Compress PDF to 10 MB
Stay under Outlook's default 10 MB email cap and send design portfolios without cloud links.
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Accepts .PDF · Up to 1,000 files
How it works
Drop your files
Drag and drop, or click to browse PDF files. For larger files over 5 MB, do smaller batches of 5 to 10. For smaller files, you can do batches of up to 250.
Click Compress
Everything runs in your browser via WebAssembly. Compression happens locally — no server involved.
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Download files individually or grab all at once as a ZIP.
Microsoft Outlook has a default limit of 10 MB per message. This means the text and file attachments combined must not exceed 10 megabytes. For example, if you're sending image-heavy PDF files such as conference presentation files or high-resolution technical documentation, these can balloon to over 50 MB (sometimes more). Compressing these to just under 10 megabytes will enable you to send these files from a corporate email account without being rejected by a mail server.
When do you need 10 MB?
- Outlook email file attachments (10 MB Max). This tool has a max attachment size of 10 MB per message. Sending anything over this will trigger a 'message size exceeds maximum' error.
- Design portfolios with embedded images. Creatives who use Adobe InDesign or Figma easily exceed 100 MB. Compress the PDF output to 10 MB so you can send these as attachments using Outlook and prevent any delays.
- Conference presentation handouts. PDF documentation in seminars are usually emailed to attendees. If you're using Outlook, compressing these files to 10 MB (or just under it) is essential to send these out en masse.
- Long technical documentation. These include engineering proposals, architecture specifications, and technical reports submitted to clients or procurement teams via email and need to pass corporate mail server limits.
Frequently asked questions
The default email file size limit of Microsoft Outlook is 10 MB; this is set to keep storage usage manageable. But some companies' IT departments modify this setting and increase the limit to 20 MB (or more). Regardless, we won't know these email servers' size limits in advance, so 10 MB is a good starting point.
Gmail's attachment cap is 25 MB, so sending a 10 MB attachment should be fine. However, if Gmail blocks the email, the issue could be the total message size. There may be other attachments included along with the PDF file, or there are embedded photos in the message itself.
Vector elements (such as lines, shapes and paths) will not be affected by PDF image compression, whereas embedded raster elements (photos, screenshots and other scanned images) will degrade in quality. Charts and other diagrams created in PowerPoint or Illustrator will remain crisp and clear regardless of the level of compression applied.
Nope. ConvertYard won't be able to read or write encrypted PDF files. One workaround is using the Unlock PDF tool to remove the password, then compress that file. If it contains sensitive data, you can re-add the password using the Protect PDF tool.
The target-size mode will run compression passes up to six times. The first pass is a structural cleanup pass; then the succeeding passes gradually lower image quality from 80 to 30%, stopping only when the target size is reached. This option is best if you have a hard file size cap - usually email attachments or government portals.
No. ConvertYard cannot read or write encrypted PDFs. You must first use the Unlock PDF tool to remove the PDF password before you can use this tool to compress it.
Target-size mode will run the compression up to six passes automatically. It first runs the structural cleanup pass, then slowly lowers image quality from 80 to 30%, only stopping when the target size is met. Use this option if you have a hard limit (for example, an email attachment or a government portal).