How to Compress a PDF for Email Without Ruining It
Most email providers cap attachments at roughly 20 to 25 MB, and many job and government portals set even lower limits. A few simple steps can bring a heavy PDF down to size.
Why PDFs get so large
Scanned pages, high-resolution photos and embedded fonts are the usual causes. A 10-page scan can be bigger than a 200-page text document.
Try these steps in order
Start with the gentlest option and only go further if you need to.
- Run Compress PDF on the medium preset and check the new size.
- If it is still too large, use the high preset.
- Delete pages you do not need with Delete PDF Pages.
- Remove metadata with Remove PDF Metadata for a small extra saving.
Check quality before sending
Open the compressed file and zoom in on small text, stamps and signatures. If anything looks blurry, go back to a lower compression level.
Still too big?
Split the document into parts with Split PDF and send them in separate emails, or share a download link from your cloud storage instead of an attachment.