How to compress a PDF with OnyxPDF
- Drop your PDF into the tool.
- Pick a compression level (Balanced is the usual sweet spot), or choose Lossless to re-save without touching page content.
- Click “Compress PDF”.
- Check the honest before/after size cards and download the result.
Why do it in your browser instead of uploading?
- No upload: a bank statement or contract you are shrinking for email never touches a third-party server.
- No per-file caps like iLovePDF’s free 2-file compress limit, and no Smallpdf-style 2-tasks-a-day wall.
- Honest stats: if a file comes out bigger (it happens with already-optimised files), the tool tells you instead of pretending.
- A lossless mode exists for when you must not alter page content at all.
Good to know (honest limits)
- Image-based modes re-render pages as pictures: the PDF gets smaller, but text inside becomes non-selectable and very fine detail can soften. That trade-off is stated in the tool itself.
- The lossless mode only removes structural waste, so savings are usually small.
- Already well-optimised PDFs may not shrink at all — the tool reports the real result either way.
Frequently asked questions
How much smaller will my PDF get?
It depends on the file. Scan-heavy PDFs often shrink a lot; text-only PDFs that are already optimised may barely change. The tool shows exact before-and-after sizes for your file.
Can I compress a PDF to a specific size, like 200 KB?
Pick progressively stronger compression levels and check the resulting size after each run — the before/after cards show the exact bytes. There is no fake “target size” promise; the lossless mode never reduces content quality but saves less.
Will compressed text stay selectable?
In the image-based modes, no — pages are re-rendered as images to achieve the size reduction. Use Lossless mode if you need the text layer untouched.
Are my files uploaded for compression?
No. Compression runs 100% in your browser; nothing is sent to a server, and there is no sign-up.