How to Make PDF Smaller for Email (Under 25MB)

Email Attachment Size Limits (2026)

Before trying to shrink your PDF, understand what size you're working with. Different email services have different limits:

Method 1: Compress the PDF (Fastest)

PDF compression reduces file size by optimizing images, fonts, and internal data structures. This is the fastest and easiest solution for most cases.

How to Compress with PDFey

1. Open the compressor: Go to PDFey Compress PDF
2. Upload your file: Drag and drop or click to select your PDF
3. Wait for processing: Compression happens automatically in your browser
4. Download: Save the compressed file (original stays unchanged)

Method 2: Split into Multiple Parts

If compression isn't enough, split the PDF into smaller files and send them as separate attachments. This works well for long documents.

How to Split Your PDF

1. Go to PDFey Split PDF
2. Upload your large PDF
3. Select page ranges to extract (e.g., pages 1-20, then 21-40)
4. Download each part separately
5. Send as multiple attachments with clear labeling (e.g., "Report Part 1 of 3")

Method 3: Reduce Image Quality

Images are usually the main reason PDFs become too large for email. If your PDF contains photos or scanned pages, consider these approaches:

Convert to Lower Resolution

High-resolution images (300+ DPI) are great for printing but unnecessary for screen viewing. Most PDF compressors, including PDFey, automatically reduce image resolution to screen-friendly levels (72-150 DPI).

Remove Unnecessary Images

If the document contains decorative images that aren't essential, consider removing them or replacing them with smaller versions before creating the PDF.

Method 4: Extract and Send Key Pages Only

Sometimes you don't need to send the entire document. Extract only the relevant pages:

1. Use PDFey Split PDF to extract specific pages
2. Select only the pages your recipient needs
3. Download the smaller extracted PDF

This approach is particularly useful for sending excerpts from large reports, manuals, or contracts.

Method 5: Use Cloud Sharing Instead

For very large files or when compression isn't sufficient, upload to cloud storage and share a link:

• Google Drive: Gmail automatically offers to upload files over 25MB to Drive
• OneDrive: Outlook integrates with OneDrive for large file sharing
• Dropbox: Generate shareable links for any file size
• WeTransfer: Send files up to 2GB free without registration

Why PDFs Become Too Large for Email

Understanding what makes PDFs large helps you prevent the problem in the future:

• Scanned documents: Each page is a large image (1-5MB per page typical)
• High-resolution photos: Embedded images at print quality add significant size
• Embedded fonts: Full font files can add hundreds of KB each
• Duplicated resources: Poorly optimized PDF creators may embed the same image multiple times
• Editing history: Some PDF editors keep deleted content in the file

Best Practices for Email-Friendly PDFs

When Creating PDFs

• Use "web quality" or "email quality" export settings
• Resize images before adding them to documents
• Use JPEG compression for photos, PNG only for graphics with transparency
• Enable font subsetting (embed only used characters)

When Scanning Documents

• Scan at 150 DPI for text documents (300 DPI only if you need to print)
• Use black and white mode for text-only pages
• Enable OCR to create searchable text layer (smaller than full images)

Before Sending

• Always compress before attaching
• Check file size before hitting send
• Consider if the entire document is necessary

Troubleshooting: Still Too Large?

PDF is mostly scanned pages

Scanned documents are inherently large because each page is an image. Try:

1. Compress with maximum compression settings
2. Convert to black and white if color isn't essential
3. Split into multiple emails if under time pressure
4. Re-scan at lower resolution if you have the original documents

Compression only reduced size slightly

This usually means the PDF is already optimized or contains mostly text. Options:

• Split into parts and send separately
• Use cloud sharing (Drive, Dropbox, etc.)
• Send as a ZIP archive (adds slight compression)

Recipient needs full quality

If the recipient needs print-quality images:

• Use cloud sharing instead of email attachments
• Send a compressed preview first, full version via cloud link
• Ship physical media for very large or critical files

Quick Reference: PDF Size Reduction Methods

Conclusion

Getting a PDF under 25MB for email is usually straightforward. For most files, compression alone will do the job. For larger files, splitting or cloud sharing provides reliable alternatives. The key is to choose the right method based on your specific situation and the recipient's needs.

Remember: compression is fast, free, and happens entirely in your browser with PDFey. It should always be your first step when facing "attachment too large" errors.