Compress PDF to 200 KB

A 200 KB limit is common on application forms that ask for a certificate, a reference letter or a proof of address. It is twice as roomy as 100 KB, which makes a real difference for scans:

• One or two scanned A4 pages usually fit in color at 100 to 130 dpi, sharp enough to read stamps and signatures.
• Three to five scanned pages fit in grayscale at around 100 dpi.
• A typed PDF with a few photos (a CV with a portrait, a short report with a chart) fits in Recommended mode, with the text staying sharp and selectable.
• Long scans of ten pages or more generally need splitting, because each page then gets less than 20 KB.

A useful rule of thumb: divide 200 KB by the number of scanned pages. If each page gets 60 KB or more, it will look good. Between 30 and 60 KB it is readable but soft. Below 30 KB small print starts to suffer.

In target mode you don't pick a resolution; the tool finds it for you. It starts with its strongest setting to see whether 200 KB is reachable at all. If it is, it searches through the levels between 50 dpi and 200 dpi, keeps the highest quality that is still below the limit, and then tries one value in between to get even closer. The whole search usually needs four to six attempts, and you can follow them in the progress line.

Recommended mode shrinks only the images inside the PDF and then repacks the file structure. Text, vector graphics and form fields stay untouched, so you can still search and copy from the result. Strong mode renders each page as an image. It reaches much smaller sizes for PDFs full of fonts or complex drawings, but the text is no longer selectable. If a scan is involved, Strong mode also lets you switch to grayscale.

A PDF that is already below 200 KB is not touched at all.

When even the strongest level ends up above 200 KB, the tool keeps the smallest version it managed to make and marks it in amber, so you know before you upload. Then try these steps in order:

1. Strong mode with grayscale. Most paperwork is black text on white paper, and grayscale removes two of the three color channels.
2. Fewer pages. Delete blank pages, cover sheets and duplicate sides with the delete pages tool. Every scanned page you remove frees up the same amount of space.
3. Split into parts. If the form has several upload fields, split the PDF and compress each part.
4. A better source. A scan with a clean white background compresses far better than a photo with shadows. Rescan or retake the photo in even light.

After compressing, open the PDF and zoom to 100%. Look at the smallest text on the page, the signature and any stamp or seal. These are the details reviewers need, and they are the first to blur when a file is squeezed hard.

If something is hard to read, you have two choices: raise the target (if the form allows 250 or 300 KB, use it) or reduce the number of pages so that each page gets more space. Reducing the color is almost always better than reducing the resolution: a grayscale page at 130 dpi looks sharper than a color page at 72 dpi of the same size.

The PDF is processed in your browser with JavaScript and WebAssembly; it is never sent to a server. That makes the tool safe for passports, contracts and bank statements. There is no sign-up, and once the page has loaded the compression keeps working without an internet connection. The original file on your disk stays unchanged; the result is saved as a new file.