How to Reduce PDF Size? (5 Best and Powerful Ways)

It is essential to reduce PDF size as most sharing platforms like Email have maximum size limitations. In some scenarios, you may not want to pay to send the large PDF with online transfer platforms like Wetransfer so you have to compress the PDF size to a smaller one.

To reduce PDF size, you can find many solutions. It may be difficult for you to pick the desired one. So we are here to help you out with listing the top 5 methods that you can use.

How to Reduce PDF size in UPDF

You can very easily reduce the size of a PDF document by simply saving the file as a smaller version of itself with UPDF. Like most other tools, this tool is very easy to use and it allows you to compress to your preferred size.

Here's how you can use it;

Step 1: Install UPDF on your Computer

You can click on the below button and download the latest version of UPDF to your computer. Follow the instructions to install the program on your computer. After installation, launch UPDF.

Step 2: Open the PDF Document

On the main interface, you can click on "Open File" to import the PDF file that you would like to work with.

You can also simply drag and drop the PDF file onto the main interface to open it.

Once the PDF document is open, a list of tools will appear on the right panel. Click on the "Save as Other" icon to access the compression tool you need.  

Step 3: Choose Reduce File Size

Click on the "Reduce File Size" option from the various saving options that you see and UPDF will give you the option to choose the quality you need to compress.

Step 4: Save the Changes

Once you have selected the file quality, UPDF will allow you to save the file in a separate folder. This is ideal if you would like to keep both versions of the file on your computer.

Video Tutorial on How to Compress PDF

It is super easy to use UPDF to compress PDFs. Just click on UPDF via the below button to reduce your PDF file size now. And if you want to know more about UPDF, we highly recommend you read this UPDF review from TechAdvisor. And you will have an idea why we recommend you to use UPDF.

How to Reduce PDF Size in Adobe Acrobat

Acrobat DC has a powerful compression engine as well as different ways to reduce PDF size below 100KB. One of these methods is described below:

Step 1. Open a PDF Document

Under the main "Tools" menu, click the arrow below "Optimize PDF" and select "Open".

Choose the file from its Finder or Explorer location to open it in Acrobat DC.

Step 2. Reduce File Size with Adobe Acrobat

Select "Reduce File Size" from the toolbar menu.

When you see the pop-up pane, choose the support format and click the "OK" button.

You will be prompted to give the now-compressed file a new name - do that now and save it.

That's it, you're all done! You'll notice that the new file is smaller in size because you just did a 'reduce PDF size' action!

How to Decrease PDF Size in iLovePDF

iLovePDF is a beloved tool and very familiar to those who know iLoveIMG, the hugely popular image editing tool for online use. iLovePDF has all the basic PDF tools you need to manage light to moderate PDF workflows. It doesn't boast any advanced functions but it's fun to use and quite useful in a pinch. You can upgrade to take advantage of higher file size and batch processing limits.

You can follow these steps to reduce PDF file size on any device that has a modern browser.

Step 1. Upload PDF to iLovePDF

Upload the file to the URL for file size optimization in the main iLovePDF website.

Step 2. Decrease the Size of PDF with iLovePDF

Choose the level of compression that you want to apply - the higher the compression, the lower the output file size.

Click "Compress PDF" and wait for the download to be available - save it to your desktop.

How to Reduce PDF File Size Online with Smallpdf

Smallpdf is quite a powerful tool that's very similar to iLovePDF because both work on your browser. However, that's probably where the similarity ends. Smallpdf is more stylish than fun. The professional design, convenient menu layout, and the instant availability of a range of basic and advanced file management tools such as… of course, a PDF size reducer that's quite powerful.

The only downside is that only basic compression is free; you need a Pro account for high compression. Nevertheless, it's a good tool to reduce PDF file size online if the file's not too large and all you need is some basic file size reduction. Here's how it's done:

Step 1. Import PDF File

Import the PDF file to the "Compress PDF" section of the Smallpdf website.

Step 2. Reduce PDF Size Online

Once you've uploaded the file, select Basic compression or Advanced (if you're a Pro subscriber)

Click on "Compress" and wait for the download page; on the last page click "Download".

How to Shrink the Size of PDF with SodaPDF

SodaPDF Online is another versatile online PDF reducer service that runs on your browser. It's chockfull of features but most of the advanced tools are only in the desktop version, which we're not covering here. The online version is what we're interested in, and you can easily reduce PDF file size to 100KB or below with this versatile online PDF platform.

SodaPDF Online is a versatile collection of PDF tools with editing, OCR, Bates Numbering, and other advanced tools, as well as simpler tools such as file converters, page organizing, protection, e-signing, etc. Here's how to shrink the size of a PDF with Soda PDF Online.

Step 1. Import the PDF into SodaPDF

Import the PDF file into the SodaPDF Online URL for file compression.

Step 2. Shrink Size of PDF

Choose the basic compression level here, since the high compression option is locked behind the pro paywall.

Click "Compress File" and wait for the download page, after which you can save the compressed PDF.

Why is UPDF the Best Tool to Reduce PDF Size?

One of the major benefits of using UPDF is that it is very easy to use. The steps above show you just how easy it is to reduce the size of any PDF document. And UPDF is not only a tool to reduce PDF size, it has numerous other features, making it the most ideal PDF management solution for you if you handle a lot of PDF documents. You can download UPDF via the below button and check all features it has.

The following are some of the main advantages of choosing UPDF over other tools;

• UPDF is cost-effective as compared to other solutions like Adobe Acrobat which can be quite expensive to acquire. This is compounded by the fact that UPDF is much easier to use and has all the features you would find on the more expensive tools.
• You also get more value for your money. When you choose UPDF, you can use a single license on up to 4 systems. The simplicity of it system and how it works ensures that you waste less time trying to figure out how it works.
• UPDF has AI integrated. You can improve your PDF document handling with AI features like writing, rewriting, summarizing, chatting, etc.
• It is also one of the easiest ways to edit text, images and links on a PDF document. The interface makes it easy to find the tools you need to make any change to the document, including editing the text, images and links.
• You can also use UPDF to organize PDF pages in numerous ways. You can reorder, rotate and even resize individual pages or move pages to a new document and delete pages that shouldn't be on the page. And as we have seen above, you can also change the size of the PDF.
• It is also one of the best ways to read and annotate PDF document. You can switch to the "reader" version of UPDF at the click of a button and use the user-friendly interface to navigate the document. Numerous annotation tools allow you to add comments, stamps, and stickers and highlight or underline the text on the document.
• UPDF also makes it very easy to add a binding electronic signature to the document. This is the perfect solution to authenticate sensitive documents without affecting the overall quality of the document. You can also add a password to protect the content on the document from unauthorized access or editing.  
• UPDF also has a document conversion feature that you will find very useful if you want to convert your PDF documents to more editable formats. It supports the conversion of PDF documents to a variety of other formats including Word, Excel, PDF/A, image formats (JPG, BMP, PNG, and more), HTML, TXT, and more. The OCR function ensures that you can very easily convert scanned or image-rich PDFs to other formats.

Conclusion

Reducing the PDF file size makes it easier to share files with others. But you may encounter many difficulties when reducing the PDF file size. This article introduces five methods to reduce PDF file size, which should be enough for you. But also pay attention to the distinction, don't choose blindly. If you don't know which one to choose, we recommend you choose UPDF. Not only because of its simple and convenient interface but also because its powerful compression tool can have different compression size options.