Type that number.
Plain text PDFs barely put up a fight. Scans are another story. Take a 40-page colour scan: squeeze it under 500 KB and the words start to smudge. We won't do that to your file. The tool stops early and tells you the smallest size it managed.
How to reduce PDF size in KB
Got a form that talks in KB? Our box talks in MB, so you'll need to convert. Easy enough: just divide by 1,000. So for 500 KB you type 0.5. For 200 KB, type 0.2. Done. That's how you reduce the KB of a PDF here and get your PDF size less than the form's limit.
Oh, and some sites count 1 MB as 1,024 KB. No need to fuss over it. Our 1 MB is exactly 1,000,000 bytes, a hair under theirs, so your file still gets through.
What if the PDF still won't fit?
Chop it in half. Run it through Split PDF, upload the two parts one by one, and you're sorted. If the form takes links, you can just share the file that way instead.
Two files someone can actually read beat one big smudgy one, every time.
How to reduce PDF size for email
Hit send and nothing happens? Gmail and Outlook won't carry attachments much past 20 or 25 MB, and a lot of office mail servers give up well before that. So here's the easy way to reduce PDF size for email: leave the level on Balanced and image quality on Web (150 DPI), then compress the PDF. A scanned document usually comes out 60 to 90% smaller, and it still reads fine on any screen.
Can I compress a PDF without losing quality?
Smaller file, same look? Not 100%. Any time you take data out, something small goes with it. But you can get really close.
Here's how. Pick Light — best quality, then set Image quality to Keep original. Your pictures keep every pixel they had. We just save them again more neatly and throw out the junk the file doesn't use anymore.
Your text and drawings aren't touched at all. Zoom back to normal size and you'd have a hard time telling old from new. Making a portfolio or a brochure? Then the pictures are the whole point, so skip the last few megabytes and use Light. This is how you compress or resize a PDF without losing quality you'd ever notice.
Compressing a PDF to 1 MB without losing quality is tougher. A big file usually has to give a little back to get that small. Use Balanced with a target size of 1, then check the side-by-side preview before you download.
What stays exactly the same after compression?
- Your words stay real words. Highlight, copy, search: all of that still works.
- Links work. Bookmarks take you where they should. Pages stay in order.
- Charts and logos don't go fuzzy, even zoomed right in. They're drawn with lines, not dots, so compressing the PDF doesn't cost them any quality.
Why did my PDF barely get smaller?
Four things cause most of these cases, and only one of them is a real problem.
| What you see | Likely reason | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Only 10 to 20% smaller | The PDF is mostly text, which takes very little space | Nothing, the file was already small |
| A photo-heavy file hardly changed | Light — best quality or Keep original was selected | Switch to Balanced at Web (150 DPI) |
| Images are still large | Downsample embedded images was turned off | Turn it back on |
| It can't reach the target size | A long colour scan with a lot of detail | Try Maximum compression, or split the file into parts |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Is Convertavo's Compress PDF tool free and safe?
Is it free?
Yes, for everyday use. You get 20 free credits a day and each PDF costs 2, which works out to 10 free compressions every day.
There's no email to hand over and no watermark on the output. Files can be up to 25 MB without an account and 100 MB with a free one, and paid plans allow 200 MB to 1 GB, depending on the plan. Standard plans and above also get priority processing.
Is it safe for confidential files?
Files travel over HTTPS, an encrypted connection, and are deleted from our servers one hour after processing. Nothing is stored, read or reused.
If you'd rather strip hidden details before sharing, tick Remove metadata and leftover editing data.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. It runs in any modern browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, so there's nothing to install.
Drop your PDF into Convertavo above, keep it on Balanced, and check the side-by-side preview before you download.
Compress a PDFCompress PDF — frequently asked questions
Quick answers, in case you're stuck.
How much can a PDF be compressed?
Depends what's in it. A scan or a PDF full of photos often drops by 70 to 90%. Mostly text? Expect 10 to 20% at best, because there wasn't much weight there to begin with.
Can I compress a PDF to under 1 MB?
Most of the time, yes. Put 1 in Target size and let it work. The one that struggles is a long colour scan. If yours won't get there without going blurry, split it into two files and send both.
Will compressing a PDF make the text blurry?
Nope. We only touch the pictures. Typed words and drawings stay crisp however far you zoom. On Maximum compression the photos can go a little soft, and that's about it.
Is it safe to compress confidential PDFs here?
Your file goes up over HTTPS and we delete it an hour after it's done. We don't keep a copy, we don't read it, and we don't use it for anything else.
Why did my PDF barely get smaller?
Probably because it's mostly text. Text weighs almost nothing, so a text-only PDF might only lose 10 to 20%. Nothing's wrong; there just wasn't much to cut.
Does compressing a PDF remove the text layer from scans?
No. If you could search the text before, you still can after. We never flatten it into a picture. No text layer yet? Run the scan through PDF OCR first, then compress it.
More PDF tools that work well with compression
Drop your PDF into Convertavo above, keep it on Balanced, and check the side-by-side preview before you download.