Free Tool

Reduce PDF Size —
Shrink Instantly

Make your PDF smaller for email, upload, or sharing — without losing readability. Choose your compression level and download in seconds.

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Why Is Your PDF Too Large?

PDFs grow large for several reasons: high-resolution images embedded in the file, fonts stored in full, or layers and metadata that accumulate over time. A 20MB PDF isn't unusual — but it's often unnecessary. Most PDFs can be shrunk significantly without any visible change in quality.

PDFix uses Ghostscript under the hood to intelligently downsample images and remove redundant data, giving you a smaller file that still looks great. If you're working with images, you can also convert images to PDF first and then compress the result.

Choose Your Compression Level

📱

Small

72 DPI — Smallest file. Best for screen-only viewing and web sharing.

🖨️

High Quality

300 DPI — Minimal compression. Best for printing or archiving.

How to Reduce PDF Size in 3 Steps

1
Upload your PDFDrag and drop or click to select. Files up to 5MB supported.
2
Choose compression levelPick Small, Balanced, or High Quality based on your needs.
3
Download smaller PDFSee the before/after size comparison and download instantly.
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Common Reasons to Reduce PDF Size

After reducing your PDF, you might also want to merge it with other PDFs or add a watermark before sharing. For email-specific optimization, see our optimize PDF for email guide.

Shrink Your PDF Now

See exactly how much space you save. Results shown with before/after comparison. Free, private, instant.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much can I reduce a PDF file size?
Results vary by PDF content. Image-heavy PDFs can often be reduced by 50–80%. PDFs that are mostly text see less reduction, typically 10–30%.
Will reducing PDF size affect quality?
It depends on the compression level you choose. The 'Balanced' setting (150 DPI) is recommended for most uses — it produces a significant size reduction while keeping text and images readable.
What is the best way to reduce PDF size for email?
Use the 'Small' or 'Balanced' compression setting in PDFix. These reduce the file to screen or email-friendly sizes while keeping the document readable.
Is it free to reduce PDF size online?
Yes. PDFix is completely free. No signup, no payment required. Files up to 5MB are supported.
Does PDFix store my PDF after compression?
No. All uploaded and processed files are automatically deleted from our servers within 15 minutes.

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