Is pdfMB really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no daily limit, no trial and no watermark. The site is paid for by ads.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The PDF is processed inside your browser and never sent to a server. You can check: open the compress page, turn off Wi-Fi or switch on airplane mode, and compress a file. It still works, because nothing needs to be sent.
Will the text still be sharp and searchable?
Yes. pdfMB never turns text into pictures. Text stays text, so you can still copy and search it. Only photos and scans are made smaller.
Why can’t it reach the size I picked?
Most of the size in a PDF usually comes from photos and scans. If a file is mostly text, or the limit is very small for the number of pages, it may not fit without turning the text into blurry pictures. pdfMB stops before that and tells you. Splitting the file into fewer pages can help.
Which quality level should I choose?
“Balanced” keeps photos sharp on screen and for normal printing. “Smallest” makes photos lighter. It is fine for reading on a screen, but photos look softer when printed.
It says my PDF has a password.
pdfMB cannot open password-protected files. Open the file with the password in your PDF reader, save a copy without the password, then compress that copy.
Does it work on phones?
Yes, on recent versions of Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Very large files (over about 100 MB) can be slow on older phones because all the work happens on the phone itself.
Is there a maximum file size?
There is no fixed limit. Your device’s memory is the only limit.
Still stuck?
Tell us what happened: contact@pdfmb.com