How to compress a PDF without losing useful quality
Large PDFs are usually large because of the images inside them, not the text. The most effective compression re-renders those images at a sensible resolution.
Start with the Recommended level — it balances size and readability for email, uploads and forms. Choose High quality when the PDF will be printed, and Smallest size only when every megabyte matters.
If your PDF is already optimized, compression can't help much. A well-made tool will tell you that instead of handing back a bigger file — MyGuyAI does.
Select or drag in your images — up to 20 at once. Each image becomes one page, sized exactly to the image, in the order you arrange.
Because the images are embedded without re-compression, the PDF looks exactly like your originals. This makes it ideal for scanned documents, receipts and official forms.
Need the PDF smaller for an upload limit? Compress it afterwards — the result page links straight to the right tool.
Most email providers cap attachments around 20–25 MB. If your PDF is over the limit, compress it with the Recommended level first — that's usually enough.
Still too large? Split the document and send the parts separately, or extract just the pages the recipient actually needs with Split PDF.
For scanned documents, the biggest wins come from re-rendering the scans at a lower resolution — which is exactly what compression does.
Official forms often demand exact pixel dimensions and a maximum file size. Resize first: enter the required width or height in exact mode and the aspect ratio is preserved automatically.
Then compress to hit the file-size limit. A quality setting around 75 usually keeps photos perfectly acceptable for verification while shrinking files dramatically.
If the form wants a PDF instead of an image, convert with Image to PDF — it accepts JPG, PNG and WebP, even mixed together.