Which files work
Any .pdf up to 100 MB: scans, slide decks, reports with photos or plain text documents. Pick files from your computer or phone, Google Drive, Dropbox or a direct link, and upload several PDFs in one go.
Compress PDF Online
Reduce PDF file size in seconds, right in your browser. Drop in a file that’s too big to email or upload, and get back a PDF up to 90% lighter, ready to send.
- Shrink PDFs by up to 90%, with scans and slide decks often 4–8× smaller
- Free, no sign-up, no watermark
- No settings to fiddle with: one click and your PDF is smaller
or drag PDF files here
How to reduce PDF file size
It takes under a minute and you still get a PDF at the end. The tool only accepts PDF files, so if you’re starting from a Word document, spreadsheet or photo, save it as a PDF first.
What actually gets compressed
The tool recompresses the images inside the PDF and strips out dead weight such as duplicate objects and unused metadata. Text, links and page order stay as they are, so scans and photo-heavy documents shrink the most, while a text-only PDF gets only modestly smaller.
Processing
Speed depends on how many images there are and their resolution, not on the page count: a text PDF is done in seconds, a scan of several hundred pages takes up to a minute. You see the saving in percent once it finishes. In our test a 29.8 MB contract scan came out at 3.6 MB.
The result
You get a .pdf with the same pages and orientation and no watermark. Compression can't be undone, so keep the original and check that small print, stamps and signatures on scans are still legible. Still over the upload limit? Delete pages you don't need or split the document, because compressing an already compressed file again gains almost nothing.
More PDF tools
Shrinking the file is often just one step before you hit send. These tools run the same way: in your browser, free, with the same limits.
Put your ID, cover letter and certificates into a single application file with Merge PDF, or pull out just the pages someone asked for with Split PDF. Then compress the result so it fits the upload limit.
Need to fix a typo? Convert the PDF to Word, edit it, then turn it back with Word to PDF. Phone photos of receipts become a PDF with JPG to PDF, ready to compress.
Sending a bank statement or payslip? Lock it with Protect PDF first. For scans with no selectable text, OCR makes the words searchable and copyable.
How to compress a PDF to 1, 2 or 5 MB
There’s nothing to adjust: every file goes through the same standard setting. Your text, links and page order stay put; only the images inside the PDF are recompressed. How small it ends up depends on what’s in it.
Under 5 MB: most inboxes and portals
Scans, slide decks and photo-heavy PDFs usually land below 5 MB. In our test, a 29.8 MB scanned tenancy agreement came out at 3.6 MB and a 10.1 MB illustrated report at 0.8 MB.
Under 1–2 MB: strict upload limits
Some job sites and university portals won’t take anything over 1–2 MB. If you’re still above that after compressing, delete extra pages with Remove pages or split the PDF and upload it in parts.
Why some files barely shrink
The biggest savings come from scans, presentations and anything full of photos. A text-only document, or one that’s been compressed before, has little left to lose, and that’s expected.
Always start from the original
Running a compressed PDF through again gains almost nothing. Keep the original handy: if you need it smaller, trim pages from that copy and compress it once more.
PDF compression: common questions
Yes. Files up to 100 MB are free, up to 30 times a day, with no account and no watermark. BadPDF Pro, coming soon, lifts the daily limit and the 100 MB cap, handles dozens of PDFs in one batch, runs OCR on scans without limits, removes ads and puts your files at the front of the queue.
When a smaller PDF saves the day
Job applications. CV, cover letter and certificates in one file often top 10 MB, while many application portals stop at 2–5 MB. Compress the bundle and it goes through first time.
Email attachments. A passport scan, a signed contract and an invoice can easily add up to 30–40 MB. Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB, Outlook at 20 MB. After compressing, everything fits in one email.
Phone scans. Photos of documents saved as PDF often weigh 3–5 MB per page. Compressed, they’re 5–10 times lighter and the text is still easy to read.
Presentations and portfolios. Decks and portfolios full of photos open faster for the person you send them to and don’t stall in chat apps.
Getting a document ready to send? Merge PDF files or split a PDF, convert PDF to Word to edit the text, remove PDF pages you don’t need, password-protect a PDF or run OCR on a scan. Starting from a Word file or a photo? Turn it into a PDF first with Word to PDF or JPG to PDF.
How much smaller will my PDF get?
We ran two everyday documents through BadPDF. Your numbers will depend on the content, but this is the ballpark:
Scanned contract, 5 pages (29.8 MB)
- After compression: 3.6 MB (−88%)
Report with photos, 10 pages (10.1 MB)
- After compression: 0.8 MB (−92%)
Free vs Pro
The free version handles PDFs up to 100 MB, up to 30 times a day, with no sign-up and no watermark. We don’t keep your files.
BadPDF Pro will lift the daily limit and the file size cap, add batch compression for dozens of PDFs at once, unlimited OCR for scans and priority processing.
Browse every tool in the BadPDF catalogue.