Quick answer
To compress a PDF, add it to KitFuse, pick Recommended compression and press Compress PDF. The tool shrinks the photos and scans inside the file, packs the rest more tightly and removes hidden clutter. Text and fonts are not touched, so they stay sharp. The whole job runs in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.
How to compress a PDF file
- Add your PDF.
Drag one or more PDFs onto the page, or press Choose PDFs. You can add up to 20 files, each up to 200 MB.
- Choose a compression level.
Recommended suits most documents. Pick Light for print-quality pictures, or Strong when you need the smallest possible file.
- Press Compress PDF.
Each file is processed on your device, and a progress bar shows which picture is being optimized.
- Check the result and download.
You'll see the old and new size of every file. Download them one at a time, or all together as a ZIP.
Why some PDFs are so large
Text barely takes up any space in a PDF: a 300-page novel can be smaller than a single photo from your phone. What makes PDFs heavy is almost always pictures, such as scanned pages, photos pasted into a report or slides exported at full resolution. A phone scan of one page is often 3 to 5 MB, because the camera captures far more detail than a document needs.
So this compressor goes after images first. Each picture that is bigger than it needs to be is replaced with a smaller version, and if that wouldn't save at least 10 percent, the original is kept.
Which PDF compression level should you choose?
- Light: pictures up to 3,000 pixels on their longest side, photos at 82 percent JPEG quality, and lossless diagrams and screenshots. Best for documents you plan to print.
- Recommended: pictures up to 2,000 pixels at 70 percent quality. Most people can't tell it apart from the original on screen or on an office printer.
- Strong: 1,250 pixels at 50 percent quality, for upload forms with limits like 1 or 2 MB. Text stays crisp, but photos look softer when zoomed in.
Not sure? Start with Recommended. If the file is still too big, switch to Strong and press Compress PDF again.
What stays exactly the same
Some free compressors quietly turn every page into a picture, which makes text blurry and impossible to search. KitFuse doesn't. Your text stays real text: sharp at any zoom level, searchable and readable by screen readers. Fonts, vector drawings, links, bookmarks and form fields are copied across untouched.
Common reasons to reduce PDF size
Email providers usually cap attachments at 20 to 25 MB, and government portals, university applications and job sites often accept only 2 or 5 MB per document. If your document starts out as photos, you can compress the images first and then turn them into a PDF.
Private by design
Contracts, payslips and ID scans are exactly the files people need to compress, and exactly the ones you shouldn't hand to a stranger's server. KitFuse compresses inside your browser with open-source code hosted on this site, so the PDF never leaves your device. With Also remove hidden metadata on, the author name, creating app and dates are removed too. To clean a PDF without compressing it, use the PDF metadata remover.
Key features
- Three compression levels
- Optimizes photos and scans only
- Text, fonts and links untouched
- Batch compression of up to 20 PDFs
- Optional metadata removal
- Keeps the original if no saving is possible
- No uploads, works offline
At a glance: privacy, limits and output
| Processing | In your browser; nothing is uploaded |
|---|---|
| File limits | Up to 200 MB per PDF and 20 PDFs at a time |
| What is compressed | Photos and scans inside the PDF, plus uncompressed internal data |
| What is not changed | Text, fonts, vector graphics, links, bookmarks and form fields |
| Locked PDFs | Not supported; remove the password first |
| Price | Free, with no sign-up and no watermark |
Frequently asked questions
How much smaller will my PDF get?
It depends on what's inside. PDFs made from scans or photos often shrink by 50 to 90 percent. Documents that are mostly text, such as a Word file saved as PDF, are already compact and may only get 5 to 20 percent smaller. If no worthwhile saving is possible, KitFuse tells you and keeps the original file.
Does compressing a PDF reduce quality?
Only the pictures are affected, and only as much as the level you choose. Text, fonts and vector graphics are not changed at all. At the Recommended level, photos and scans look the same on screen and in ordinary prints.
Can I compress a PDF to under 1 MB?
Often, yes. Choose Strong: scanned pages usually end up at roughly 100 to 250 KB each. If the file is still too large, split it into parts or delete the pages you don't need.
Why is my compressed PDF the same size?
Some PDFs contain no large pictures, or their pictures are already well compressed. Then there's nothing to remove without hurting quality, so KitFuse keeps your original file instead of handing you a copy that isn't smaller.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
Not while it's locked. Open it in your PDF app, save a copy without the password, then compress that copy.
Are my files uploaded?
No. The PDF never leaves your device. You can test it: load this page, switch on airplane mode and compress a file. It still works.
KitFuse is a free collection of browser-based tools for PDFs, images, video, text and everyday calculations. Every tool runs on your own device, so your files and data are never uploaded. About KitFuse.