A simple step-by-step guide to compress a pdf on iPad using PDFWix's free online tools.
How it works
Open Compress PDF — Open Safari on iPad and go to pdfwix.com/compress-pdf.
Upload your PDF — Tap Select file and pick the PDF from Files or iCloud Drive.
Pick a preset — Choose Recommended, Strong or Low based on your size target.
Compress — Tap Compress — PDFWix shrinks the file in your browser.
Download — Save the compressed PDF to your Downloads folder.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work on older iPads (pre-iPadOS 16)?
PDFWix in Safari works on iPadOS 14+ but the file picker is smoother on 16+. The Files Share Sheet method requires iPadOS 13+.
Will compression reduce quality?
On the Recommended preset, most text-heavy PDFs are visually identical. On Strong, scanned image quality drops noticeably — pick Low or Recommended if you need to preserve fine detail.
Why is my compressed PDF still huge?
Most likely the source is image-heavy (e.g. scanned at 600 DPI). Use the Strong preset, or convert each page to a lower-resolution image first using PDF to JPG at 150 DPI, then JPG to PDF to rebuild.