Compress PDF files privately
Most online PDF compressors upload your documents to their servers. CompressEasy Desktop compresses PDFs entirely on your own computer by optimizing the images inside them, so contracts, scans and reports stay private while getting much smaller.
Compress PDFs offline with the free CompressEasy Desktop app for macOS and Windows. Files never leave your computer.
Available in the free desktop app
Video, PDF and PowerPoint compression run fully offline in the CompressEasy desktop app for Windows and macOS — no uploads and no file-size limits.
Download desktop appHow it works
- Download and open CompressEasy Desktop (free).
- Drag your PDF in and choose a compression strength.
- Save the smaller PDF — your original stays untouched.
Where PDF weight comes from
Large PDFs are usually heavy because of high-resolution embedded images and scans. Downsampling and re-compressing those images is what shrinks the file the most.
Choose your quality
Pick High quality (≈300 DPI), Balanced (≈150 DPI) or Maximum (≈72 DPI) depending on whether the PDF is for print, screen or quick sharing.
Private, unlike most PDF tools
Because everything runs locally, you never hand sensitive documents to a third-party server — a real difference from typical web PDF compressors.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Will compressing a PDF lower its quality?
Text stays crisp; the savings come from re-compressing embedded images. Use High quality for print and Balanced for screen reading to control the trade-off.
Are my PDFs uploaded to a server?
No. CompressEasy Desktop compresses PDFs locally on your machine, so confidential documents never leave your computer.
Do I need anything else installed?
PDF compression uses Ghostscript. The desktop app guides you to install it once on macOS, Windows or Linux if it is not already present.
All image tools
Compress by format
Compress to a target size
Compress video
Compress PDF
- Compress PDF
- Compress PDF to 100KB
- Shrink PDF
Compress PowerPoint
From the blog
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