Compress PDF

Use PDFYogi's browser-based compression tool - it's completely free with no file size limits, no daily usage limits, and no registration required. Simply visit our website, select your PDF, choose a compression level (High Quality, Balanced, or Maximum), and download the result. Unlike 'freemium' tools like Smallpdf (limited to 2 files/hour) or iLovePDF (limited tasks/day), we have zero restrictions. Compress unlimited PDFs forever, completely free.

With PDFYogi, yes - it's completely safe because your files never go 'online' in the traditional sense. Unlike tools that upload your files to servers (Adobe, Smallpdf, iLovePDF), our browser-based compression processes everything locally on your device. Your file never leaves your computer or phone. You can verify this by opening your browser's Developer Tools (F12 → Network tab) - you'll see zero network requests during compression. No upload means no privacy concerns.

It depends on the compression level you choose. Our High Quality setting (60-70% reduction) produces minimal visible quality loss - text remains razor-sharp, and images stay clear. The Balanced setting (70-80% reduction) causes slight image quality loss but maintains excellent readability. Maximum compression (80-85% reduction) creates noticeable image quality degradation but keeps text readable. Always start with High Quality and increase compression only if needed. Text is always compressed losslessly, so it stays perfectly sharp.

True lossless compression (zero quality loss, smaller file size) is possible but limited - typically achieving only 10-20% reduction through metadata removal and stream optimization. Most PDFs contain images, and significant compression requires lossy algorithms. However, our High Quality setting produces results that appear 'lossless' to the human eye for most business documents. Text remains perfectly sharp (text compression is lossless), and images are compressed minimally using industry-standard JPEG algorithms.

Typical compression results: Text-heavy documents (40-60% reduction) - A 10MB business report compresses to 4-6MB. Business presentations (60-75% reduction) - A 30MB presentation compresses to 7-12MB. Scanned documents (75-90% reduction) - A 50MB scanned contract compresses to 5-10MB. Already-compressed PDFs (5-15% additional reduction) - Limited gains if already optimized. Results vary based on PDF content type and the compression level you choose.

PDFs are large usually due to: (1) Embedded high-resolution images - Scanned pages, screenshots, and photos account for 70-90% of file size. Scanner default settings often use 300-600 DPI when 150 DPI is sufficient. (2) Uncompressed streams - Some PDF creators don't compress internal data streams, leaving them uncompressed. (3) Embedded fonts - Full font files (2-5MB each) instead of font subsets containing only used characters. (4) Metadata and thumbnails - Preview thumbnails, edit history, annotations, and excessive metadata add overhead. Our compression tool addresses all these issues automatically.

Email providers have attachment limits (Gmail: 25MB, Outlook: 20MB, Yahoo: 25MB). To compress for email: (1) Upload your PDF to our tool, (2) Select Balanced compression (70-80% reduction) - good balance for email, (3) Download the compressed PDF, (4) Attach to your email. A 30MB PDF typically compresses to 7-9MB, fitting comfortably under email limits. If your PDF is still too large after Balanced compression, try Maximum compression (80-85% reduction) for the smallest possible size.

The best method depends on your priorities: For privacy → use PDFYogi (browser-based, no upload required). For quality → use High Quality compression mode (60-70% reduction). For maximum size reduction → use Maximum compression mode (80-85% reduction). For balance → use Balanced mode (70-80% reduction, recommended for most users). Avoid using free online tools that upload files to servers if your PDF contains sensitive information like contracts, financial documents, or personal data. Our recommendation: Start with PDFYogi's High Quality mode - you get excellent compression without privacy concerns or subscription costs.

To preserve quality: (1) Choose High Quality mode - Accepts 60-70% reduction to maintain visual fidelity. (2) Avoid recompressing - Compressing an already-compressed PDF degrades quality further with diminishing returns. (3) Match compression to content - Text-heavy documents tolerate higher compression than presentations with photos/graphics. (4) Test first - Compress one document, verify quality meets your needs, then process others. (5) Consider your output medium - Documents for printing need higher quality (High Quality mode) than documents for screen viewing only (Balanced or Maximum acceptable).

No. Our tool runs entirely in your web browser using WebAssembly technology - no installation required. Visit our website, select your PDF, compress, and download. No software to install, no system requirements beyond a modern browser (Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 14+, Edge 90+), no antivirus conflicts, no updates to manage, no disk space consumed. This is one of the key advantages of browser-based tools: instant access without the overhead of installed software. Works on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android without any installation.

