Can’t Compress Your PDF Enough? Try These Fixes

File size matters when uploading to a government site, emailing a file, or saving storage space.

This guide helps when compression tools aren’t enough to make your PDF smaller while keeping it readable.

Quick Solutions

PDF Type Description	Recommended Solutions
Files have too many pages	Split into smaller files
Large white margins or page clutter	Crop page margins
Read-only or single-page PDFs	Convert to images

Tips: Remember to back up your files before compressing and review the final result before sharing or sending it out.

Let’s go through each method step by step to help you find the best fit.

Split a PDF to Make It Smaller

Splitting a large PDF into smaller parts is a simple way to reduce its size, especially when aiming for limits like 100KB or 300KB.

PDFgear’s free Split PDF tool runs directly in your browser. No installation is required.

Step 1. Go to the PDFgear online PDF splitter. Click “Select PDF file” and choose a PDF you want to split.

Step 2. Choose how you want to split the file — by page range using the scissor icon, or by splitting every set number of pages.

Step 3. Click the “Split” button in the upper-right corner and wait a few seconds.

Step 4. Download your split PDFs. Each one will be smaller, making it easier to upload or send via email.

Best for: Uploading to websites or email platforms with strict file size limits.

If splitting isn’t ideal for your file, you might try trimming unused space instead.

Crop PDF Margins to Reduce Size

Cropping a PDF helps reduce file size by removing large white margins and unnecessary content around the main text.

This works best for documents with minimal content centered on oversized pages.

Step 1. Open the PDFgear Crop PDF tool and drag your PDF file into the upload area.

Step 2. Use your mouse to select the area you want to keep. The gray area outside your selection will be removed.

Choose whether to apply the crop to all pages, the current page, or a specific page range.

Step 3. Click Finish to process the file.

Step 4. Download the cropped PDF. Trimming unused space often results in a smaller file.

Best for: PDFs with large white margins or pages containing header/footer clutter.

When cropping isn’t enough, converting scans to text can also reduce file size significantly.

Convert Scanned PDF to Text with OCR

If your PDF is mostly text, converting it to Word can help reduce the file size. PDFgear supports OCR, so even scanned PDFs can be turned into editable and searchable documents.

Step 1. Download PDFgear for Windows, macOS, iOS, or Android.

Step 2. Open PDFgear and click “PDF to Word” under the “Hot Tools” section.

Step 3. Add your PDF, enable the “OCR” option, select the document language, choose an output folder, and click “Convert”.

Note: OCR works best on clean, high-quality scans. For blurry or handwritten documents, results may vary.

Step 4. Save the Word file. Re-export it as a PDF if needed—the new file will be smaller, especially if the original was image-based.

Best for: text-heavy PDFs. For files with complex layouts or charts, some formatting may be lost during conversion.

Still need to cut down file size? You can also reduce it by simplifying the color data.

Make PDF Grayscale to Reduce Size

Converting a PDF to black and white removes color data, which can significantly reduce file size. PDFgear lets you do this quickly using the “Print” feature.

Step 1. Download PDFgear and install it on Windows, Mac, iPhone, or Android.

Step 2. Open your PDF, then click the “Print” icon or use the shortcut Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac).

Step 3. In the print dialog, select “Microsoft Print to PDF” as the printer and check the “Grayscale” option.

Step 4. Click “Print” and save the new file. The output PDF will be in grayscale and typically smaller in size.

Best for: Visual PDFs where color isn’t essential, like drafts or internal reviews.

For even simpler sharing, turning your PDF into images might be the way to go.

Turn PDF into Images for Smaller File

Converting a PDF to images can reduce file size, but it removes clickable links, fillable fields, and text search. It’s best suited for read-only use.

Step 1. Go to PDFgear’s PDF to Image online converter. The file will process automatically.

Step 2. Download the images, which will be packed into a ZIP folder.

Best for: Read-only files or simple one-page documents for fast sharing.

If your file is more complex, manually removing unnecessary elements may help.

Delete Pages or Images to Shrink PDF

Extra pages, repeated graphics, and annotations can increase file size. Removing them manually helps reduce the size and makes compression more effective.

Step 1. Download PDFgear (compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android).

Step 2. Open your PDF in PDFgear. To delete pages, go to the “Page” toolbar, select the pages, and click “Delete Page.”

Step 3. To remove images, go to the “Home” toolbar, select the image, and click the trash button to delete.

Step 4. To delete annotations, go to the “Comment” toolbar, click “Manage Comments,” select the annotation, and click the trash button.

Best for: PDFs with many pages, repetitive images, or excessive annotations.

Once you’ve cleaned up the file, you can apply compression again for better results.

Compress PDF with Custom Settings

Compression isn’t one-size-fits-all. PDFgear’s online compressor offers three levels—Low, Medium, and High. So you can adjust the balance between file size and quality.

If the result isn’t ideal, try compressing again or remove unnecessary content beforehand for better results.

Step 1. Go to the PDFgear online PDF compressor and upload your file.

Step 2. Select a compression level (Low, Medium, or High) and click “Compress.”

Step 3. Wait a few seconds, then download your compressed PDF.

Best for: Most standard PDFs, especially those with mixed content like images, text, and scanned pages.

And if you’re working from a source file, there’s one more trick you can try.

Re-export PDF from Original File

If your PDF was created from a Word, PowerPoint, or scanned file, it may already contain high-resolution images or complex formatting. Re-exporting it with lighter settings can help reduce the size.

Step 1. Open the source file.

Step 2. Export or save as PDF using the “Minimum Size” or “Optimized for Web” setting.

Step 3. Compress the newly exported PDF using PDFgear.

Best for: Office documents and presentations that allow re-export.

If none of these worked, don’t worry—there’s still help available.

🔧 Still Having Trouble?

If none of these methods work for your file, it may already be highly optimized or contain elements that are difficult to compress.

We’re always here to help you get the smallest file size without compromising quality.

FAQs

Why your PDF won’t be compressed much?

PDFs with high-resolution images, scanned pages, or complex layouts are already data-heavy, making them harder to compress without losing quality.

Will compression affect my PDF’s quality?

Yes, image clarity may be reduced and some non-essential elements might be removed. For digital use, quality remains acceptable. For printing or archiving, a lighter compression level is recommended. PDFgear PDF compressor offers three compression levels to match different needs.

Are compressed PDFs still editable?

Usually not. Compression may flatten content or convert text into images, making editing difficult. PDFgear, however, uses smart compression to reduce file size while preserving layout and visual fidelity.

Is my file safe during compression?

Absolutely. By downloading PDFgear on Windows, macOS, iOS, or Android, all compression is done locally—your files stay private and never leave your device.

Why isn’t my PDF much smaller after compression?

If the file is already optimized or contains mostly text, compression may have little effect. On the other hand, PDFs with high-resolution or uncompressed images usually have more room for size reduction.

Can I compress multiple PDFs at once?

Yes. PDFgear supports batch compression across all platforms, allowing you to process multiple files quickly and efficiently. Simply download the app to get started.

Will compressed PDFs work on all devices?

In most cases, yes. PDFgear preserves original formatting to ensure your files display correctly across different devices and PDF readers.

Why did my PDF get larger after compression?

This can happen if the file was already optimized or if the compression tool re-encoded content inefficiently. PDFgear minimizes this risk with customizable, local processing.

Conclusion

By now, your PDF should be reduced to a more manageable size. PDFgear offers both online and offline tools to help you compress files based on your specific needs.