Compress PDF
Shrink PDF file size with quality presets. The upload is deleted after the job.
Drop your PDF here
PDF only · max 80 MB
Choose a PDF to enable compression. · ⌘/Ctrl+Enter
Deleted after the job
Your file is sent securely, processed, then deleted immediately. Nothing is retained or shared.
- 1Upload
- 2Choose quality
- 3Download
FAQ
- Where does my PDF go?
- It’s uploaded over HTTPS, compressed on our servers, returned to you, then deleted immediately. We don’t keep a copy.
- Why didn’t the file get smaller?
- Already-optimized or text-only PDFs may not shrink. Image-heavy scans usually compress best. Try the Strong preset.
- What’s the size limit?
- Compress and merge accept about 80 MB per file. If another tool rejects a scan, compress it here first.
How it works
- 1
Drop your PDF
Upload over HTTPS. Compress accepts about 80 MB.
- 2
Pick a preset
Screen, ebook, print — or a cap like 200 KB or Gmail 25 MB.
- 3
Download
Save the smaller file. The upload is deleted after the job.
What Ghostscript actually changes
ChargeBite compresses PDFs with Ghostscript, not by zipping the file or converting every page to a JPEG. Quality presets (Strong / Balanced / Light) map to Ghostscript’s screen, ebook, and printer settings: image downsample, JPEG quality, and whether fonts get subset. Text and vectors stay as text and vectors unless a size cap forces a harder image downsample.
If you pick a byte cap — 200 KB for many Indian portals, 300 KB for UPSC/SSC-style forms, 16 MB so WhatsApp sends a document, 25 MB for Gmail — we iterate those presets and then stronger image downsampling until the file is at or under the cap, or we return the smallest result and say the cap was missed. A text-only born-digital PDF often cannot shrink below a floor; there are no fat images to throw away.
- Phone scans and image-heavy exports shrink the most.
- Already-optimized text PDFs may barely move.
- The upload is deleted when the job finishes or fails. We cannot recover it later.
When not to use this tool
Do not compress a PDF you still need to edit as a layout. Aggressive downsample makes photos soft. If a portal needs a specific page extracted, split first, then compress the extract. If the file is password-locked, unlock it with the password you already know, then compress.
About Compress PDF
Use Compress PDF when email providers reject large attachments, forms portals cap upload size, or you want faster sharing. Choose a quality preset that balances clarity and size. ChargeBite processes each file ephemerally: we never build a document library from your uploads.
What people use it for
- Shrink a PDF that Gmail or Outlook rejects as too large
- Meet a job-application or government portal upload cap
- Send a scan-heavy handout without a huge attachment
Privacy: Your PDF is uploaded over HTTPS, processed, returned to you, then deleted from our servers immediately. We do not retain or share your files.
Frequently asked questions
Can every PDF hit 200 KB or WhatsApp 16 MB?+
No. Image-heavy scans usually can. Born-digital text PDFs often bottom out above a tight cap because there are no fat images to downsample. We return the smallest file and say if the cap was missed.
What do Strong, Balanced, and Light actually change?+
They map to Ghostscript screen / ebook / printer: image downsample and JPEG quality. Text stays text unless a byte cap forces a harder downsample.
Gmail 25 MB vs WhatsApp 16 MB?+
Gmail rejects attachments over 25 MB (Base64 makes that tighter). WhatsApp often refuses large scans around 16 MB. Pick the matching cap on this page — there is not a separate tool for each number.
Do you keep the PDF?+
No. Upload over HTTPS, compress, return, delete. We cannot recover a file after the job.
More answers on the FAQ page and our privacy policy.
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