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Compress a PDF to a target size
Type the size limit you need to meet and get the most readable PDF that fits under it.
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How to compress a PDF
- Choose your PDF.
- Type the maximum size in KB, or tap a common limit.
- Tick Black and white for scanned documents, then select Compress PDF.
How it reaches your size
The tool redraws each page as an image and tries progressively smaller settings until the whole document fits your limit, keeping the highest quality that fits. This works especially well for scanned documents and phone photos turned into PDFs, which are where most oversized PDFs come from.
Because pages become images, text in the compressed file cannot be selected or searched. Keep your original file as well.
Tips for small limits like 100 KB
- Remove pages the form does not need with split PDF.
- Turn on black and white: it often halves the size of scanned pages.
- Each page needs its share of the limit. Under 100 KB works well for 1 to 3 pages; longer documents need larger limits to stay readable.
Why some PDFs are so large
A PDF made from a word processor stores text as text, so even a long report is usually small. Large PDFs almost always contain images: scanned pages, phone photos of documents, or high-resolution pictures. A single colour page scanned at 300 DPI can be 1 to 3 MB, so a 10-page scan easily reaches 20 MB.
How this compressor works
The tool redraws every page as an image at a resolution and quality chosen to fit your target, starting at the highest quality and stepping down until the whole file fits. This works on any PDF and reaches small limits reliably, but it has one trade-off: text in the result can no longer be selected or searched. For scanned documents that does not matter, because their text was already part of an image.
How small can a PDF get?
| Document | Realistic target |
|---|---|
| 1 scanned page, black and white | 50 to 100 KB |
| 1 scanned page, colour | 100 to 200 KB |
| 5-page scanned document | 300 KB to 1 MB |
| 20-page scanned document | 1 to 3 MB |
Pushing far below these targets makes text hard to read. If a portal's limit is very small, upload fewer pages: split the PDF and submit only the pages asked for.
Getting the best result
- Turn on black and white for text documents, certificates and forms without colour stamps. It often halves the size.
- Crop scans before making the PDF: table edges and backgrounds around the paper waste space. Use JPG to PDF on cropped photos.
- Check readability: open the result and zoom into the smallest text, such as registration numbers and dates, before uploading.
- Keep the original: the compressed copy is for uploading, not for archiving.
Questions
Is my PDF uploaded?
Your files never leave your device. The conversion runs inside your browser, so nothing is uploaded to a server and there are no daily limits.
Why can't I select text after compressing?
Pages are saved as images to reach small sizes reliably. For documents that must stay searchable, use a larger target or keep the original.
The result is still larger than my target. What now?
The tool stops before pages become unreadable. Remove unneeded pages, turn on black and white, or ask whether the portal accepts a larger file.