Compress a PDF on Mac, offline
Short answer. Paperlane for Mac compresses a PDF on your Mac with four presets, from a lossless re-save to strong image downscaling, and an optional target size. Pages with large images are re-rendered while text stays selectable. It runs offline, keeps your original, and tells you when a file cannot get smaller.
Three ways to do it
In the app
Open Compress PDF, drop one or more files, choose a preset, and run.
From Finder
Select PDFs in Finder, right-click, and choose Compress with Paperlane.
With Shortcuts
Use the Run Paperlane Tool action with Compress PDF, or a recipe on a watch folder, to shrink every PDF that lands there.
Steps
- Open Compress PDF and drop in the files.
- Start with the balanced preset and check the size.
- If it is still too big, try strong or set a target size.
- Use flatten only when you accept that pages become images.
At a glance
- Engine
- PDFKit with per-page image downscaling
- Presets
- Lossless, high quality, balanced, strong
- Size target
- Optional, best effort
- Flatten
- Optional: every page becomes an image with an invisible text layer
- Original file
- Never modified
Honest limitations
- Flatten turns every page into a picture with a hidden text layer, so text looks slightly softer and form fields stop working.
- A PDF that is mostly text with no large images may barely shrink; the app says so instead of saving a copy that is not smaller.
Need just one file?
Do one file free in your browser: Compress PDF
Questions
Is a compressed PDF still searchable?
Yes. The presets keep text selectable, and flatten adds an invisible text layer so search still works.
Do I need the Mac app, or is the web tool enough?
For one file the free web tool works in your browser. The Mac app adds Finder Quick Actions, folders and automation.
Will it overwrite my PDF?
No. It writes a new file next to the original.