Compress PDF
Hit exact size targets for email limits and government portals. Target-size mode finds the smallest file that meets your threshold.
Best for PDFs too large to email or upload to a government form.
▸▾What compresses well?
PDFs heavy in metadata, structural overhead, or embedded JPEG images — scanned documents, exported reports — shrink the most. Text-only PDFs and vector-heavy files will see little change. Use Aggressive mode to guarantee a smaller file: it converts every page to an image.
Drop files here
or click to browse · paste from clipboard
Accepts .PDF · Up to 1,000 files
How it works
Drop your files
Drag and drop, click to browse, or paste from clipboard. Up to 1,000 files at once.
Choose settings
Adjust quality, format, and other options to match your needs.
Click Convert
Everything runs in your browser via WebAssembly. Compress PDF happens locally — no server involved.
Download
Download files individually or grab all at once as a ZIP.
Common target sizes
- 100 KBHit the exact 100 KB target most government and exam portals require. Entirely in your browser.
- 200 KBFit mark sheets, certificates, and photo ID proofs into the 200 KB ceiling most Indian portals enforce.
- 300 KBMeet the document upload limit for state PSC and banking exam portals. No server upload required.
- 500 KBBetter quality than 100–200 KB while staying under the limit for DU, JoSAA, CUET, and job portals.
- 1 MBKeep your PDF under 1 MB for LinkedIn uploads, Schengen visa document packs, and conservative email recipients.
- 2 MBCompress multi-page scanned documents, academic submissions, and design portfolios to email-friendly size.
- 5 MBHit the WhatsApp document sweet spot and Turnitin / Moodle upload cap. Entirely in your browser.
- 10 MBStay under Outlook's default 10 MB email cap and send design portfolios without cloud links.
- 20 MBHit the corporate Outlook ceiling and meet government tender document upload limits.
- 25 MBStay under Gmail's 25 MB cap so your PDF arrives as an attachment, not a Drive link.
Frequently asked questions
No. Compression runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Your PDF is never sent to a server — ConvertYard only delivers the tool code.
No. Text in PDFs is stored as vector data, not pixels, so it stays sharp and fully searchable regardless of compression level. Only embedded images are recompressed. The exception is Aggressive mode, which converts every page to an image — that does make text unselectable.
This happens when the original already has heavily compressed images or contains mostly text with few images. There is little left to remove, and re-encoding can add overhead. The tool will return whichever version is smaller.
Low cleans up internal structure only. Medium strips metadata and rewrites cross-reference streams. High re-encodes embedded JPEG images at 30% quality in addition to metadata removal. Text and vector graphics are unaffected by any setting except Aggressive.
No. The tool cannot read encrypted PDFs. Remove the password first using the Unlock PDF tool, then compress.
Target-size mode runs up to six compression passes automatically — structural cleanup, then progressively lower JPEG quality (80 → 60 → 40 → 30%) — stopping as soon as your size target is met. The slider applies a single fixed pass. Use target-size mode when you have a hard limit (email attachment ceiling, government portal cap).
Related tools
Learn more
How ConvertYard compares
| Feature | ConvertYard | Adobe (Free) | Adobe Pro | iLovePDF | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact KB / MB target size | |||||
| Visual before/after preview | |||||
| File analyzer (what's bloating it) | |||||
| Custom DPI control | |||||
| Per-image-type quality | |||||
| Grayscale conversion | |||||
| Font subsetting | |||||
| Strip annotations / forms / embeds | |||||
| Linearize for fast web view | |||||
| Batch 1,000+ files | |||||
| Files uploaded to server | Never | Always | Always | Always | Always |
| Works offline after first load | |||||
| Free, no account required |
Accurate as of June 2026. Features may change — verify on vendor sites for critical decisions.