Compress PDF Online Free – Reduce PDF Size in KB & MB
Make a PDF small enough to email or upload. Choose a compression level, press a size button from 50 KB to 1 MB, or type the exact limit your form gives – the tool aims for it and shows the final size.
How to compress a PDF
Choose your PDF
Select or drop the PDF you want to make smaller.
Pick a level or size
Recommended suits most files. For a form, press a size button above or choose “Target size” and type a limit like 200 KB.
Download
Press Compress PDF. You’ll see the new size before downloading.
Everyday uses
- Government and exam portals – many forms only accept PDFs under 100–500 KB.
- Email attachments – get under the 25 MB Gmail and Outlook limits.
- WhatsApp sharing – smaller files send faster on mobile data.
- Scanned documents – phone scans are often 5–10 MB a page; compress them to a fraction.
- Loan and KYC uploads – bank portals often have strict size limits.
- Storage – keep years of statements without filling your phone.
Good to know
Most of a PDF’s size comes from photos and scans. The compressor re-encodes those images at a sensible resolution, removes unused data and rebuilds the file structure. Text, fonts and vector drawings stay sharp and selectable.
“Extreme” gives the smallest file with softer photos. Very small target sizes may, as a last resort, turn pages into images to get under the limit; you’ll be told when that happens. If a PDF is already as small as it can get, we’ll keep your original rather than give you a bigger file.
Private by design. Compress PDF works inside your browser. Your file is processed on your device and is not uploaded to our server.
Compress a PDF to an exact size: 50 KB, 100 KB, 200 KB, 500 KB or 1 MB
Press one of the size buttons at the top of this page, or choose “Target size” and type any number in KB. The tool then tries stronger settings one after another and stops as soon as the file fits: first it re-compresses the photos and scans inside the PDF while keeping text as text, then it lowers their resolution step by step, and only as a last resort turns pages into compressed images. It tells you when it had to do that, and it never hands you a file larger than your original.
| Limit | Often asked for | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 50 KB | Single-page proofs on scholarship, admission and recruitment forms – an ID card, fee receipt or certificate | A one-page document usually fits. Several scanned pages may not fit and stay readable; remove or split pages first. |
| 100 KB | Certificates and mark sheets on exam and job application forms | A page or two of scans. Zoom in afterwards and check that names and numbers are still sharp. |
| 200 KB | Supporting documents on government and university portals | A few scanned pages, or a longer PDF that is mostly text. |
| 300 KB | Salary slips, experience letters and other KYC or HR uploads | Several scanned pages with little visible loss. |
| 500 KB | Longer documents: statements, reports and application bundles | Most documents of 5–10 pages, depending on how many photos they contain. |
| 1 MB | Insurance claims, visa and HR portals, and email to offices | Most everyday documents, usually with no visible change. |
Tips when a limit is tight
- Aim a little lower. Some portals count 1 KB as 1,000 bytes instead of 1,024. If a file shown as 99 KB is refused for a 100 KB limit, set the target to 97 KB.
- Remove what the form does not need. Blank pages, instructions and duplicate pages cost space – take them out with Delete PDF Pages, or upload parts separately with Split PDF.
- Tick greyscale. Colour scans of black-and-white documents shrink a lot more in greyscale.
- Start from a good photo. For a phone photo of a single page, crop it tightly with Crop Image and make the PDF with JPG to PDF; that is often sharper than squeezing a large scan.
Limits to know before you start
- A PDF that is mostly text is already small; savings come from photos and scans.
- Extreme softens photos. With a very small target size, pages may be saved as images as a last resort, which makes text unselectable; you are told when that happens.
- If the file cannot get smaller, you get your original back instead of a bigger file.
If something goes wrong
The file did not get smaller. It is mostly text or already compressed. You get your original back. Remove pages or tick the greyscale option.
The tool asks for a password. The PDF is protected. Type the password you normally use to open it; it is used only in your browser. The new file is not locked.
Text looks blurry. The pages were saved as images to reach a very small target. Use a larger target or the Recommended level.
“Could not read this PDF”. The file is probably damaged or not really a PDF. Run it through Repair PDF, then try again with the repaired copy.
Compress PDF – questions
How do I compress a PDF to 100 KB, 200 KB or another exact size?
Press a size button at the top – 50 KB, 100 KB, 200 KB, 300 KB, 500 KB or 1 MB – or choose “Target size” and type any number in KB, then press Compress. The tool lowers image quality step by step until the file fits and tells you the final size.
Can every PDF be reduced to 50 KB?
No. A one-page document usually can. Long scans may not fit and stay readable; you then get the smallest version the tool could make and a note. Remove pages you don’t need or split the PDF, then try again.
The portal still says my file is too big. What should I do?
Some portals count 1 KB as 1,000 bytes, so a file just under the limit by our count can be just over by theirs. Set the target 2–3% lower – for example 97 KB for a 100 KB limit – and try again.
Will compression make text blurry?
No for normal PDFs — text stays as text. Only photos and scanned pages are re-compressed.
Why did my PDF hardly get smaller?
If a PDF contains mostly text, it is already small and there is little to remove. Big savings come from photos and scans.
Is it safe to compress private documents?
Yes. The file never leaves your device; there is no upload.
Can I compress a scanned PDF?
Yes — scanned PDFs usually shrink the most.
Is there a file size limit?
No fixed limit. Very large files (over 200 MB) depend on your device’s memory.
This page describes Compress PDF as it works today. If you notice a difference, tell us and we will correct it. See our editorial standards.
Related tools
- Split PDFBreak a PDF into several files by page ranges, or one file per page.
- Delete PDF PagesRemove unwanted pages from a PDF in a couple of taps.
- JPG to PDFTurn photos into a PDF — page size, margins and order are up to you.
- Compress ImageShrink JPG, PNG and WEBP files by quality or to a KB limit.
- Resize Image in KBPhoto and signature resizer to a KB limit or range for online forms.
- Repair PDFRecover a PDF that won’t open or shows errors.
Step-by-step guide: How to compress a PDF to 100 KB or 200 KB for online forms