Compress a PDF with Adobe Acrobat — and Free Alternatives

Updated 2026-09-06 · DocsAll Guides

Quick answer: in Acrobat use File → Save as Other → Optimized PDF with the Standard setting; for a free subscription-free route use Compress PDF in the browser.

Acrobat steps (official)

Open the PDF in Acrobat
File → Save as Other → Optimized PDF
Choose Standard settings, save

(Source: helpx.adobe.com official tutorial, verified 2026-09-06.)

Free alternative

Compress PDF:

Browser-local processing — no upload (friendly for confidential files)
No subscription

What determines compression gain

Image-heavy PDFs: large gains (images get downsampled)
Text-only PDFs: already small; limited headroom
Previously compressed files: diminishing returns

FAQ

Can I hit a target size like 100KB? Depends on content density — tools offer compression levels; iterate toward the target. Clarity drops after compression? Use a lossless/lower level, or compress embedded images separately first.

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