What makes a PDF large
Text takes up very little space in a PDF. The size comes from images: scanned pages, photos, high-resolution graphics and embedded fonts. A 20-page scan can easily reach 30 MB, while a 100-page text report may be under 1 MB. That is why scanned and photo-heavy documents shrink the most.
Step 1: Compress the PDF
Open Compress PDF, add the file and choose a level. Recommended is the best starting point: images are recompressed while text, links and vector graphics stay sharp and selectable. Compare the size before and after, and try High compression if you still need a smaller file.
Step 2: Remove what you do not need
Every page adds weight. Double-sided scans often contain empty back sides, and Remove Blank Pages finds them automatically. To keep only certain pages, use Split PDF and send just the part the recipient needs.
Step 3: Split a file that is still too large
Some portals accept only 2–5 MB per file. If a long document is still too big after compression, split it into several parts – for example every 10 pages – and upload them one by one. When you need everything in one file again, Merge PDF combines the parts.
Typical size limits
- Gmail: 25 MB per email; larger files are sent as Drive links
- Outlook.com: 20 MB per email
- Job and government portals: often 2–10 MB per file
- Messengers: large documents are allowed, but small files are faster to send and open
Private by design
Contracts, invoices and ID documents should not be uploaded to unknown servers. IMGWE's PDF tools work in your browser, so your documents stay on your device the whole time.