Compress PDF
Make a PDF smaller. Pick a level, click once, and download. Text and vector graphics stay sharp. Your file never leaves your device.
How it works
- 1
Drop a PDF into the box, or click to choose it.
- 2
Pick a level. Lossless keeps every pixel. Balanced is the best choice for most files. Smallest gives the smallest file.
- 3
Click Compress PDF. The tool shows the old size and the new size, and the file downloads at once.
Secure and private by design
- Files never leave your deviceThe tool runs as JavaScript in your browser. There is no upload and no server-side copy of your document.
- Works offlineAfter the page loads, you can disconnect from the internet. Processing does not need a connection.
- No queue, no limitsYour device does the work, so there is no waiting line, no daily quota, and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on what is in the file. A PDF full of large photos or scans can shrink by 50 to 90 percent with the Balanced level. A PDF that holds only text and vector graphics shrinks much less, often by 5 to 20 percent, because there is nothing large to re-encode. The tool shows the old size and the new size after each run.
Balanced is the best choice for most files. It limits images to 1600 pixels on the long side, which is sharp on a screen and fine for normal printing. Choose Smallest for email attachments and upload limits. It limits images to 1100 pixels and uses stronger JPEG compression. Choose Lossless when the images must stay exactly as they are. It only cleans the file structure and removes unused data.
No. Text, fonts, lines, and vector graphics are not changed at any level. Only large photos and scans are re-encoded, and only in the Balanced and Smallest levels. If the new image is not smaller than the old one, the old one is kept.
Some files are already as small as they can be. The images in them are already small JPEGs, or the file has no images at all, only text and vector shapes. Files that another tool has already compressed also show little change. In that case the tool tells you that the file was already compact.
JPEG images and uncompressed or Flate-compressed RGB and grayscale images that are at least 64 KB and at least 200 pixels wide or high. Images with transparency, indexed colors, CMYK, or unusual color spaces are kept as they are so the colors cannot go wrong.
No. PDF Anvil runs entirely in your browser. Your file is opened by JavaScript on your own device, and the result is built there too. Nothing is sent to us. You can turn off your internet connection after the page loads and the tool still works.
No. There is no page limit, no file count limit, and no daily quota. The only limit is the memory of your device. Files above 100 MB show a warning, but they still work on most computers.
Yes, it is free, and there is no account. No sign-up, no email, no watermark, and no premium tier. PDF Anvil is a KafLabs side project that exists to be useful.