Shrink a scanned PDF
Scans pack every page as a heavy image, so a few pages balloon into a huge file. Shrink a scanned PDF right in your browser — pick a quality preset, keep every page legible, and see the size saving before you save.
- Open the scan — Drop the PDF into the workspace; nothing is stored on our servers.
- Pick a quality preset — Balanced shrinks a lot while pages stay legible.
- Check legibility and size — Compare original vs compressed before saving.
- Download the lighter scan — Save the smaller, still-readable PDF.
- Big savings on scans — image-heavy pages often drop 50–90%.
- Stays legible — presets balance sharpness against size.
- Runs in your browser — the scan never leaves your device.
- Need editable text? Pair it with OCR to make the scan searchable.
Why are scanned PDFs so large?
Each page is stored as a full photo of the paper, so file size adds up fast. Compression re-encodes those images at a smaller size.
Will the pages still be readable?
Yes — the balanced preset keeps text and stamps legible. Drop to a stronger preset only if you need the smallest possible file.
Can I make the scan searchable too?
Compression keeps it as images. To get selectable, searchable text, run the scan through OCR first.