Split PDF
Cut a long document into parts, or pull out only the pages you need, such as a single chapter from a scanned textbook.
Free PDF tool
Compress a PDF to Fit Your Upload Limit
Shrink a large PDF so it uploads to Moodle, Blackboard, UCAS or email. Choose a lossless repack or a smaller re-encode.
Use the Compress PDF tool
Free, no sign-up, nothing uploaded
- Your file stays in your browser tab. We never see it.
- No account, no watermark and no limit on files.
- Works on phones as well as laptops.
What the Compress PDF tool does
Upload limits are a common last-minute problem. Phone scans and screenshots can turn a short assignment into a 40 MB file that the portal rejects.
This tool offers two honest options. Lossless repacking tidies the file without touching a character of text. Re-encoding the pages as images makes scans far smaller, and it says clearly that text will no longer be selectable.
How to use it in four steps
- Open the Compress tool and choose your PDF.
- Pick Lossless, or Re-encode pages for scans and photos.
- Press Compress.
- Check the new size, and download the smaller file.
How students use it
- Get an assignment under a 20 MB or 10 MB upload limit.
- Shrink a scanned portfolio before you email it.
- Make a large appendix easier to open on a phone.
- Reduce supporting evidence for a UCAS or placement application.
Good to know
- Lossless keeps all text but may save little on files that are already tidy.
- Re-encoding turns each page into a JPEG. It can be much smaller but removes the text layer, so keep your original.
- If the file is still too big, split it into parts or remove pages you do not need.
Need more than a tool?
These tools handle your files, not the work inside them. If you want feedback on a draft, TutorSuite offers coursework help. You can also see the rest of our PDF tools and other free study tools.
Related PDF tools
PDF to JPG
Turn each page of a PDF into a picture, at the quality you choose, for slides, posters, reports and social posts.
Merge PDF
Join your assignment, appendices, evidence and screenshots into a single PDF, in the order you choose.
Compress PDF — your questions
How small can I make my PDF?
It depends on the content. Scans and image-heavy files shrink a lot. Typed text with few images is already small.
Will compression reduce quality?
Lossless does not. Re-encoding trades some image quality for size, and the tool tells you before and after.
Does re-encoding remove my text?
The text layer is removed because pages become images. Keep your original file if you need searchable text.
Is my file uploaded?
No. It is compressed in your browser.
Get a price in about ten seconds
No account, no email, no obligation. Tell us the word count and the deadline and the calculator does the rest.