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Many government and university portals reject uploads above 100 KB. This tool keeps lowering image quality until the file fits — on your device.
No upload. No watermark. No sign-up. Every tool mentioned here runs inside your browser.
Open Compress PDF, choose the Target size mode and set the slider to 100 KB. The tool re-encodes pages as images and steps the quality down until the output fits.
If it cannot reach 100 KB, the PDF is extremely dense (usually a full-colour scan). In that case split it first, or scan at a lower DPI next time.
Target-size mode rasterises pages, so the text stops being selectable and searchable. That is usually fine for uploads — the portal just needs a readable file.
If you need to keep the text layer, use Safe mode instead. It only removes structural redundancy, so the shrink is smaller (5–30%) but the text stays selectable.
Target size mode makes up to six attempts. The first redraws every page at 150 DPI and 80% JPEG quality. If the file is still above 100 KB, each next attempt lowers the quality to four fifths of the last one and makes the page images about 15% smaller in width and height.
The sixth and last attempt is about 67 DPI at 26% JPEG quality. At that setting text on an A4 page is small and soft, and photos turn blocky. If even that does not fit, the tool stops and tells you the smallest size it reached. You never get a file above the limit you set. The tool counts 1 KB as 1024 bytes, so a portal that counts 1 KB as 1000 bytes can still reject a file that is only just under.
The more of the page is plain white, the easier it is to reach 100 KB. Typed text on a white background shrinks the most. Photos, dark backgrounds and colour stamps shrink the least.
The limit applies to the whole file, so count the pages. One page has a fair chance. Two pages share the same 100 KB, and more than that is rarely realistic. If the form allows several uploads, split the document with Split PDF and compress each part.
Whatever you remove first leaves more of the 100 KB for what matters. Delete blank and unwanted pages with Delete Pages, trim dark scan borders and white margins with Crop PDF, and straighten sideways pages with Rotate PDF.
Do your edits first and compress last. If you compress a file and then change it, you will probably have to compress it again. For a set of documents, merge them with Merge PDF and compress the single result.
If the tool reports a size above 100 KB, the pages hold too much detail for that limit. Try these in order: remove pages you do not need, crop the margins, scan the paper again at a lower resolution or in black and white, or ask whether the form accepts a larger file. Some portals list one limit for photos and another for documents, so check which one applies to your upload.
This tool shrinks PDFs. It does not resize image files. If a form wants a JPG photo or signature under a set size, that is a different job.
Compression runs inside this browser tab. The PDF is read from your disk, processed in memory and saved back to your downloads. It is never uploaded, so it is safe for ID documents, certificates and bank statements.
Open Compress PDF, choose Target size, set the slider to 100 KB and press Compress PDF. The tool tries up to six times and stops at the first result that fits.
To get there the tool redraws pages as lower-resolution images with lower JPEG quality, down to about 67 DPI at 26% on the last attempt. Text turns soft. Remove pages, crop margins or use a higher limit if you can.
No. Target size turns every page into an image, so the text can no longer be selected or searched. Safe mode keeps the text, but it usually saves only 5–30%.
Sometimes. It depends on the content more than on the size. A 5 MB PDF of a few text pages with one large image can drop a lot. A 5 MB PDF of many full-colour scans usually cannot, because every page shares the same 100 KB.
Yes, in Chrome, Safari and other mobile browsers. Long PDFs are slower on a phone because everything is processed on the device.
Not always. It tries six quality steps. Very dense scans may bottom out above the target — the tool tells you the best size it reached instead of pretending.
No. Compression happens in your browser tab.
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