How to compress a PDF without losing quality

What you can do

Riqa compresses PDFs using Ghostscript and lets you choose how aggressively to reduce the file size:

Low — the most aggressive compression. Produces the smallest possible file, optimised for web viewing or sending by email. Some visible quality reduction is expected at this setting.

Medium — the balanced default. Works well for most documents — reports, invoices, presentations — and produces a noticeably smaller file without obvious quality loss.

High — minimal compression. Preserves near-print quality while still reducing file size slightly. Best for documents where image or text sharpness matters.

Step-by-step

1. Go to riqa.app/compresspdf and upload your PDF by dragging it in or clicking to browse.
2. Choose a quality preset — Medium is selected by default and suits most files.
3. Click Compress PDF.
4. Once processing completes, download your compressed file.

What you get back

• Smaller file — download the compressed PDF directly. The result shows how much space was saved compared to the original.
• Already well-optimised — if Riqa detects that further compression would not meaningfully reduce the file size, you will be told the file is already well-optimised and offered the original to download. A credit is still used because the operation ran — this is consistent with how all Riqa operations are charged.

Things to know

• Password-protected PDFs cannot be compressed. Remove the password first using Riqa's Unlock PDF tool, then come back and compress.
• Your file is available to download for 24 hours, after which it is permanently deleted from Riqa's servers.
• Compression costs 3 credits per operation, regardless of file size or quality preset chosen.