How to Make a PDF Smaller So You Can Email It

Large PDFs are often too big to email — here's how to compress any PDF for free on your phone or computer without special software.

In this guide (4 steps):

1.Use Smallpdf.com to compress a PDF online
2.Use ilovepdf.com as a free alternative
3.Compress a PDF on Mac using Preview
4.Compress a PDF on iPhone using Files

Use Smallpdf.com to compress a PDF online

~30s

On any device, open a browser and go to smallpdf.com. Click "Compress PDF" on the home screen. Click "Choose File" and select your PDF from your phone or computer. Smallpdf compresses the file automatically. When finished, click "Download." The downloaded file will have "compressed" in the name. Smallpdf is free for occasional use — it processes your file and then deletes it from its servers after one hour.

Quick Tip

Smallpdf also has a mobile app if you prefer to keep everything on your phone. The free version handles most everyday compression tasks.

Use ilovepdf.com as a free alternative

~19s

ilovepdf.com is another free PDF compression website that works on any phone or computer. Go to ilovepdf.com → "Compress PDF." Upload your file, choose a compression level (Recommended is fine for most uses), and click "Compress PDF." Download the result. ilovepdf also offers PDF merging, splitting, and converting — all free and without creating an account.

Compress a PDF on Mac using Preview

~21s

Mac users do not need any website. Open the PDF in Preview (double-click the file). Go to FileExport as PDF. In the "Quartz Filter" dropdown, select "Reduce File Size." Click "Save." The exported file will be significantly smaller. Note: this can reduce image quality inside the PDF, so use the original quality if sharing medical documents where image clarity matters.

Compress a PDF on iPhone using Files

~26s

On iPhone, open the Files app and find your PDF. Press and hold it → tap "Quick Look" to preview it. To reduce its size: tap the Share icon → "Print." On the print preview screen, pinch your fingers outward on the preview — this creates a new PDF. Tap the Share button again → "Save to Files." This method produces a smaller PDF suitable for emailing. For larger reductions, use Smallpdf.com on your phone's browser.

You Did It!

You've completed: How to Make a PDF Smaller So You Can Email It

Need more help? Get Expert Help from a TekSure Tech

Email services like Gmail and Outlook typically limit attachments to 25 MB. Scanned documents, medical records, and multi-page PDFs often exceed this size. Compressing a PDF reduces its file size — often by 70–80% — without losing the text content. The result looks essentially the same on screen but is small enough to email. You can do this for free using a website, no software download required.

Rate this guide

How helpful was this guide?

PDF

compress PDF

email attachment

file size

free tools