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Compress PDF Online, Free
Make a PDF smaller for email, WhatsApp and upload portals. Pick one of four levels and see the exact new size first. Your file never leaves your device.
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Quick answer
How to reduce PDF file size
Add your PDF to the compressor above, choose Balanced (recommended) or Strong, and click Compress PDF. You see the new size and the percentage saved before you download. For strict upload limits like 100 KB or 200 KB, choose Max and lower the resolution and quality sliders. Everything runs in your browser, so your file never leaves your device.
Add your PDF
Drag and drop the file or tap Select PDF file. It opens right away, with no upload bar and no waiting.
Pick a level
Light, Balanced, Strong or Max. Not sure? Click Magic and it picks Balanced for you.
Compress
Click Compress PDF. Photos inside the file are made smaller, while text and vector graphics are left untouched.
Check and download
You see something like "3.84 MB → 282 KB · 93% smaller", then download. You can also send the file on to Sign, Edit, Watermark, Page numbers, Split or Organize.
Also known asPDF size reducerPDF compressorShrink PDFReduce PDF file sizePDF MB to KB
Compression levels
Four levels, from best quality to smallest file
A photo-heavy brochure, a text report and a phone scan all shrink in different ways, so the compressor gives you four clear choices instead of one mystery button. Savings depend a lot on what is inside your PDF, so treat the numbers below as a rough guide, not a promise.
| Level | What it does | Text selectable? | Typical saving | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | Re-saves larger JPEG photos at 80% quality and caps them at 2400 px | Yes | Small to modest | Portfolios, brochures, print files |
| Balanced | Resizes photos to 1600 px at 70% quality | Yes | Often half or more on photo-heavy files | Email, WhatsApp, most uploads (recommended) |
| Strong | Resizes photos to 1100 px at 55% quality | Yes | More than Balanced | Image-heavy reports, resumes with photos |
| Max | Turns each page into a JPEG image at your resolution (50–200 DPI) and quality (30–90%) | No | Largest, especially on scans | Scanned documents, strict KB limits |
Grayscale option
Tick "Convert images to grayscale" for black-and-white documents like mark sheets or printed letters. Colour is dropped and the file gets smaller. On Light, Balanced and Strong it applies to the photos the tool re-saves; on Max it applies to whole pages.
Real preview on Max
On Max, the preview shows the actual result at your chosen resolution and quality, and the exact pixel size of the page, so you can check readability before you download.
Never bigger
If a PDF is already optimized and cannot get at least a little smaller, you get your original back, never a larger "compressed" file.
Size guide
Compress PDF to 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB
Exam registrations, job applications, scholarship forms, college admissions and bank KYC portals often reject files above a set size. Use this table as a starting point to hit the limit on the first try. Always check the exact limit in the official notice.
| Target | Level and sliders | Typical document | If it is still too big |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 50 KB | Max · 50–70 DPI · 30–40% · grayscale | 1-page black-and-white scan | Crop the photo tightly before making the PDF |
| Under 100 KB | Max · 70–90 DPI · 40–55% | 1–2 page certificate, ID proof, mark sheet | Keep only the required pages; add grayscale |
| Under 200 KB | Max · 100–110 DPI · 55–65% | 2–4 page scanned documents | Lower the resolution by 10 and try again |
| Under 300 KB | Max · 110–120 DPI · 60–70% | Caste, income or domicile certificates | Remove blank pages with Organize pages |
| Under 500 KB | Strong (text PDFs) or Max · 120–130 DPI | Resumes, application bundles | Use Strong so resume text stays readable by applicant tracking systems |
| Under 1–2 MB | Balanced | Reports, invoices, presentations | Try Strong |
Understand KB and MB
1 MB = 1024 KB. So a 2 MB file must lose about 90% of its size to fit a 200 KB limit, and about 95% to fit 100 KB. That is why scanned files usually need Max for strict limits.
Fewer pages, smaller file
A 5-page document is always bigger than a 1-page one at the same quality. If the form asks for one certificate, upload only that page: pull it out with Split in the PDF editor.
Readability first
Portals reject documents they cannot read, even when they are under the limit. Zoom into the preview and make sure names, numbers, dates and stamps are clear before you upload.
The compressor works with levels and sliders, not an exact target size. If the first try is a little over the limit, go back to editing, lower the resolution or quality one step and compress again.
Behind the scenes
Why is my PDF so large?
Knowing what is inside your PDF helps you pick the right level.
High-resolution photos
A single 12-megapixel phone photo can add several megabytes. This is the most common cause of big PDFs, and exactly what Balanced and Strong fix.
Scanned pages
Scanners often save at 300–600 DPI in full colour, so every page is a big image. Max handles these best.
Embedded fonts
Fonts are stored inside the PDF so it looks the same everywhere. They are usually small, but they add up in text-only files.
Hidden data
Edit history, metadata and leftover objects. Saving through the compressor rebuilds the file, which can trim some of this.
Which photos the first three levels can shrink
Light, Balanced and Strong re-save photos stored as JPEG in colour or grayscale. PNG-style images, images with transparency and CMYK print photos are left as they are, and a photo is only replaced when the new version is clearly smaller. If your file is mostly that kind of image, or a scan, use Max.
Text-only PDF won't shrink? It is probably already small and efficient. There are no photos to compress, so the tool returns your original rather than a worse version.
Use cases
When you need a smaller PDF
Exam and job applications
Get certificates, ID proofs and mark sheets under the portal's KB limit without making them unreadable.
