Best Free PDF Compressor Online
PDF compressors only shrink files meaningfully when the PDF contains large embedded images. Here are the best free options and how they handle privacy.
Top picks
- Irreva — browser-based, no upload, unlimited free use
- Smallpdf — polished UI, uploads to servers, free tier limits
- iLovePDF — broad PDF suite, server processing
- PDF24 — desktop + online, mixed privacy model
What actually gets compressed?
Text and vector content in PDFs is already compact. Compression tools re-encode embedded JPEG/PNG images inside the PDF. Scanned PDFs benefit most; text-only PDFs may barely shrink.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I compress a PDF?
Image-heavy PDFs often shrink 40–80%. Text-only PDFs may only drop a few percent.