About Compress PDF
Compress PDF reduces file size using two strategies. The Smart preset losslessly cleans up the document structure with pdf-lib — fast, safe, and perfect for text-heavy PDFs. The Aggressive presets rasterize each page at a controlled DPI and re-embed it as JPEG, which can shrink scanned documents by 70–95%.
Every preset previews the trade-off before you commit. You see the projected output size and a side-by-side quality sample, then pick the level that hits your target — under 100KB for a job application, under 1MB for an email attachment, or just 'as small as possible' for archival.
Like every PDFVibe tool, compression happens in your browser. Sensitive resumes, design portfolios, and signed contracts never travel to a third-party server. Compare that with Adobe's online compressor or iLovePDF, both of which require an upload.
How to compress pdf in your browser
- 01Open the compressor
Visit pdfvibe.app/tools/compress.
- 02Drop your PDF
Drag the file in. Original size is shown immediately.
- 03Pick a preset
Smart for lossless cleanup, or Aggressive (low/medium/high) for scanned PDFs.
- 04Preview the result
PDFVibe estimates the output size and renders a sample so you can judge quality.
- 05Download
Click Compress, then download the smaller PDF. Your original is untouched.
Frequently asked questions
How small can it get?
Scanned PDFs typically shrink 70–95% on the high Aggressive preset. Text-only PDFs gain 5–30% from Smart.
Will text stay crisp?
Yes on Smart (it's lossless). On Aggressive, text from native PDFs is rasterized — use Smart if you need selectable text.
Compress a PDF under 100KB?
Try Aggressive (high). For a 5MB scanned doc, that usually lands between 80–300KB.
Is my file uploaded?
Never. Compression runs in WebAssembly inside your browser. Watch the Network tab — zero file traffic.
How is this different from Adobe's compressor?
Adobe uploads your file. PDFVibe doesn't. Same end result; different privacy model.
Most online PDF tools — Adobe Acrobat Online, iLovePDF, Smallpdf — upload your file to their servers, run the operation, then send the result back. PDFVibe runs the same operation in your browser using WebAssembly and pdf-lib. The file never travels anywhere. Open your browser’s Network tab while using Compress PDF and you’ll see no outbound file transfers.