Make a PDF smaller without uploading it
Get scans and application documents under the size limit. The whole thing runs on your device — your passport scan never leaves it.
About this pdf compressor
Most PDFs that are "too big" are scans — pages photographed or scanned at far higher resolution than anyone needs to read them. This tool re-renders each page at a sensible resolution and re-encodes it, which is where the size actually goes. A 12 MB scanned application pack routinely comes out under 1 MB.
It all happens inside your browser. That is the part that matters for the documents people usually need to shrink: passports, payslips, bank statements, medical letters, signed contracts. Those are exactly the files you should not be handing to an unknown server, and here there is no server to hand them to.
One honest caveat, stated up front rather than buried: compression works by turning each page into an image. For a scan that changes nothing, because a scan was already a picture. For a document with real text, the text stops being selectable and searchable. The tool checks your file and tells you which case you are in before you commit.
How to use it
- 1Drop in your PDF, or tap to choose one. It is read straight from your disk — nothing is uploaded, which matters when the document is a passport scan or a bank statement.
- 2Check the notice. If the file is a scan you will see a green note; if it contains real text you get a warning, because compressing turns text into an image.
- 3Pick a level. Balanced suits most upload limits. Drop to Smallest when a portal is refusing your file, or stay on High quality if it is going to be printed.
- 4Tick black & white for text scans. Colour information is wasted on a photographed document, and removing it often halves the size again.
- 5Compress, check the new size, and download. Not small enough? Change the settings and run it again — the original is untouched.
When an upload portal rejects your file anyway
Government and visa portals are notorious for rejecting files that are comfortably under the stated limit. If that happens, the size usually is not the real problem:
- The limit may be total, not per file. Many portals apply their cap across the whole submission.
- Rename the file. Use plain characters —
passport.pdf, no spaces, accents or symbols. Portals choke on these constantly and almost never say so. - Check it is not password protected. Even a restriction password with no open-password gets files rejected outright.
- Start a fresh session. Clear your cache or use a private window. Portals often cache the first failed attempt and keep rejecting even after you fix the file.
- Test with a tiny file. Upload a one-page PDF. If that fails too, the problem is the portal or your session, not your document — and you can stop re-compressing.
Frequently asked questions
Do my documents get uploaded anywhere?
No. The PDF is read from your disk into your browser's memory, processed there, and handed straight back. Nothing is transmitted. This matters more here than anywhere else on the site, because the files people need to shrink are usually passports, bank statements and medical letters — precisely what you should not hand to an unknown server.
How much smaller will my PDF get?
For scanned documents, typically 80–95% smaller — a 12 MB application pack usually lands under 1 MB. Scans are the big win because they are almost always captured at far higher resolution than anyone needs to read. PDFs that are already small and text-based may barely shrink, and the tool tells you honestly when that happens.
Will the text still be selectable afterwards?
No — and this is the one real trade-off. Compression works by rendering each page and re-encoding it as an image, so text becomes a picture of text: no longer selectable, searchable, or readable by screen readers. For a scan this changes nothing, since a scan was already a picture. For a text document it is a genuine loss, so the tool detects which you have and warns you before you commit. Keep your original either way.
My upload portal still says the file is too big. Why?
Government and visa portals frequently reject files well under the stated limit, and the error message is usually misleading. Check whether the limit applies to your whole submission rather than each file, rename the file to something plain like passport.pdf with no spaces or accents, make sure it is not password protected, and try a fresh browser session — portals often cache the first failed attempt. If a one-page test PDF also fails, the problem is the portal, not your document.
What does the black & white option do?
It removes colour information before compressing. On a photographed or scanned text document the colour carries no useful information, so dropping it often halves the size again with no practical loss in readability. Leave it off for anything containing photographs, charts or coloured stamps you need to keep.