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Compress Word documents

Make DOCX files smaller by recompressing the pictures inside. Text and layout stay as they are.

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How to compress Word (DOCX) files

  1. Add your files

    Drop files on the box, paste them or choose them from your device. Nothing is uploaded.

  2. Check the settings

    The default preset suits most files. Change quality, size or format if you need a smaller file.

  3. Download the result

    Save each file or all of them as one ZIP. If a file cannot get smaller, you keep the original.

Inside a DOCX file

Since Word 2007, documents are saved as DOCX, part of the Office Open XML standard (ECMA-376, later ISO/IEC 29500). A DOCX is a ZIP archive: rename a copy to .zip and you can open it. Inside you find word/document.xml with the text, files for styles, numbering, headers and comments, and a folder word/media with every picture in the document, stored as the original JPEG, PNG or other file.

Because the text is already compressed by the ZIP, it is almost never the problem. A 50-page report of plain text is typically well under 200 KB. When a DOCX weighs 20, 50 or 100 MB, look at the media folder: phone photos inserted at full resolution, screenshots from a high-resolution display, or pasted scans.

How the Word compressor works

The tool opens the ZIP in your browser and works on the parts that matter:

  • Pictures in word/media are scaled down to the chosen resolution for the size they are shown at in the document, and JPEGs are re-encoded at the chosen quality.
  • BMP pictures become PNG. Photos saved as PNG without transparency become JPEG (the option "Turn photos saved as PNG into JPG" is on by default), and the references in the document are updated so Word still finds them. Screenshots, diagrams and transparent pictures stay PNG.
  • The document thumbnail is removed by default; embedded fonts can be removed if you choose.
  • Everything is packed again with maximum ZIP compression.

Text, styles, tracked changes, comments, tables and fields are not modified. The same tool works for .docm files with macros and for OpenDocument .odt files from LibreOffice, which have a similar ZIP structure with pictures in a Pictures folder.

Settings by purpose

PurposePicture settings
Email attachment or sharing for reviewRecommended: 150 DPI, quality 75
Upload to a portal with a strict limitStrong: 96 DPI, quality 60
Document that will be printed at the officeCustom: 220 DPI, quality 80
Master copy you keep editingDo not compress; keep the original

A picture that fills the width of an A4 or Letter page, about 16 cm or 6.3 inches between margins, needs roughly 1900 pixels across to be printed at 300 DPI and about 950 for 150 DPI. A 4000-pixel phone photo carries more than four times the needed width in each direction.

Word's own size controls

Word has built-in options that complement the tool, and they are worth knowing for documents you create yourself:

  • Compress Pictures (Picture Format tab) reduces the resolution of selected or all pictures and can delete cropped areas, which Word otherwise keeps in the file.
  • File › Options › Advanced › Image Size and Quality sets the default resolution for pictures and has a "Discard editing data" checkbox.
  • File › Options › Save › Embed fonts in the file can add many megabytes; turn it off if the recipient has the standard fonts.
  • Insert pictures with Insert › Pictures rather than copy and paste from other apps, which sometimes adds a second copy in another format.

Word questions

Will my document look different?

Layout, text and formatting are unchanged. Pictures can be slightly softer at high zoom, depending on the quality setting; at normal reading size the difference is rarely visible.

Does it work with Google Docs and LibreOffice?

It should. Only the picture data inside the DOCX is replaced, and every result is checked before you get it: the XML must parse and every picture must be in place. Download a Google Doc as DOCX first, since Google's own format cannot be dropped as a file.

Why did my DOCX hardly shrink?

It probably contains little or no imagery, or the pictures were already compressed. Text-only files are already packed by ZIP, so there is not much left to gain.

Is converting to PDF smaller?

Often, especially after compressing the PDF with the PDF compressor. Choose PDF when the recipient only needs to read or print the document, and DOCX when they need to edit it.

What about the old .doc format?

Files from Word 97–2003 use a different, binary structure. They have their own page: DOC compressor.

More document tools

All document formats are on the document compressor page, including Excel workbooks. How it works describes what stays on your device.