How to reduce PDF size to 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB

Last updated: 6 November 2026 · यह गाइड हिंदी में पढ़ें

Job portals, exam forms and government sites often accept PDFs of only 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB. Here is how to get a file under the limit, and what to do if compression alone isn’t enough.

The quick way

Open Compress PDF and choose your file (up to 50 MB).
Start with the Medium level and select Compress PDF.
Check the new size on the result screen. If it’s still too big, go back and try High, then Extreme.
Open the downloaded file and zoom in to make sure small print is still readable.

FoxletPDF doesn’t have an “exact size” setting. You choose a level and see the result, and it never gives you a file bigger than the one you started with. This tool processes the file on our server and deletes it after download or within 15 minutes.

What makes a PDF big

Almost always, it’s images. A scanned document is really one photo per page, so a 5-page scan can easily reach several megabytes. A text-only PDF is usually small already, and compression may barely change it.

Still too big? Try these in order

Turn on grayscale. Removing colour from images saves a lot of space, and is fine for most ID proofs and certificates unless the form asks for colour.
Remove pages you don’t need. Blank backs and instruction pages add weight. Remove them with Delete Pages, then compress again.
Split the document. If the portal has separate upload fields, Split PDF lets you send each part on its own.
Scan again at a lower setting. 150 DPI is often enough for documents, and starts far smaller than a 600 DPI scan.

How small can it realistically go?

It depends on the content, so no tool can honestly promise a size. A page or two of scanned text has a fair chance of reaching 100 KB at a high level. A long colour scan probably won’t without losing readability. Readable matters more than tiny: a form can be rejected if the reviewer can’t read your document.

Tools used in this guide

Compress PDF: Make a PDF smaller by recompressing its images.
Delete Pages: Remove the pages you don't need from a PDF.
Split PDF: Break one PDF into smaller files by page range.