Compress PDF Files
Make PDFs smaller — choose quality or maximum savings
To compress a PDF, drop it below, pick Basic — which keeps text selectable — or Strong for the smallest size, and click Compress. Fylo optimises the file in your browser and shows the size before and after; if the result isn't smaller, it keeps your original. Nothing is uploaded, and there's no size limit.
Drop PDFs here
or tap to browse · paste with Ctrl+V · add many at once
Your files never leave your device
Advanced
Basic compression has no extra options. Choose Strong to control resolution and quality.
How to compress PDF
Add your PDF
Drop one or more PDFs into the box or tap to choose them.
Choose a level
Basic keeps text and quality; Strong turns pages into compressed images. Fine-tune DPI and quality under Advanced.
Compress and download
Click Compress PDF, compare the sizes and download the smaller file.
Basic vs Strong compression
Basic compression rebuilds the PDF's internal structure: it packs objects into compressed object streams and drops unused objects and metadata. Text, vectors and images are untouched, so quality is identical — but savings are modest, typically up to around 20%, and larger for files exported by older software.
Strong compression renders each page to an image and re-encodes it as JPG at the quality and resolution you choose. This can shrink scanned documents and image-heavy PDFs by 50–90%, but text becomes part of the image and is no longer selectable or searchable.
Which level should I use?
Use Strong for scans, photographed documents and when a portal demands a small file, for example under 1 MB or 200 KB. Use Basic for digital documents — contracts, reports, e-books — where searchable text matters more than the last few kilobytes.
To be transparent about the limits: browser-based tools can't yet re-compress the individual images inside a PDF while leaving its text intact, the method desktop apps such as Acrobat use. We're working on it; until then, Strong is the way to get big savings.
| Setting | Text selectable | Typical reduction | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Yes | 0–20% | Digital documents |
| Strong (150 DPI, 70% quality) | No | 50–90% on scans | Scans and photos |
| Strong (100 DPI, 50% quality) | No | 70–95% on scans | Very small upload limits |
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF to under 1 MB or 200 KB?
Choose Strong and lower the DPI and quality under Advanced. For text pages, 100 DPI at 50% quality is usually still readable.
Why didn't my PDF get smaller?
It was probably already well optimised, or it's mostly text and vectors. Basic can't shrink those much — try Strong if you don't need selectable text.
Does compression reduce print quality?
Basic doesn't. Strong does, depending on the DPI you choose: 150 DPI looks fine on screen; choose 200 DPI or more if you'll print.
Can I compress several PDFs at once?
Yes. Drop multiple files; each is compressed separately and you can download them individually or as a ZIP.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. Compress PDF runs entirely in your browser — your files are processed on your own device and never sent anywhere. Once the page has loaded, it even keeps working if your connection drops.
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