Compress a PDF for email
Attachment too big? Shrink it to fit Gmail, Outlook or your company's mail server in seconds — privately, on your device.
- 🔒 No upload
- ∞ No limits
- 🎯 Exact size
- ✓ No sign-up
Drop PDFs here or choose filesTap to choose PDFs
🔒 Compressed on your device — never uploaded · No limits · No sign-up
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Key facts
- Gmail and Yahoo Mail allow attachments up to 25 MB; Outlook.com allows 20 MB.
- Email adds about 33% (base64 encoding), so aim for roughly 18 MB for Gmail and 14 MB for Outlook.
- Company servers often cap at 10 MB — target about 7 MB to be safe.
- Files are compressed in your browser, so confidential attachments are never uploaded.
How to compress a PDF for email
- Drop the PDF you want to email.
- Keep “Recommended”, or choose “Exact size” and enter your mail limit.
- Download and attach the smaller file.
Email attachment size limits
| Service | Attachment limit | Safe PDF size |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | 25 MB | ≈ 18 MB |
| Outlook.com / Hotmail | 20 MB | ≈ 14 MB |
| Yahoo Mail | 25 MB | ≈ 18 MB |
| Many company servers | 10 MB | ≈ 7 MB |
Limits change occasionally and some organizations set their own; check with your provider if a message bounces.
Why send a small PDF instead of a link?
Attachments open instantly on any device, don't expire, and don't require the recipient to sign in to a cloud drive. A compressed PDF also downloads faster on mobile data and is less likely to be stripped by spam filters.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my email say the attachment is too big when the file is smaller than the limit?
Email encodes attachments in base64, which increases their size by about a third. A 20 MB PDF becomes roughly 27 MB inside the message.
Are my PDFs uploaded to a server?
No. Compression runs entirely inside your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly-grade libraries. Your file never leaves your device, so confidential documents stay private. You can even disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it keeps working.
Will my text stay selectable and searchable?
Yes in the normal modes: we keep text, fonts, links, bookmarks and form fields and only re-encode the images inside the PDF. Only if you ask for an exact size that cannot be reached that way do we flatten pages into images — and the tool tells you when that happens.
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