Best 5 Tools to Flatten PDF Online in 2022

1. Sejda

Pricing: $5 for 7 days

Sejda is a web-based offering that strikes a fantastic balance between value and quality. When considering how to flatten a PDF, it is quite simple. Web-based tools such as Sejda simplify the process. With a nice user interface, all you have to do is upload your file and Sejda does the rest. A free service is offered for up to 200 pages or 50Mb. This is acceptable for those who only need to flatten PDFs from time to time and don’t need to do much more. Sejda offers a fast service that will flatten your PDF quickly and securely, producing a clean and polished outcome akin to Photoshop. If you subscribe, it can deal efficiently with a larger load of multiple PDFs at once, and then Sejda really comes into its own.

Pros:

• Fast and simple to use
• Fantastic end product
• Great for converting hundreds of PDF pages
• Subscription offers to the process of multiple files at once

Cons:

• The free version has limited features
• expensive when used extensively

2. VancePDF

Pricing: Free

VancePDF is a basic and free option that delivers quite a high-quality result. If you’re looking for a quick and easy option to convert your PDF to JPG, this one must be considered. The main downfall of this one is that it is very basic and does not cater to those who have hundreds of pages to convert. With a slightly downgraded result compared to Sejda, this is still a great option for those who need to flatten PDF online and only need to do this with just a few documents.

Pros:

• Free
• Nice user interface
• Simple

Cons:

• Lacks the ability to convert en-masse
• Not quite as good a result as Sejda

3. AvePDF

Pricing: Free

Here we have another old favorite in AvePDF. Very similar to Vance, AvePDF provides a lovely easy user interface and invites you to drop your file in order to flatten PDF. It then asks you whether you want to flatten layers, or annotations and elements. This can mean it takes a little longer to achieve what you want. Again, this is a good tool for those looking for a free option, but don’t need anything too in-depth or complicated.

Pros:

• Fast and free
• The good quality end result

Cons:

• Can be a little slow
• Limited options

4. PDF Real

Pricing: Free

Another decent free tool is PDF Real. Offering the usual conversion options as above, this is one neat option to flatten PDF. If you consider how to flatten PDF, this website makes it very easy. Simply upload your file and there is just one option, ‘Flatten’. The downside is that you must manually choose your file, you cannot simply drag and drop your file as with the others. But having said that, once you flatten PDF, the result is achieved imminently.

Pros:

• Very fast result
• Simple and attractive interface

Cons:

• No possibility to drag and drop your file.
• Can’t deal with huge numbers of PDF pages.

5. i2PDF

Pricing: Free

With a lovely but simple user interface, i2PDF is the last in our list but worthy of a mention in your mission to find a tool to flatten PDF online. Similar to most in this list, you can just drag and drop one PDF at a time, but when you come to flatten a PDF, the result is almost instantaneous. One of the quickest without a doubt. It has the usual tools one might expect but again can not deal with PDF pages en masse. This is definitely worth a look though if you want something simple and quick!

Pros:

• Very fast
• Easily accessible free tools

Cons:

• Only one file per upload
• Can’t deal with hundreds of pages

FAQs

1. what does it mean to flatten a PDF?

Flattening a PDF simply means merging separate parts of your document. There are parts of a PDF, such as checkboxes, text boxes that are required for forms such as questionnaires. When you flatten a PDF it also means that the document can be read more easily by a printer.

2. Why do you need a flattened PDF?

In order to have that extra layer of security, you need to flatten PDF. If you do not, the document may be changed or even lose its alignment. Another advantage is that flattening your PDF will reduce the file size and make it, therefore, easier to send via e-mail, etc.

3. How do you tell if a PDF has been flattened?

If a PDF has been flattened you can easily tell as the highlight function will not work. It will not be possible to use any checkboxes or drop-down lists. You will not be able to type in any textboxes or edit the body of the document in other ways as embedded parts of the PDF have been merged together as one.

4. Does flattening a PDF reduce file size?

Flattening a PDF does indeed reduce the file size. If you choose to convert to JPG, it is well known that JPG format is one of the most condensed and file sizes are conveniently small. Other types of image format, or indeed, the resolution you choose for your converted image, will make a difference in file size.

Also read How to Add Watermark to PDF in and Without Acrobat.