Best Settings for Compress PDF: Quality vs File Size

Reduce PDF file size for email, forms, and document sharing. This post explains practical ways to compress PDF online with predictable quality and reliable output.

What this tool is best for

• Client onboarding forms and contracts
• Invoice and quote email attachments
• Tender and compliance submissions

Best settings by goal

Fastest turnaround

• Use settings optimized for speed and quick sharing.
• Reduce unnecessary pages or oversized source assets first.

Balanced quality and size

• Balanced is the best starting point for most scans and mixed files.
• Validate output once before publishing or sending.

Smallest possible output

• Strong is useful when a strict upload limit matters more than visual detail.
• Expect some quality trade-offs when maximum reduction is required.

Pro tip

Test one sample file first, then standardize the same settings across your full batch.

Related tools

• Merge PDF
• PDF to JPG

Use this tool

• Compress PDF
• All tools