To compress a PDF and reduce its file size for free, open the PDFEzy Compress PDF tool in your browser, add your PDF, choose a compression level, then click Compress and download the smaller file. There is no software to install and your file is never uploaded.
Why compress a PDF?
Large PDFs are slow to share and often bounce off email size limits. Compressing one shrinks it so it sends, uploads and downloads faster.
Common cases include emailing a scanned contract, attaching a portfolio to a job application, or fitting a document under a form's upload cap.
Step-by-step: compress a PDF in your browser
1. Open the Compress PDF tool
Go to the Compress PDF tool. It loads instantly in any modern browser — Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari — with nothing to download.
2. Add your PDF
Drag and drop your PDF onto the page, or click to browse and select it from your device. The file stays on your computer the whole time.
3. Choose a compression level
Pick how aggressively to shrink the file. A lighter setting keeps text and images sharp; a stronger setting saves more space when smaller size matters most.
4. Compress and download
Click Compress. PDFEzy reduces the file locally on your device and gives you a smaller PDF to download. The whole process takes seconds.
Practical tips
Image-heavy PDFs compress the most, so scans and photo-rich documents see the biggest size drop. Text-only files are already lean and shrink less.
Already combined several documents? Run a merged file from the Merge PDF tool through compression to keep it email-friendly. If you only need part of the document, the Split PDF tool can pull out the pages you want first.
Is it private?
Yes. PDFEzy runs entirely in your browser using client-side code, so your file is processed on your own device and never uploaded to a server. When you close the tab, nothing remains.