How to compress a PDF
- Drop your PDF above.
- Pick a goal. “Smaller file” for general use, or an exact ceiling — 100 KB, 200 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB, or custom — when a portal or email demands it.
- Click Compress, then Download. You'll see exactly how much smaller the file got.
Compress-to-a-target, done properly
Most compressors give you a quality slider and leave the guessing to you. When an application portal says "maximum file size: 200KB", that's not helpful. Sleek PDF's target mode runs the search for you: it tries progressively adjusted quality and resolution settings until the file fits under your limit at the best quality that still fits — or tells you honestly that it can't without rasterizing, and offers that as an explicit choice rather than a silent downgrade.
What gets compressed
The bulk of most oversized PDFs is photographs and scans embedded at full camera resolution. Sleek PDF decodes those images, scales them to a sensible resolution, and re-encodes them — then rebuilds the PDF with tighter internal structure. Your text, fonts, form fields, and vector graphics pass through untouched, which is why the standard mode never costs you selectable text.
Frequently asked questions
How does the compression work?
Sleek PDF finds the images embedded in your PDF, re-encodes them at a smaller size, and rebuilds the document — the same approach professional server tools use, running in your browser. Text, fonts, and vector graphics are preserved exactly; only image data is recompressed.
Can I compress to an exact size, like under 200KB?
Yes — that's a first-class feature. Pick “Under 100 KB / 200 KB / 500 KB / 1 MB” (or a custom size) and Sleek PDF automatically searches for the highest quality that fits under your limit.
What if my PDF won't reach the target?
Some PDFs can't shrink below a certain size without giving up real text. For those, Extreme mode converts each page into a compressed image — it reaches almost any target, at the clearly-stated cost that text is no longer selectable.
Will my text stay sharp and selectable?
In standard mode, yes — text and vector content are untouched. Only Extreme mode (off by default, clearly labeled) rasterizes pages.
Why did my file barely shrink?
If a PDF contains no images — pure text and vectors — it's usually already compact, and there's little left to remove honestly. Tools that promise huge savings on such files typically rasterize them without telling you.
Is my PDF uploaded to be compressed?
No. Compression runs entirely in your browser — your file never leaves your device, and there are no size caps or daily limits.