Processing time depends on file size and device performance: Small PDFs under 5MB (2-5 seconds), Medium PDFs 5-20MB (5-10 seconds), Large PDFs 20-100MB (10-30 seconds), Very large PDFs 100MB+ (30-60 seconds). Upload-based tools like Adobe, Smallpdf, and iLovePDF add 15-60 seconds for file upload/download on top of processing time depending on your internet speed. Our browser-based approach eliminates upload/download time entirely - processing starts immediately when you click compress.

No. Your files never upload to any server. Our tool uses WebAssembly technology to process PDFs entirely in your browser, on your device. The PDF file is read into your browser's memory (RAM), compressed locally using algorithms running on your CPU, then saved to your download folder. No data transmission occurs during compression. Zero network activity. You can verify this yourself: open Developer Tools (F12 in Chrome/Firefox → Network tab) while compressing - you'll see zero network activity during the compression process. Your file genuinely never leaves your device.

Browser-based processing is inherently safer than server-based tools because: (1) No data leaves your device - Your file exists only in your browser's memory (RAM). (2) No server storage - Files can't be stored, leaked, hacked, or accessed on servers. (3) Verifiable security - You can monitor network activity and confirm zero file transmission using browser dev tools. (4) Works offline - Load our page, disconnect internet, still process PDFs. This proves no upload occurs. (5) Browser sandboxing - Modern browsers isolate web applications, preventing unauthorized file system access. (6) No trust required - You don't have to trust our 'we delete files after 1 hour' promise because files never reach us in the first place.

Yes. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) requires protecting personal data during collection, processing, and storage. Since we never collect or process your data on our servers (everything happens in your browser), we don't fall under most GDPR data processing requirements. Your files remain under your exclusive control throughout the compression process. We don't collect filenames, file contents, IP addresses for processing, or personal information. For EU users processing sensitive documents (contracts, financial records, personal data): our tool provides complete GDPR compliance because your data never enters our systems. It's processed entirely client-side on your device.

Use PDFYogi in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox on macOS - works perfectly, files never leave your Mac, 5-15 second processing. Mac's Preview app also has a 'Reduce File Size' Quartz filter (File → Export → Quartz Filter → Reduce File Size) but this method has NO quality control and often produces poor results with excessive quality loss. Our tool provides better quality control with 3 compression levels and faster processing than Mac's built-in method. For Mac users: PDFYogi in Safari is recommended for best experience and complete privacy.

Open PDFYogi in Safari on your iPhone: (1) Tap 'Choose File' or 'Select Files' and select PDF from Files app, iCloud Drive, or other sources, (2) Choose compression level (High Quality, Balanced, or Maximum), (3) Tap 'Compress PDF' button, (4) Download result to Files app or share directly. Works perfectly on iPhone 8 and newer, iPad with iOS 14+. Processing happens locally on your iPhone using Safari's WebAssembly support - no upload required, works even if you lose internet connection during compression. For best performance, use Safari browser (recommended) or Chrome.

No. Password-protected (encrypted) PDFs cannot be compressed without first removing the password. The encryption prevents any modification to the file structure, including compression. To compress a password-protected PDF: (1) Use our Unlock PDF tool to remove the password (you must know the password to unlock), (2) Compress the unlocked PDF using our Compress PDF tool, (3) Optionally use our Protect PDF tool to re-add password protection after compression if needed. This ensures your compressed PDF remains secure.

Yes! Our tool supports batch processing. Upload multiple PDF files (your browser's memory permitting), select your compression level, and all files will be compressed with the same settings. Each file is processed individually and you can download them separately or all at once as a ZIP file. For processing many files: open multiple browser tabs to compress several files simultaneously (3-5 tabs recommended). Most computers handle 3-5 concurrent compressions without slowdown depending on available RAM and CPU performance.

The minimum achievable size depends on content type: Text-heavy PDFs (40-60% of original size) - A 10MB report becomes 4-6MB. Business presentations (25-40% of original size) - A 30MB presentation becomes 7-12MB. Scanned documents (10-20% of original size) - A 100MB scanned document becomes 10-20MB. Already-compressed PDFs (90-95% of original size) - Minimal additional reduction possible. Using Maximum compression on a 100MB scanned document typically produces a 10-15MB result (85-90% reduction). However, extremely aggressive compression degrades quality significantly - always verify output quality before using for important purposes.