Compress PDF vs. Split PDF: Which One Do You Need?

Not sure whether to compress or split your PDF? Here's the real difference between the two tools and when to use each.

	Compress PDF	Split PDF
What it does	Reduces the file size of your PDF	Extracts specific pages into their own file(s)
Best for	A large file you need to email or upload somewhere with a size limit	Pulling a few pages out of a longer document
Output	One smaller PDF with the same pages	One or more new PDFs, one per page range you choose
Use both together when	You've split out the pages you need and the result is still too large to send	You only need part of a large document and want that part smaller too

Related tools