pdf compression a pdf is a type of document file. it is very similar to the doc format in that they both contain text, links, and even images. however, unlike doc files, pdf files are more like a snapshot of an existing document. this makes them very versatile because they look the same across various systems. this means you can create a pdf on a macos computer and it will look exactly the same on a windows computer. in fact, it will also look the same on your smartphone or even your tv. docs don’t have this versatility. however, doc files are usually pretty small when it comes to file size because they pull information from the system on which they are opened, such as installed fonts, for example. pdfs, on the other hand, can get quite large, especially if there are many images inside. why would you need to compress pdfs? since pdfs can get pretty heavy in size, you might face limitations with sharing them. for example, if you have a pdf that’s larger than 50mb, you might not be able to upload it to certain websites. you might even have trouble emailing it, depending on which email service you use. compression is a way to make an existing pdf smaller. with pdf compression, you can optimize your document(s) so they are easier to share and take up less space on your hard drive. in some cases, this can literally halve the size of a pdf! how can you compress a pdf for free? using our tool on this page, you can quickly and easily compress any number of pdf files for free without needing to install any software. first, you’ll need to upload one or up to 20 pdfs. these pdfs can be of any file size, but you can only do as many as 20 at one time. to start, drag and drop your pdfs onto the area that says “drop your files here” or hit the “upload files” button. once uploaded, your pdfs will automatically start compressing. larger files will take longer than smaller ones, but it should only be a moment before all of them are converted. when the conversion is complete, you can hit the “download” button under each pdf in the queue to grab the newly compressed version. alternatively, you can hit the “download all” button to download a zip file with all the compressed pdfs collected together. need to convert more pdfs? hit the “clear queue” button and repeat the process. you can do this as much as you need to as long as you stick to 20 uploads at one time. is this pdf compressor tool safe? if you are nervous about uploading your sensitive information, you don’t need to worry. our server will automatically purge all uploads and conversions after one hour. that means 60 minutes after you upload a pdf, we erase all data related to it. your information is safe with us! also, you do not need to be concerned about losing your original pdfs. when you upload a file to our server, it makes a copy of that file and then compresses that copy. your original pdf is always safe on your computer or mobile device.