Compress a PDF
Shrink a PDF so it fits email limits and upload forms. Choose how hard to compress, and see exactly how much smaller the file became. Nothing is uploaded.
or drop it here
Files never leave your device · Free, no sign-up · No watermark
How to compress a PDF
- Choose or drop the PDF you want to make smaller.
- Pick a level: Lossless keeps every pixel, Recommended balances size and quality, Strong makes the smallest file.
- Select Compress PDF, check the new size, and download.
How the compression works
Every level removes unused objects, packs the file structure into compressed object streams and compresses any uncompressed data. Recommended and Strong also re-encode large photos as JPEG and scale down images larger than needed for screen and office printing: up to 2200 pixels on the long side for Recommended, 1400 for Strong. Text and vector graphics are never rasterised, so they stay sharp and searchable.
What to expect
Scanned documents and PDFs full of photos usually shrink the most, often by 70 to 95 percent. PDFs that are mostly text are already compact and may shrink only a little. If the result is not smaller, the original was already well optimised.
Questions about Compress PDF
Are my files uploaded when I compress a PDF?
No. Scissor PDF runs a PDF engine written in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly inside your browser tab. Your files are read from your disk into the page's memory, processed there and saved back to your device. The site has no upload endpoint, and its Content Security Policy blocks the page from sending data to any other server.
Which compression level should I choose?
Start with Recommended. It typically cuts photo-heavy PDFs by more than half while staying sharp on screen and in print. Use Strong when you must get under a strict size limit, and Lossless when the images must not change at all.
Will the text in my PDF become blurry?
No. Only embedded photos are re-encoded. Text, fonts and vector drawings are kept exactly as they were.
How do I get a PDF under 1 MB or 2 MB for an upload form?
Try Strong compression. If it is still too big, split the document with Split PDF, or remove pages you do not need with Delete pages, then compress again.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
It is free, with no account, no daily task limit and no watermark added to your documents. Because the work happens on your own computer, there is no server cost per file for us to recover.