Compress PDF
Shrink PDF file size by recompressing embedded images and removing redundant objects. Perfect for emailing large PDFs or uploading to systems with size limits.
On the way
Compress PDF is coming soon
Shrink PDF file size by recompressing embedded images and removing redundant objects. Perfect for emailing large PDFs or uploading to systems with size limits.
We're still building this one. We'd rather not ship it until it works reliably end-to-end — no fake progress bars, no pretend success screens.
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Going deeper
Why PDF compression is harder than it looks
PDF is a container format, not a single kind of content. A typical PDF might contain compressed JPEGs, vector graphics, embedded fonts, form fields, interactive widgets, JavaScript and digital signatures — all stored in different streams with different compression schemes. A real compressor needs to handle each of these correctly without breaking anything, which is why naive 'zip the PDF' approaches don't actually shrink anything.
Most of the size in a real-world PDF comes from embedded images. A scanned PDF at 300 DPI with 200 pages of letter-sized images is hundreds of megabytes of JPEG data. Recompressing those streams at a slightly lower quality, or downsampling them to 150 DPI, is where most of the savings come from. Text and vector content is already very compact — recompressing it gains almost nothing.
Until our compressor is stable enough to handle edge cases (forms, digital signatures, encrypted PDFs), we won't ship it. We'd rather show a coming-soon notice than deliver a tool that quietly breaks your documents.
What you get
Features
Three quality presets (light, balanced, strong)
Image recompression with no structural loss
Removes unused objects and metadata
Reports original and compressed sizes
Coming soon — vote to be notified at launch
Step by step
How to use
- 1
Upload the PDF you want to compress.
- 2
Pick a quality preset.
- 3
Click Compress.
- 4
Download the smaller PDF.
Your privacy
How this tool handles your file
When this tool ships, your PDF will be processed in a per-request temp directory and deleted immediately afterwards. The same privacy practices as all WOW PDF tools will apply.
Read more about our security practices or see our privacy policy.
Frequently asked
Common questions
Keep going
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