PDF tool · free every day

Compress a PDF free, without uploading it

Make a PDF smaller for email or an upload limit. Free every day, and the file stays on your computer.

Most online PDF compressors upload your file, shrink it on their servers, and send it back. UpfrontPDF compresses the PDF inside this page, on your own computer, so the file is never sent anywhere. Pick one of three levels. Light rewrites the file and keeps text selectable. Medium and strong rebuild each page as an image, which is what makes a big scan small enough to email. You see the size before and after, and if compressing would make a file bigger, you get your original back unchanged. It is free every day, with no account, no email, and no watermark.

How to compress a PDF

Add your PDF. Drag it onto the box or click to choose it. The free plan takes up to 3 at a time.
Pick a level. Light keeps text selectable. Medium and strong rebuild pages as images, which is what makes scans small.
Compress and download. The page shows the size before and after, and gives you a download button.

When people use this

Getting a scanned contract or lease under an email attachment limit.
Fitting an application, form, or ID scan under a website's upload limit.
Shrinking a PDF made from phone photos with Image to PDF.
Compressing a file after combining it with Merge PDF, or cutting pages first with Split PDF.

On Mac, Windows, iPhone, or Android

It runs in any modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox), so there is nothing to install. Very large files are limited by your device's memory, since that is where the work happens.

Honest limits

Medium and strong turn each page into an image: text can no longer be selected or searched, and links and form fields do not survive.
A PDF that is mostly text is already small. It may barely shrink, and the image levels would make it bigger, so you get the original back.
There is no exact-size setting. Pick a level and check the size shown.
Free: 3 runs per tool per day, 10 MB per file, 3 files at a time. Plans: no daily cap, any number of files, 200 MB per file. See pricing.

Your file stays on your computer

The work happens in this page, in your browser. Your file is never uploaded, stored, or seen by us. If you like, open your browser's network tab while you use the tool: nothing is sent. Details in the privacy policy.

Worked example

Input

A 267 KB scanned invoice, one photographic page.

Output

Strong: about 18 KB, the same page size, still readable on screen.

Questions people ask

How do I make a PDF small enough to email?

Try medium first and check the size shown. Many email services cap attachments at about 20 to 25 MB. Strong is for big scans that still need to fit.

Can I compress a PDF to 100 KB or 200 KB?

There is no exact-size setting, so pick a level and check the size shown. As a guide, a 267 KB one-page scan comes out at about 18 KB on strong. Long or text-heavy files shrink much less.

Can I compress a PDF without losing quality?

Light does not touch the content. It only rewrites the file structure, so text and images look the same. It helps bloated exports, but does little for scans. Medium and strong turn every page, text included, into a lower-resolution image, so they trade some sharpness for size.

Is my PDF uploaded?

No. Compression runs in this page with pdf.js and pdf-lib. Open developer tools (F12), choose Network, and compress. No request carries your file.

Is it free? Is there a watermark?

Free every day up to the daily cap, with no account and no watermark. Free files can be up to 10 MB; a plan takes files up to 200 MB.

Can I compress a password-protected PDF?

If it needs a password to open, no. Remove the password first, then compress that copy. If it only blocks printing or copying, use medium or strong. Light cannot read protected files.

Guide: How to make a PDF small enough to email.

Related tools

To put files together first, merge PDF files without uploading.