Why did my file barely get smaller?

Compression works on images. A PDF that is mostly text has little to remove, and you may see only a few percent. A scanned or photo-heavy document usually drops a great deal more.

What is the difference between the modes?

Lossless rewrites the file structure and drops unused objects — nothing visual changes and the text stays selectable, though on an already-tidy PDF the saving can be small. Balanced and Maximum both re-render every page as an image: far smaller, but the text stops being text, so it can no longer be searched, copied or read by a screen reader. Maximum pushes the quality and resolution further down than Balanced. Reach a size works backwards from a limit you give it.

Will it get under my email limit?

The result shows the before and after size, so you can see whether it cleared your limit before downloading. Most mail providers cap attachments at 20 or 25 MB.

Compress PDF

Lossless keeps the text selectable. Balanced and Maximum re-render the pages as images — far smaller, but the text stops being text.

Runs in your browser — nothing uploadednew

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How to use Compress PDF

Choose the PDF that is too large to send.
Pick Lossless to keep the text selectable. Balanced and Maximum both turn the pages into images, which is far smaller but no longer searchable.
Press Compress and check the saving shown before you download.

What size to aim for

Document	Realistic size	How
1–2 page CV, text only	40–150 KB	Exported straight to PDF
CV with a photo	150–400 KB	One balanced pass
Scanned certificate, 1 page	100–300 KB	150–200 dpi greyscale
10-page scanned document	600 KB – 1.5 MB	150 dpi greyscale, compressed once
Photo-heavy brochure	1–3 MB	Balanced, images at 150 dpi

Common upload caps: 500 KB on many job portals, 2 MB for Schengen visa documents, 20–25 MB for email attachments.

Questions

Why did my file barely get smaller?: Compression works on images. A PDF that is mostly text has little to remove, and you may see only a few percent. A scanned or photo-heavy document usually drops a great deal more.
What is the difference between the modes?: Lossless rewrites the file structure and drops unused objects — nothing visual changes and the text stays selectable, though on an already-tidy PDF the saving can be small. Balanced and Maximum both re-render every page as an image: far smaller, but the text stops being text, so it can no longer be searched, copied or read by a screen reader. Maximum pushes the quality and resolution further down than Balanced. Reach a size works backwards from a limit you give it.
Will it get under my email limit?: The result shows the before and after size, so you can see whether it cleared your limit before downloading. Most mail providers cap attachments at 20 or 25 MB.

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