PDF power tools
Compress and optimize a PDF
Choose lossless cleanup or smaller raster pages with an explicit quality trade-off. Your document is processed locally and is never uploaded to Novus PDF Studio.
Choose lossless cleanup or smaller raster pages with an explicit quality trade-off.
Drop PDF here
Files stay in this browser session. Maximum 200 MB each.
Loads a sample: 6 pages — a report with a cover and numbered sections.
Samples contain invented data only and are read from this site, not uploaded.
Your document preview will appear here.
Choose a PDF to begin.
About this tool
Compression is not one magic switch. Lossless cleanup rewrites the document efficiently while preserving text, links, vectors, forms and annotations; it is safe but cannot shrink a PDF whose objects are already compact.
Raster mode is the stronger option for image-heavy scans. It renders each page into a JPEG at the resolution and quality you choose, then rebuilds the PDF. That can cut size sharply, but the page becomes an image: selectable text, links, form fields and accessibility tags are removed. The workspace states that trade-off before processing and the export report repeats it afterwards.
How to compress step by step
- 1
Choose the PDF
Upload one PDF or open the included report sample. The file is inspected locally.
- 2
Choose a mode
Use Lossless cleanup for a safe rewrite, or Raster pages for a smaller visual copy.
- 3
Set raster quality
For raster mode, choose DPI and JPEG quality. Lower settings reduce size but soften text and images.
- 4
Compress and compare
Download the result and use the export report's before/after byte counts to confirm whether the trade was worthwhile.
When to use it
- Meeting an email attachment limit
- Reducing image-heavy scan size
- Repacking a PDF without changing its page content
Tips
- Try lossless mode first.
- Use 120–150 DPI for readable office scans.
- Keep the original whenever you choose raster mode.
Good to know
- Lossless savings depend on the source structure.
- Raster mode removes interactive and semantic page features.
Compress questions, answered
Why did lossless mode not make my PDF smaller?
Many modern PDFs already use compressed object streams. Lossless cleanup refuses to degrade content, so an already-efficient file may stay the same size or grow slightly.
Does raster mode keep searchable text?
No. Raster mode intentionally turns every page into one image. Run OCR afterwards if you need a new searchable text layer.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Both modes run in the local processing worker and the before/after sizes are computed in your tab.
Privacy note: like every Novus PDF Studio tool, compressruns entirely in your browser. Files, passwords, and settings stay in this tab's memory and are discarded when you close it — there is no upload, no queue, and no server-side copy. Read more on the privacy page.