How To Reduce PDF File Size Without Losing Quality on Mac

So, you need to send a PDF to your colleague. However, Gmail would not let you. Why? Because the PDF exceeds the attachment file size limit. The solution is to reduce the file size of the PDF. The problem is you're afraid it may compromise the PDF's quality. Kiss that problem goodbye. Here's how you can reduce PDF size on Mac without losing quality.

Top Ways We Pick for You

Reduce PDF File Size Using Preview - A costless size reduction method for people on a tight budget.

Use PDFelement - An easy method that gives you plenty of options other than file reduction.

PDFexpert - A simple PDF solution for most people.

Reduce File Size Using Adobe Acrobat - Adobe Acrobat provides you with many advanced options for the best results.

Use PDFCompressor - An online tool that lets you reduce PDF file size for free.

HiPDF - A free online feature-rich PDF solution best for people who need to reduce the file sizes of many PDF files.

How to Reduce PDF File Size on Mac with Preview

Preview is the PDF tool that comes built-in on Mac devices. Many choose to ignore this app and download a standalone PDF tool. However, they did not know they were overlooking a gem. Despite being free software, Preview is fairly powerful.

Here's how to use Preview for PDF file size reduction:

Step 1 Open the PDF that you want to have a smaller file size.

Step 2 Click File > Export.

Step 3 Click the Quartz Filter.

Step 4 Select Reduce File Size.

What Else Can You Do in Preview

Preview is surprisingly feature-rich. Here's a list of the other things you can do with this app:

How To Reduce PDF File Size on a Mac Computer Using a PDF Editor

Preview is free and has a file reduction feature. However, using that tool can lead to a loss in quality. So, you may want to use alternatives. Here are the best PDF editors that offer quality-lossless PDF file size reduction.

Wondershare PDFelement

Wondershare PDFelement is a one-stop solution for all your PDF needs. It is one of the most powerful but easy-to-use PDF editors out there. And it is more budget-friendly than other advanced alternatives.

Try It Free

Here are the steps to follow to reduce PDF file size on PDFelement for Mac:

Step 1 Open the PDF with PDFelement for Mac.

Step 2 Click File > Save as Other > Optimize PDF.

Step 3 Move the slider to select a compression level. The higher the level, the smaller the file size will be.

Step 4 Click Save As > Save.

Other PDFelement Features:

Try It Free

PDF Expert

PDF Expert is another all-around PDF tool for Mac. It offers a wide array of handy features that make handling PDFs as easy as handling Word files.

Follow these steps to compress PDF files using PDF Expert:

Step 1 Open the PDF file with the size you want to reduce with PDF Expert.

Step 2 Click File > Reduce File Size.

Step 3 Choose a compression level. The options will show you the approximate file size for the compressed file.

Step 4 Click

Other PDF Expert Features:

Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is arguably the most advanced PDF editor. It offers so many sophisticated features that enable you to do things you can't do on other PDF editors. Expectedly, it is one of the best tools for reducing PDF file size.

Here's a walkthrough on how to compress PDF files using Adobe Acrobat Pro:

Step 1 Open Adobe Acrobat Pro. Please note that you must have the Pro version, specifically, as the free version is only a PDF reader.

Step 1 Click Tools > Optimize PDF > Open.

Step 2 Select the PDF document with the size you want to shrink. Click

Step 3 Click the Reduce File Size button on the top toolbar.

Step 4 Select an Adobe version compatibility for the output file. You can leave this as the default setting of Retain existing if you don't want to tweak it.

Step 5 Click OK

Other Adobe Acrobat Features:

Reduce PDF File Size for Free: Use Online Tools

The tools mentioned above have something in common aside from being great. They all are premium software. Each gives you a free trial that has either limited capabilities or lasts only a couple of days. So what if you are on a tight budget?

Fret not. You can use free online tools to reduce PDF file sizes instead. These are the two websites that we think are the best:

PDF Compressor

PDF Compressor is an online tool that lets you reduce the file size of PDF files. It also offers batch processing, which allows you to compress multiple PDF files simultaneously. There's also no file size limit. Unlike other online services that offer this capability, you don't have to pay for PDF Compressor to use it. But please note that you can only process 20 files per batch.

Here is how to reduce PDF file size using PDF Compressor:

Step 1 Launch Safari or your preferred web browser. Go to PDF Compressor's website.

Step 2 Click Upload Files and select the PDF files you want to compress. Alternatively, drag and drop the files into the box on the website.

Step 3 Click Download All.

Other Features

HiPDF

HiPDF is a web service that makes the capabilities of Premium PDF editors more accessible. It is free to use, with only 2 capabilities locked behind a paywall. The best thing is that its processing power is very commendable. In a way, you can say HiPDF is PDFelement but free and online.

This is how you can reduce the file size of PDFs using HiPDF:

Step 1 Open a web browser. Go to HiPDF and navigate to the Compress PDF

Step 2 Click Choose File to upload the PDF files from your computer. You can also import the files from cloud storage systems.

Step 3 Select a compression level. The higher the level, the lower the quality will be.

Step 4 Click Compress.

5. Click Download.

Other Features:

Small Tips

• We recommend using tools that let you select the compression level for the output file. It will ensure that you can reduce the PDF size by as big or small as you need. Furthermore, choosing a compression level lets you pick a setting that results in no or just a little loss in quality.

• You may also be thinking of removing pages from the PDF to reduce its size. Unfortunately, that does not work. Deleting pages from a PDF will not affect its file size.

Conclusion

Large-sized PDF files can sometimes cause you problems. For example, when sending the file through email, you may not be able to attach it. The file size may be over the attachment size limit. So, you'd want to reduce its size. The problem is that that could also lead to a loss in quality. Thankfully, some tools offer quality-lossless compressions.

Wondershare PDFelement is a solid option. It is a PDF editor with refined features designed for handling PDFs expertly. If you want a free online alternative, you can use HiPDF instead. This free web service has PDFelement's capabilities. With these tools, you can reduce PDF file size without losing quality.