Compress PDF to a Target Size — Free & Private

100KB, 200KB, 500KB, and 1MB — processed on your device

Shrink a PDF to 100KB, 200KB, 500KB, or 1MB on your device. Nothing is uploaded. If a target cannot be reached, you get the smallest readable file and the real size.

Strong compression turns pages into images

To hit a small target, each page may be saved as a JPEG. Text on those pages is not selectable or searchable, and a screen reader cannot read it. If the file already fits, the original text is kept.

Choose a PDF

Up to 50 MB. The file is read in this tab and is not uploaded.

Size or quality

Target size tries to finish at or under the limit. Quality level is a fixed setting when you do not have a number to hit.

Trying for 100 KB (1,00,000 bytes).

Best for photocopies and camera scans. Colour photos of documents get much smaller in gray.

How compression works

The first pass only rewrites the PDF: object streams are packed and document info such as title and author is cleared. Fonts, vector text, and bookmarks stay as they were, so you can still select and search the text. Many digital files — a form saved from a website, a letter exported from Word — get small enough here and never need the second pass.

The second pass runs only when that rewrite is still over your target, or when you choose Medium, Low, or Smallest quality. Each page is drawn and saved as a JPEG, then the images are placed back into a new PDF. That is what makes a phone photo of a certificate fit a portal limit. It also means the pages are pictures: you cannot select the text, search it, or have a screen reader read it. The result screen says which pass was used.

Sizes on this page use 1 KB = 1,000 bytes. A file marked 100 KB is at most 100,000 bytes, so it also fits a portal that counts 1 KB as 1,024 bytes. We stop at about 60 DPI. Going softer than that makes stamps and signatures unreadable, so a long colour scan can miss 100 KB. When that happens the page says so and still lets you download the best file.

Choose the limit your form actually uses

100 KB is the limit people hit on scholarship forms, municipal certificates, and state portals that reject anything larger. A one-page grayscale scan often fits. A colour scan of a whole booklet usually does not.

200 KB suits job-portal uploads and short college forms, often two to five pages. 500 KB is a practical size for emailing a few scanned pages. It is too big for rules that say 300 KB, including supporting documents on some PAN instructions — use Custom and type 300, then read the byte count before you submit. 1 MB covers longer scans and many text PDFs without turning them into images.

Other target sizes

Related Free Tools

PDF Splitter

Drop pages before you compress

Unlock PDF

Remove a password you know

PDF to JPG

Save pages as images instead

How to use the PDF Compressor

  1. Choose the PDF

    Add one PDF, up to 50 MB. It is read in your browser and is not uploaded.

  2. Pick a target or a quality

    Choose 100KB, 200KB, 500KB, 1MB, or a custom KB. Or switch to a quality level. Turn on grayscale for camera scans.

  3. Compress

    The tool rewrites the file first. If that is still too big, it rebuilds pages as JPEGs, one page at a time, and shows progress.

  4. Read the size, then download

    The result shows the new size in KB and in bytes, and whether the target was reached. Download only after you have checked it.

PDF Compressor FAQ

How does the compressor try to hit a target size?

It first rewrites the PDF structure and clears document info. Text stays selectable. If that copy is still over the target, each page is rendered and saved as a JPEG at a lower resolution, down to about 60 DPI. 100KB means 100,000 bytes.

Will the text stay selectable?

Only if the structure rewrite was enough. The second pass replaces every page with a picture, so you cannot select, search, or copy the text, and a screen reader cannot read it. The result tells you which pass was used.

What if my PDF cannot reach 100KB?

You get the smallest file we will make while keeping pages readable, plus a clear message that the target was missed. Split off pages you do not need, turn on grayscale, or raise the target if the form allows it. We do not pretend a miss was a success.

Is the PDF uploaded?

No. The file is processed by JavaScript inside your browser tab and never sent to our servers. Closing the tab clears it from memory.

Can I compress a password-protected PDF?

Not until you unlock it. Use the PDF Password Remover with the password you already know, then compress the unlocked copy. This tool does not guess passwords.

Quick answers

What is the difference between a PDF rewrite and compressing pages to images?

A rewrite packs the existing PDF and strips document info such as title and author. Characters, fonts, and the text layer stay, so you can still search and copy. That is enough for many files exported from a website or from Word. Image compression is the fallback for a target the rewrite cannot reach: each page is drawn and stored as a JPEG, which is how a camera scan of a certificate gets under a portal limit. The trade-off is permanent. Those pages are pictures, so find, copy, and screen readers stop working. EasyPDFHub runs both passes in the browser, shows the size in bytes, and says which pass was used. If the target is missed, the download is labelled as the best readable file rather than as a success.