Compress a PDF for Email
Get scanned contracts, receipts and presentations under email attachment limits. The "Smallest size" level is selected for you.
Compress your PDF
or drop PDFs here
Your PDFs
Your compressed PDFs
- Files stay on your device
- No sign-up
- No watermark
How to compress a PDF for email
Add your PDF
Drop the PDF here or tap "Choose PDF files". Several PDFs can be compressed at once.
Keep "Smallest size"
It's preselected for email. Text stays searchable; only images are compressed.
Attach it
Download the smaller PDF and attach it to your email.
Why PDFs are often too large to email
Most of a PDF's size comes from images: scanned pages, photos of receipts and pictures in presentations. A scanner set to 300 dpi in colour produces several megabytes per page, so a 20-page contract can easily exceed 50 MB.
Smallest size recompresses those images at about 100 dpi, which is sharp on any screen, and removes leftovers such as embedded thumbnails and editing data. Scans commonly shrink by 80–95%.
Text stays text
Standard compression never touches the text in your PDF, so it stays sharp at every zoom level and remains searchable and copyable. Links and form fields keep working too. Only Maximum compression converts pages to images, and the tool warns you before you choose it.
Choosing the right level
| Level | Best for |
|---|---|
| High quality | Documents that will be printed |
| Balanced | Everyday sharing and archiving |
| Smallest size | Email and upload forms |
| Maximum compression | Large scans when nothing else is small enough |
Read how to compress a PDF for more ways to reduce size, such as scanning settings that keep files small from the start.
Sensitive documents stay with you
Contracts, bank statements and medical letters are processed in your browser and never uploaded. Nothing is stored, and nobody else sees your files.
Frequently asked questions
How small does a PDF need to be for email?
Gmail allows up to 25 MB of attachments per message, and many other providers set similar or lower limits. Some company mail servers accept 10 MB or less, so smaller is safer.
Will the PDF still look good when printed?
Text and vector graphics print perfectly, because they aren't changed. Photos and scans are reduced to about 100 dpi, which looks fine on screen and is acceptable for everyday printing. Choose "High quality" if the document will be printed professionally.
My PDF is still too large. What can I do?
Try "Maximum compression", which turns every page into an image. It's very effective for scans, but the text can no longer be selected or searched. Splitting a long document into parts also works.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Compressing would remove the protection, so protected PDFs are refused. Remove the password in the app that created the PDF first.