How to Compress a PDF for Email Attachments
Reduce PDF file size for Gmail, Outlook, and business email attachments while keeping text and scanned pages readable.
Email Attachment Limits
Gmail commonly allows attachments up to 25MB, but many companies and schools have stricter limits. Even when an attachment is accepted, smaller PDFs send faster and are easier for the recipient to open on mobile.
Quick Steps
- Compress image-heavy PDFs before attaching them.
- Keep the original file separately in case you need full quality later.
- Use a clear filename such as invoice-compressed.pdf or application-documents.pdf.
- Open the compressed file once before sending to confirm it is readable.
When to Split Instead
If a PDF contains many unrelated documents, splitting it into smaller files may be better than extreme compression. Use compression for scan-heavy files and splitting for oversized document bundles.
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