How to compress a PDF in Telegram
Three steps in the bot chat – no menu or settings needed.
Open the bot
Start @tinyfile_bot. The bot picks up a PDF from any menu – if you plan to send several, tap Compress → PDF.
Send the PDF as a file
Attach it as a File, up to 20 MB. Forwarding a PDF from another chat works too.
Get the lighter copy
The bot replies with the compressed PDF as a file, its name prefixed with _tinyfile_bot_.
What gets compressed in a PDF
The bot rewrites the PDF with Ghostscript's eBook preset. Here is what that changes – and what it leaves alone.
Images: downsampled
Photos, scans and screenshots above about 225 dpi are brought down to 150 dpi and re-encoded. That is where almost all the savings come from.
Text and layout: kept
Text, fonts and vector graphics are written back as text and vectors, not turned into pictures – letters stay sharp at any zoom, and the text stays selectable.
One preset, no settings
PDF has no quality levels: every file gets the same medium-resolution setting, made for reading on screen.
| What's inside the PDF | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Scans, photos, image-heavy slides | The biggest drop in size |
| Text with charts or screenshots | A noticeable drop, depending on the images |
| Text only, or images already under 150 dpi | Almost no change – there is little to shrink |
The bot sends the rewritten file even when it isn't lighter: a text-only PDF can come back about the same size or slightly larger. In that case, just keep your original.
Limits and what's free
PDF compression runs on the free weekly pool shared with image compression, conversion and video stickers – 50 operations a week.
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Compressing a PDF | Free, from the weekly pool |
| Each PDF inside a ZIP archive | 1 operation from the pool |
| PDFs past the pool in a week | 1 credit each |
The pool resets every Monday at 00:00 UTC; past it, each operation costs 1 credit from your balance. A file that fails to process isn't counted. Limits: 20 MB per PDF; in Compress → PDF you can send up to 100 files at once, or a ZIP of up to 20 MB with up to 200 files.
Need a PDF from Word or PowerPoint first?
TinyFile also converts DOCX, DOC and PPTX to PDF. Send the document and tap Convert to PDF under it, or open Convert → OFFICE → PDF. This conversion has its own quota outside the weekly pool: 5 free a week, then 5 credits each. Step by step – in the Office → PDF guide.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF in Telegram?
Open @tinyfile_bot and send the PDF as a file – from any menu. The bot replies with a compressed copy in the same chat.
Will the text and layout stay the same?
Yes. Text, fonts and vector graphics are written back as text and vectors, so pages look the same and the text stays selectable. What changes is the images: anything above about 225 dpi is downsampled to 150 dpi.
Why did my PDF barely shrink?
Most of a PDF's weight is usually in its images. A text-only PDF, or one whose images are already under 150 dpi, has little to shrink – the copy can come back about the same size or slightly larger. Then keep the original.
Can I choose the compression level?
No. PDF has one fixed setting – Ghostscript's eBook preset. Quality levels from 20 to 80% exist only for PNG and JPG in the image compressor.
How big can the PDF be?
Up to 20 MB per file. In Compress → PDF you can send several PDFs at once or a ZIP archive of up to 20 MB with up to 200 files.
Is PDF compression free?
Yes, within the weekly pool – 50 operations shared with image compression, conversion and video stickers, reset every Monday. Past the pool, each PDF costs 1 credit (see limits and what's free).
Can I turn Word or PowerPoint into a PDF?
Yes – send a .docx, .doc or .pptx and tap Convert to PDF. Office → PDF has its own weekly quota, separate from the compression pool.
What if the bot can't process my PDF?
The bot replies with an error and the file isn't counted: the pool operation or the credit comes back. Try re-saving the PDF and sending it again.