Compress · Quality-preserving modes
Compress PDFs Without Losing Quality.
Most "make it smaller" tools flatten everything into a blur. PDF Pro gives you four modes — Keep Text, Mixed, Scanned, Smallest — so you pick the quality / size trade-off that actually fits your document. Compression runs in your browser, so the source PDF never leaves your device.
Looking to compress a PDF without losing quality? PDF Pro's four compression modes each target a specific document type — text-heavy contracts, mixed business reports, scanned archives, or files that have to hit a strict size. Pick the mode, preserve what matters. If you need to hit a strict upload limit, you can also use our PDF to 1 MB compression workflow, or convert PDF pages into images if a JPG set works better for your target.
tuneFour modes for four real cases
text_fieldsText layer preserved where it exists
devicesRuns in your browser
Four modes, four real use cases
Each mode exists because one-slider compression can't serve every document equally. Pick the one that matches what's inside your PDF.
Keep Text — text stays text
The Keep Text mode leaves the text layer untouched and re-encodes only images. Search, copy-paste, and highlight still work in the output. Best for contracts, reports, and any document where the words are the content.
Mixed — the everyday default
Mixed mode re-encodes images at a balanced quality setting while keeping the text layer crisp. Most business documents compress well here without visible degradation.
Scanned — tuned for image-only PDFs
Scanned mode is for documents that are pure page images (scans, fax output, photos of paper). Image compression does all the work because there's no text layer to protect.
Runs on your device
Compression executes in WebAssembly inside your browser tab. The PDF is never uploaded to PDF Pro or any third party — sensitive documents stay with you.
Why PDF Pro instead of other tools
The differences that matter for quality-preserving compression — all real, not marketing.
No upload, ever
Most online compressors upload your file to their servers. PDF Pro runs entirely in WebAssembly inside your browser — the file never leaves your device.
Four real modes, not one slider
A contract and a scanned receipt shouldn't compress the same way. PDF Pro's four modes target the actual structure of your document, not a single setting applied blindly.
Text layer preserved by default
Keep Text and Mixed modes guarantee your embedded text stays selectable and searchable after compression. No rasterization, no lost accessibility.
No account required to try
Drop a PDF and compress. Signup only unlocks higher file-size limits and batch operations — the core tool works anonymously.
How it works
Three steps from drop to download.
1
Drop your PDF
It loads into your browser — not onto a server.
2
Pick the mode that fits
Keep Text for text-heavy documents, Mixed for everyday reports, Scanned for image-only scans, Smallest when the file size has to shrink no matter what.
3
Review and download
You see the before and after file size. If the result is still too large for your quality bar, switch modes and compress again.
Use cases
Pick the mode that matches what's in your file.
Legal contract or signed agreement
Use Keep Text so every clause stays searchable and copy-paste-able for e-discovery or redlines. The text layer stays byte-identical to the original.
Business report with charts and screenshots
Use Mixed for a clean size reduction without turning the text into mush. Charts and images re-encode at a balanced quality; the document reads the same. Need to mark up sections before circulating? Annotate the PDF first, then compress.
Scanned receipt batch or archived paperwork
Use Scanned — the whole page is image data, so aggressive image compression is exactly the right tool. Readability stays intact at moderate ratios. If you have multiple receipts, merge them into one PDF before compressing.
Document that has to squeeze into a hard size cap
Use Smallest only when you accept visible quality loss in exchange for the absolute minimum file size. Or try the dedicated 1 MB compression workflow if that's your target.
Honest limitations
- If the source is a scan with no underlying text layer, we cannot make text sharper — we compress the image, and what was legible stays legible, what was blurry stays blurry.
- Very small files (under 200 KB) usually can't compress further; we tell you rather than pretend.
- Smallest mode is intentionally aggressive. For documents where crispness matters (pitch decks, design reviews), stay on Mixed or Keep Text.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
How much can I compress a PDF without losing quality?
It depends on what's in it. Image-heavy PDFs in Mixed mode usually shrink 40–70% with no visible difference at normal zoom. Text-only PDFs shrink less — often 10–25% — because the text layer is already efficient. If you want guaranteed zero quality change to text, use Keep Text mode.
Which compression mode should I use?
Keep Text for contracts and reports where words are the content. Mixed for most everyday documents with a text / image balance. Scanned for pure image PDFs (no text layer). Smallest only when you need the absolute minimum size and accept visible quality loss. If you're aiming at a specific upload ceiling, see the 1 MB compression guide for mode recommendations by file type.
What does Keep Text mode do exactly?
Keep Text leaves the embedded text layer untouched — fonts, character positions, and selectable text stay exactly as-is. It only re-encodes images. The result is a smaller file that still reads, searches, and copies identically to the original.
Does compression make text blurry?
Not in Keep Text or Mixed modes — the text layer is preserved as text, not rasterized. Text only becomes blurry if the source is a scan (an image of text) and you use aggressive image compression on it; in that case, quality loss is from the scan, not from the compression of text.
Can I compress scanned PDFs without losing readability?
Use Scanned mode, which is tuned for image-only documents. It preserves readability at moderate compression ratios. For very tight size targets, Smallest mode compresses more aggressively but may introduce artifacts — preview the output before sharing sensitive documents.
Is my file uploaded when I compress?
No. Compression runs entirely in your browser via WebAssembly. The PDF is not uploaded to PDF Pro or any third party.
Pick a mode. Keep the quality. Ship smaller files.
Four modes, your choice, all local. Drop a PDF and see the size difference in about 3 seconds.
compressCompress a PDF