# Compress PDF — Reduce PDF Size in Your Browser

> Compress a PDF locally in your browser. Pages are re-encoded at the quality you choose and the smaller file downloads — no upload, no account.

Source: https://toolpantry.app/compress-pdf

## About

Shrink scans and image-heavy PDFs to fit upload limits — pages are re-encoded locally at the quality you choose.

## Quick answer

How do I compress a PDF for free? Choose a PDF, pick a compression level, and download the smaller file. The pages are re-encoded in your browser — the document is never uploaded.

## How PDF compression works here

1. **Add your PDF** — every page is rendered locally at the resolution of the level you pick.
2. **Pick a level** — Strong squeezes hardest, Light keeps the most detail.
3. **Download** — the status line shows the before and after sizes so you can keep the winner.

## When this helps most

- Scanned documents and phone-photo PDFs — often shrunk by 50–90%
- Uploads that must fit under a 5 MB or 10 MB portal limit
- Court, visa, and application portals that reject large files

## Good to know

Rasterizing flattens text, links, and forms into images, so always keep the original. Text-heavy documents that were already small may not shrink at all — the tool tells you when that happens. Need page images instead of a PDF? Use [PDF to JPG](https://toolpantry.app/pdf-to-jpg.html). Combining documents first? [Merge PDF](https://toolpantry.app/merge-pdf.html) pairs well, and [Split PDF](https://toolpantry.app/split-pdf.html) helps when only some pages are too heavy.

## Notes

Compression re-encodes pages as images to make scans and image-heavy files smaller. Text becomes part of the image — keep the original for searchable text, links, or forms.

## FAQ

**Is the PDF uploaded anywhere?**

No. The document is read, re-encoded, and rebuilt inside your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.

**Will the text stay selectable?**

No. Compression re-encodes each page as an image, so text, links, and form fields are flattened. Keep the original file when you need to copy or edit text.

**Why is the result bigger sometimes?**

Text-heavy or already-optimized PDFs can grow when rasterized. The status line always shows both sizes before you decide which file to keep.