Email attachments
Many email services cap attachments at around 20–25 MB. Balanced usually brings reports and decks well under that.
WhatsApp and chat apps
Smaller PDFs send faster, open faster on phones and use less mobile data for everyone in the group.
Bank and KYC uploads
Compress statements, address proofs and signed forms for loan, insurance and account-opening portals.
Websites
Lighter PDFs download faster for your visitors, which helps for menus, brochures and catalogues.
Storage and archiving
Free up phone, cloud and email storage by shrinking old scans and statements you need to keep.
Best practices
Tips for the best compression
✓ Do
- Start with Balanced. It is the best trade-off for most files.
- Use Max with grayscale for black-and-white scans.
- Delete blank or unneeded pages before compressing.
- Crop phone photos before turning them into a PDF with JPG to PDF.
- Zoom into the preview to check small text and stamps.
- Keep the original file in case you need a higher-quality copy later.
✕ Don't
- Don't use Max for files where text must stay searchable or copyable.
- Don't compress the same file again and again; quality drops each time.
- Don't go below about 70 DPI for anything people need to read.
- Don't use Max for print-ready brochures or artwork.
- Don't upload private documents to sites that store files on their servers.
- Don't forget to check the portal's exact size limit before you start.
Any device
Compress PDF on phone, Windows and Mac
No app to install. It works in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox.
Android
Open this page in Chrome. Tap Select PDF file and pick it from Downloads or Drive. Compress, download and open it from your notifications.
iPhone and iPad
Open this page in Safari. Tap Select PDF file and choose it from Files. After you download, use "Save to Files".
Windows
Use Chrome, Edge or Firefox. Drag the PDF in from File Explorer; the smaller file is saved to Downloads.
Mac
Use Safari, Chrome or Firefox. Drag the PDF in from Finder; the smaller file is saved to Downloads.
Workflows
Compress as part of a bigger job
Compressing is often the last step. These combinations come up all the time.
Merge, then compress
Join your resume, certificates and ID with Merge PDF, then tap Compress PDF on the download screen. One small file, ready for the portal.
Photos to a small PDF
Turn phone photos into a PDF with JPG to PDF (its "Shrink big photos" option already helps), then compress if you still need it smaller.
Sign, then compress
Fill and sign a form in the PDF editor first, then compress the signed copy. Compressing last keeps your signature and text in place.
Privacy
Compressed on your device, not our server
Certificates, ID cards and bank statements are exactly the kind of files you should not upload to random websites.
Nothing to leak
This compressor reads, shrinks and rebuilds your file inside your browser. It is never sent to our server, so there is no copy to store, leak or delete later.
Clean output
No watermark, no sign-up and no daily limit. By default your file keeps its name, with "-compressed" added.
Works anywhere
On a computer or a phone, the smaller file lands in your normal downloads folder.
PromiseNo server uploadNo file storageNo accountWorks on any device
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF for free?
Add your PDF to the compressor on this page, choose Balanced and click Compress PDF. The new size and percentage saved appear before you download. It is free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily limit.
How do I compress a PDF to 100 KB?
Choose Max, set the resolution to about 70–90 DPI and the quality to 40–55%, and tick grayscale for black-and-white documents. If the file is still above 100 KB, keep only the pages you need with Split in the PDF editor, then compress again.
How do I reduce a PDF to 200 KB?
Use Max with about 100–110 DPI and 55–65% quality for scanned documents. For text-based PDFs with a few photos, Strong is often enough and keeps the text selectable.
Can I compress a PDF without losing quality?
Text, yes. Light and Balanced only re-save photos and leave text, fonts and vector graphics untouched, so text stays sharp and selectable. Photos do lose a little detail, which is usually hard to notice on screen. Light is the gentlest choice.
Why didn't my PDF get smaller?
It was probably already optimized, mostly text, or its images are of a kind the first three levels leave alone (such as PNG-style or CMYK images). The tool then returns your original file instead of a bigger one. Try Max, especially for scans.
Will compression make my text blurry?
Not with Light, Balanced or Strong; they never touch text. Max turns pages into images, so text can get soft at low resolution. Keep Max at 90 DPI or higher for documents people need to read.
Can I compress to an exact size?
Not automatically. You choose a level, and on Max a resolution and quality. Use the size guide above as a starting point and adjust one step at a time.
Is it safe to compress confidential PDFs here?
Yes. Compression happens in your browser on your own device. The file is never uploaded to a server, so certificates, IDs and financial documents stay private.
How do I convert a PDF from MB to KB?
"MB to KB" simply means making the file smaller. A 2 MB PDF is about 2048 KB. Compress it with Max at a lower resolution to bring it down to a few hundred KB or less.
Can I compress a PDF on my phone?
Yes. Open this page in Chrome on Android or Safari on iPhone, tap Select PDF file, choose a level and download the smaller PDF. No app is needed.
Is there a file size limit?
There is no fixed limit. Because the work happens on your device, very large files depend on your browser's memory. Files up to a few hundred MB usually work on computers; above 250 MB the tool warns you that it may slow down.
Can I compress several PDFs into one small file?
Yes. First combine them with Merge PDF, then on the download screen tap Compress PDF under "Continue with this file" to shrink the merged document.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
Remove the open password in your PDF app first. PDFs with only copy or edit restrictions can be compressed, but they are processed as page images, so their text is no longer selectable.
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Make your PDF smaller now
Four levels, the real before-and-after size, and your file never leaves your device.