Compress PDF

How to Reduce PDF File Size — 5 Methods

Updated May 2026 · 5 min read

PDF file too large to email? Failing an upload size limit? There's no single best way to shrink a PDF — the right method depends on what's inside the file. This guide compares five options so you can pick the fastest one for your situation.

Quickest option: compress your PDF in your browser — free.

Open PDF Compressor →

Method 1: Browser-Based Compression Free Fastest

GoToPDF Compress PDF

Best for: Text-heavy PDFs, quick results, privacy-sensitive files.

How to use: Go to gotopdf.net/compress-pdf/, drop your PDF, click Compress. Done in seconds.

Typical reduction: 10–40% for text PDFs. Less for image-heavy files.

Pros: Free, instant, private — no upload, works on any device.

Cons: Won't re-encode images, so image-heavy PDFs see less reduction.

Method 2: Re-export from the Source Application

Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs, Canva

Best for: Files you created yourself and still have the original.

How to use: In Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, go to File → Save As → PDF, and look for "Minimum size (publishing online)" or "Optimize for: Minimum Size". In Google Docs, File → Download → PDF Document. In Canva, Download → PDF Standard instead of PDF Print.

Typical reduction: 30–70% compared to default exports.

Pros: Large gains, no third-party tools needed.

Cons: Only works if you have the original editable file.

Method 3: Print to PDF at Lower Quality

Windows Print to PDF / Mac Print dialog

Best for: Any PDF you can open in a viewer, when quality loss is acceptable.

How to use (Windows): Open the PDF in Adobe Reader or Edge. Press Ctrl+P, select "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the printer, and print. The re-printed PDF is usually smaller.

How to use (Mac): Open PDF in Preview, File → Print → PDF (bottom left) → Save as PDF. Use the Quartz Filter for extra reduction.

Typical reduction: 20–60%, but image quality may degrade.

Pros: No software to install beyond what's already on your OS.

Cons: Can reduce image quality. May alter layout slightly.

Method 4: Remove Unnecessary Pages First

Split out unwanted pages before compressing

Best for: Large documents where you only need part of the content.

How to use: Use the Split PDF tool to extract individual pages, then merge only the pages you need into a new, smaller document.

Typical reduction: Proportional to the pages removed — removing half the pages roughly halves the file size.

Pros: No quality loss, works well for trimming reports or removing cover pages.

Cons: Only helps if you don't need all the pages.

Method 5: Ghostscript (Advanced, Free)

Command-line compression via Ghostscript

Best for: Image-heavy PDFs, scanned documents, bulk processing.

How to use: Install Ghostscript (free, open source) and run:

gs -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dCompatibilityLevel=1.4 -dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sOutputFile=output.pdf input.pdf

Replace /ebook with /screen (more compression, lower quality) or /prepress (less compression, higher quality).

Typical reduction: 40–80% for scanned or image-heavy PDFs.

Pros: Strongest compression available, handles images by re-encoding them at a target DPI.

Cons: Requires installing software and using a terminal.

Which Method Should You Use?

Text PDF, need it fast: Browser tool (Method 1).
Have the original file: Re-export from source (Method 2).
Image-heavy or scanned PDF: Ghostscript (Method 5).
Only need part of the document: Split + merge (Method 4).
No tools available, just a PDF reader: Print to PDF (Method 3).

Start with the fastest free option — compress in your browser.