Compress a PDF to the size you choose
Add your PDF, pick the largest size you can send (20 KB to 5 MB, or your own), and the tool finds the sharpest quality that fits. It runs on your device: no upload, no sign-up, no limit on files.
- Free, no sign-up
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing uploaded or kept
How to use it
Add your PDF
Drop it in the box. Delete or reorder pages first if that helps it fit.
Pick the size limit
Choose 20 KB, 50 KB, 100 KB, 200 KB, 300 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB, 2 MB or 5 MB, or type your own.
Compress and download
You see the result size, whether it fits, and how readable it is likely to be.
Drop PDFs or pictures here
The tool is loading. Add as many files as you like, of any size your device can hold.
Your files stay in this page. Nothing is uploaded, and nothing needs an account.
A size, not a setting
Most compressors give you low, medium or high and leave you to guess the result. Here you say the size you need and the tool works towards it: it tries settings on a few sample pages, writes the whole file, measures it, and adjusts if it came out over or well under.
What it trades for size
To meet a hard limit every page is redrawn as a picture and saved as a JPEG at the chosen quality. Text in the result can no longer be selected or searched. If your PDF is already under the limit, the tool says so and leaves it alone with its text intact. As a guide from our tests on scanned A4 text pages: about 100 KB a page or more reads clearly, about 60 KB a page is soft, and below about 25 KB a page the tool cannot go.
When it cannot get there
A document with many pages has a floor under which it cannot go. In that case the tool shows the smallest result it could make and says how far over your limit it is, and the fix is usually to remove pages or pick a larger size. A PDF made only of text can already be smaller than the same pages drawn as pictures; the tool then keeps your original and says so.
No limits, and why that is possible
Most online PDF tools upload your file to a server, do the work there and send it back, so they pay for every job and have to ration it. This tool does the work inside your browser instead, so one more file costs nothing and there is nothing to ration. That also means your document never leaves your device.
How it compares
For comparison, iLovePDF's own pricing page (checked 31 October 2026) lists its free plan as merging up to 25 files at a time (500 on Premium) and compressing 2 files per task (10 on Premium), with file-size caps of 100 MB for merging and 200 MB for compressing; Premium costs about $4 to $7 a month. Those are their limits, not ours.
Also searched for as: reduce pdf size, shrink pdf, make pdf smaller, compress pdf online free.
Related PDF tools
- Compress to 100 KBAdd your PDF, press Compress, and the tool makes it 100 KB or smaller, using the sharpest quality that fits.Open
- Compress to 200 KBAdd your PDF, press Compress, and the tool makes it 200 KB or smaller, using the sharpest quality that fits.Open
- Merge PDFDrop two or more PDFs (or pictures) into the page, drag the pages into the order you want, and download one PDF.Open
- Delete pagesAdd your PDF, click the pages you do not want, press Delete, and download what is left.Open
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF to under 1 MB?
Add it, keep the 1 MB button selected and press Compress. For another limit, press its button or type your own.
Does compressing lose quality?
Pages are redrawn at the sharpest quality that fits your limit, so a generous limit loses little and a very tight one loses more. The result screen tells you how readable it is likely to be.
Can I compress several PDFs at once?
Add them all and they become one list of pages; compress makes one file of them. To compress each file on its own, do them one after another, with no limit on how many.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. The tool runs in your browser: your files are read and written on your own device and nothing is sent to a server. You can check this yourself by opening your browser's network tab while you use it.
Is there a limit on file size, pages or number of files?
We set none: no cap on files, pages or megabytes, no daily limit and no sign-up. The only limit is your device's memory, and the tool warns you when the files you add come to more than about 400 MB.
What can this not do?
It works on pages: it reorders, turns, deletes, splits, merges and compresses them, and converts pictures and pages. It does not read the text in a scan (no OCR), edit the words inside a page, open password-protected PDFs, or convert to Word or Excel.
Does it add a watermark or anything else to my pages?
No watermark and nothing drawn on your pages. The only trace is the PDF's Producer field, which says the file was made by LetRelay free PDF tools.
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