How to Reduce PDF Size to 1 MB, 200 KB or 100 KB

Short answer: open Compress PDF, choose your PDF, and under Compress to a file size press 1 MB, 500 KB or 200 KB. For another size, such as 100 KB, type it in Size in KB and press Compress to this size. Then press Download Compressed PDF. Pages full of text stay text, scanned pages are made just small enough to fit, and if the size cannot be reached with the text still readable, the page tells you the smallest readable size. It all runs in your browser, on a phone or a computer, it is free, and the file is never uploaded.

Why a PDF gets too big

A PDF made with a scanner or a phone camera stores every page as a photo, and one page photographed at full resolution can take a megabyte or more. A ten-page scan easily reaches several megabytes, far over the 1 MB, 500 KB, 200 KB or 100 KB that application forms, job portals and government websites often accept. A PDF saved from Word or another editor is usually small, unless it carries large pictures.

Many compressors offer only quality levels such as "high" and "low", so you keep guessing until the file happens to fit. Compressing to a file size works the other way around: you give the size, and the tool finds the best quality that fits under it.

How to reduce a PDF to a specific size

Open Compress PDF in your browser. It works the same on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone, with nothing to install and no account.
Choose the PDF you want to make smaller.
Under Compress to a file size, press 1 MB, 500 KB or 200 KB. If the form asks for another size, type it in Size in KB (for 100 KB, type 100) and press Compress to this size. Any size from 10 KB to 100,000 KB works.
Wait while the tool tries a few resolution and quality settings for the scanned pages and keeps the best one that fits.
Press Download Compressed PDF.

The result is under the size you chose. The tool counts 1 KB as 1,000 bytes and 1 MB as 1,000,000 bytes, so a file that fits here also fits a form that counts 1 MB as 1,024 KB.

What happens to your pages

First, a light clean-up. The tool tidies the file's structure without changing anything you can see. If that alone is enough, nothing else is done.
Pages with text are copied as they are. Their text stays sharp, selectable and searchable, and their links keep working.
Pages with only a few words or none, such as scans, photos and many slides, are saved again as pictures at the highest resolution and quality that still fits, from 200 DPI down to 100 DPI. At 100 DPI even small 8-point print stays readable. Words on these pages can no longer be selected, and anything you could click or fill in on them becomes part of the picture.
A file already under the size is given back unchanged, and the page says so.

Can you reduce PDF size without losing quality?

Partly. The light clean-up changes nothing you can see, and pages with text are never turned into pictures, so a PDF made from a text document keeps its quality exactly. Scanned pages are different: making them smaller always costs some sharpness. The tool keeps as much of it as the size allows, so the larger the size you choose, the sharper the scan stays. If the form accepts 1 MB, do not choose 200 KB.

If the size cannot be reached

Because pages with text are never turned into pictures, a PDF that is mostly text has a lower limit: however small the scanned pages get, the text pages still take their space. The tool also never goes under 100 DPI on its own, because below that, small print starts to blur. When the size is out of reach, the page says so and gives you the smallest readable file, which you can still download.

If you need it smaller anyway, press Make it smaller anyway (small print may blur). The scanned pages can then go down to 50 DPI. Open the result before you send it, because small print may no longer be readable.

Other things that help:

Remove pages you do not need. Blank backs of scanned sheets, cover pages and appendices all add size. Remove Blank Pages finds the empty pages in a scan, and Delete PDF Pages removes any page you pick. Then compress again.
Split the document. If the form accepts several files, Split PDF cuts one PDF into smaller parts.
Choose the largest size the form allows. The smaller the size, the lower the resolution of the scanned pages.

Tips for scans that stay readable

Compressing to a size always uses the best quality that fits, but the result can only be as good as the scan. Photograph pages in good light, keep them straight and uncut, and open the downloaded file before you send it. If small print is hard to read at 100 KB or 200 KB, use a larger limit if the form allows one. If you are starting from photos, JPG to PDF turns them into one PDF that you can then compress.

Frequently asked questions

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. The whole compression runs in your device's browser. The file is not sent anywhere, so an ID card, a diploma or a bank statement stays on your phone or computer.

Can I reduce a PDF's size on my phone?

Yes. Open the page in Chrome, Safari or another browser, choose the file from your phone's storage and download the result. There is no app to install.

How do I make a PDF small enough to email?

Email services usually refuse attachments over 20 to 25 MB. To be safe, aim a little lower: type 15000 in Size in KB for 15 MB and press Compress to this size.

Will the text in my PDF still be selectable?

On pages with text, yes, because those pages are copied as they are. A page with only a few words, such as a scan or a slide, is saved as a picture, so its words can no longer be selected.

What if my PDF is already under the size I chose?

It is given back unchanged, and the page tells you it was already under the limit.

Is it free? Is there a watermark?

It is free, with no watermark and no sign-up.