How do I compress a PDF to 100KB or under 1MB?

Target the images, since they're almost always the cause of size. Down-sample scans and photos to a lower DPI and strip embedded thumbnails and metadata — that alone usually gets an image-heavy file under 1MB. A text-only PDF is typically already that small.

Will compressing a PDF lose quality?

Light compression is visually lossless for most documents. Heavier compression down-samples images more, so there's a trade-off — but the selectable text layer is never degraded.

Is it free to compress a PDF?

Yes. Compression is available on the free plan with no watermark; paid plans only raise the file-size and monthly-task limits.

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Compress PDF & reduce file size

Make an oversized PDF small enough to email or upload. Arthize downsamples the images and strips redundant data — often shrinking scans by 50–90% — while keeping the text selectable and the document searchable.

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How to compress a PDF

1
Open the compress tool
Sign in and open the Compress tool in your Arthize workspace.
2
Add your PDF
Upload the file you want to shrink — it's processed privately and deleted after the job.
3
Pick a compression level
Choose how hard to compress. Higher compression downsamples images more; light compression keeps them crisp.
4
Download the smaller file
Compress and download. Most image-heavy PDFs drop well under 1MB without a visible quality loss.

Images are the target

Size almost always comes from scans and photos. Arthize down-samples those and strips embedded thumbnails and metadata — the fastest path under 1MB.

Text stays selectable

Compression shrinks the images, not the text layer, so the result is still searchable and copy-pasteable.

Private & free

Files are compressed in your own workspace and deleted afterwards. Free plan, no watermark.

Common questions

How do I compress a PDF to 100KB or under 1MB?: Target the images, since they're almost always the cause of size. Down-sample scans and photos to a lower DPI and strip embedded thumbnails and metadata — that alone usually gets an image-heavy file under 1MB. A text-only PDF is typically already that small.
Will compressing a PDF lose quality?: Light compression is visually lossless for most documents. Heavier compression down-samples images more, so there's a trade-off — but the selectable text layer is never degraded.
Is it free to compress a PDF?: Yes. Compression is available on the free plan with no watermark; paid plans only raise the file-size and monthly-task limits.

Read the full guide to compressing PDFs →

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