Compress a PDF to an exact size
Name the limit your form demands and this finds the best quality that fits. The document is processed in this browser tab and is never uploaded.
How it works
Application portals rarely ask for “a smaller PDF”. They demand a specific number: under 200 KB, under 500 KB, sometimes under 100 KB, and they reject the upload outright if you miss it. Most compressors answer with a Low / Medium / High dropdown and leave you to guess, upload, get rejected, and guess again.
This tool works the other way round. You name the limit and it searches for the highest quality that fits underneath it. Each page is rendered once at 200 DPI, then re-encoded at progressively lower JPEG quality and resolution while a binary search closes in on the largest version that still meets your budget: the same engine that powers the image compressor here.
The output is rebuilt as a fresh document, so it carries none of the original’s metadata, and every page keeps its original physical dimensions in points. A page that was A4 stays A4; only the pixels behind it change.
Everything happens inside your browser tab. The PDF is parsed and re-rendered on your own device and is never uploaded, which matters, because the documents people compress for forms are passports, bank statements, mark sheets and medical certificates.
How to use it
- 1 Choose your PDF, typically a scanned certificate, form or photo page.
- 2 Pick the limit your portal demands, such as “Under 200 KB”.
- 3 Press Compress and wait while the best-fitting quality is found.
- 4 Open the downloaded file and check every page is readable before you submit it.
Good to know
- Works best on scanned documents, which are already images. A text PDF will lose its selectable text.
- The output is a JPEG-based PDF at the resolution shown: well above what a form portal displays.
- Page sizes are preserved exactly, so the document still prints at the right physical size.
- Nothing is uploaded; the whole process runs in this browser tab.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF to under 200 KB?
Choose your file, select the “Under 200 KB” limit and press Compress. The tool finds the best-looking version that fits under that size and offers it for download. If 200 KB is not reachable without making the pages illegible, it tells you the smallest readable size instead of quietly producing something unusable.
Why does my government form reject my PDF?
Most portals enforce a hard byte limit (commonly 20 KB to 500 KB depending on the document type) and reject anything above it without explaining by how much. Compress to the exact limit named in the instructions, then check the file size before uploading.
Will the text still be selectable afterwards?
No. Reaching a hard size target requires re-rendering each page as an image, so selectable text becomes part of the picture. For a scanned document there was no selectable text to lose. For a text document, keep your original as well.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The document is parsed and re-rendered inside your browser tab. You can confirm this in your browser’s developer tools, on the Network tab. No request carries your file.
Why did compressing make my PDF bigger?
A small PDF containing only text and vector graphics is already extremely efficient. Turning those crisp shapes into photographs of themselves can genuinely take more bytes. When that happens the tool says so rather than handing you a worse, larger file.
Does it work on a password-protected PDF?
No. Remove the password in your PDF reader first, then compress the unprotected copy.
Related tools
Your files are processed on your device and are not uploaded. You can verify this in your browser’s developer tools under the Network tab.