How to Compress PDF Files? 4 Easy Steps

Documents can take up a lot of storage space, which is why reducing the file size of your documents with online compression software is an absolute must. In this article, we’ll teach you how to compress PDF file sizes and answer a few questions you might have.

Best Online PDF Compressor Tool to Reduce File Size

The PDFplatform PDF compressor tool is a free and easy-to-use solution that can help you reduce the size of your documents in just a few clicks.

It has lots of helpful features like:

• Automatic file deletion. Every document you upload will automatically be deleted from the tool (after downloading the compressed file) to ensure your data stays private.
• Browser-based. The PDF compressor tool is entirely browser-based, so you won’t need to download any software to reduce your document file size.
• Cloud-hosted. The online tool uses its own servers to run the compression process, which ensures that your local system resources won’t be consumed.
• No signup required. Unlike with most free tools, you won’t need to create an account to use the PDF compressor, eSign tool, or any of our other document editing features.
• Quality preservation. The compression algorithm prioritizes quality to achieve smaller file sizes without sacrificing the viewing experience.

How to Compress a PDF File Size?

You’ll be glad to know that compressing a PDF file can be accomplished in just a few easy steps using our free online compressor tool. Here’s how to compress the size of PDF files on Mac or any other devices:

Step 1: Go to the compressor tool

Click here to use our free PDF compressor tool or follow the instructions below:

• Go to PDFplatform.com
• Locate the navigation header at the top of your screen
• Click on “Compress”

Step 2: Upload PDF

Start by dragging and dropping your document into the compressor tool or click on “Select files” to choose a document from your local device storage. You can only upload and compress one document at a time.

Step 3: Wait

Wait for the compressor to automatically compress your document. Afterward, it will say, “Your file has been compressed,” and show you the updated size before you download the document.

Step 4: Download

Click on “Download,” and the compressed file will be saved to your device. You’re done!

Benefits of Compressing PDFs

While compressing PDFs may seem like a trivial task with marginal gains that aren’t worth your time, there are several tangible benefits to note. Here are four benefits you can reap by compressing your documents:

Storage space

The first and most apparent benefit of compressing your documents is the amount of storage space you’ll save. Our free compressor tool reduces documents to about a quarter of their original file size.

Because most SMBs allocate 10 GB to 20 GB worth of cloud storage for every employee they have, this 75% file size reduction could save terabytes worth of storage over just a few months or years.

Search speed

Shrinking the file size of your stored documents will also make them easier to find in the future. Computers and cloud storage platforms take longer to index/search for files when each one is larger.

Therefore, by reducing the storage space each file takes up, you’ll get quicker results on your queries. This is especially true for companies that save their documents on a hard disk drive instead of a solid state drive or cloud storage platform — as the average HDD’s read speed ranges between 80 and 160 megabytes per second.

Reduced costs

While smaller businesses may be able to get by on the free storage plan on platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox, most larger companies will need to upgrade to paid subscriptions to accommodate their growing storage needs.

By compressing your documents and reducing the storage space they take up, you’ll eliminate the need to upgrade to a paid plan that could cost hundreds of dollars per year.

Streamlined collaboration

Reducing the average file size will also make remote collaboration quicker and easier. You won’t have to worry about exceeding the attachment size limit when sending large PDF files via email.

Uploading shared documents to a team folder will also be quicker if they’re a fraction of the original file size — which, in turn, will reduce the friction associated with collaboration and speed up turnaround times.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, compressing a document is a beneficial and stress-free process when you use the right online tool. It’s true that saving a few megabytes may not seem that significant at first.

However, over a few years and thousands of compressed files, you’d be surprised how many terabytes you save with minimal effort. You’ll also speed up collaboration and save money on cloud storage subscriptions!

Now that you know how to compress large PDF files, click here to compress your PDF file right away!