The 200 KB PDF compressor tries the gentlest method first and stops at the first result that fits. There’s a 100 KB version too. Your document stays on your device.
Compress PDF to 200 KBCompress the PDF to the limit
- Add the PDF. Drop it on the box or choose it. Several files are compressed one by one, each to the limit.
- Pick the limit. The size pages start at 200 KB or 100 KB. For any other number, open Compress PDF, choose Fit under a size and type it.
- Read the note under the file. It says what was done: photos recompressed, or pages turned into images, and at what resolution.
- Open the result before uploading. Zoom in on the smallest print, stamps and signatures. If you can read them, upload it.
The tool aims under 100,000 or 200,000 bytes, the smaller meaning of KB, so the file passes whichever way the portal counts. If it can’t reach the limit at all, it says so and hands you the smallest version it made.
How many pages fit in 200 KB or 100 KB
In a scanned PDF, each page is a picture, and pictures take nearly all the space. The limit is shared out across the pages:
Space per page = limit ÷ number of pages
| Pages | Per page at 200 KB | Per page at 100 KB |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 200 KB | 100 KB |
| 2 | 100 KB | 50 KB |
| 5 | 40 KB | 20 KB |
| 10 | 20 KB | 10 KB |
A single A4 page of text stays readable at a few tens of KB as an image. At 10 KB a page, small print turns soft. So 200 KB suits a short bundle of a few pages, while 100 KB really means one or two.
Real results from test scans
We ran sample A4 scans with typical scanner noise through the tool in Chrome on 8 October 2026. These are the sizes it produced:
| Test file | Before | At 200 KB | At 100 KB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-page greyscale scan, 300 DPI | 1.28 MB | 116 KB | 64 KB |
| 3 pages, one with a photo, 200 DPI | 1.36 MB | 172 KB | 96 KB |
| 5-page colour scan, 200 DPI | 1.93 MB | 170 KB | 126 KB, didn’t fit |
| 10-page colour scan, 200 DPI | 3.92 MB | 254 KB, didn’t fit | not tested |
Everything that fitted did so by recompressing the page images, which keeps any text layer intact. The two that didn’t fit were too long for their limit even after the pages were redrawn at 50 DPI. Results always depend on the scan, so treat these as a guide, not a promise.
Scan it smaller from the start
A smaller original compresses into a sharper result. Two settings on the scanner or scanning app matter most.
- Resolution. An A4 page at 200 DPI is 1654 × 2339 pixels, about 3.9 million. At 150 DPI it is 1240 × 1754, about 2.2 million, 44% fewer pixels to store. 150 to 200 DPI is plenty for forms; 300 DPI or more is for print.
- Colour. A black-and-white document doesn’t need colour. In the tests above, two greyscale pages fitted in 64 KB, while five colour pages couldn’t get under 100 KB.
Phone scanning apps with a document mode also crop the table and the dark edges around the page, which are pure waste.
Typed documents are different
A PDF exported from Word or Google Docs is mostly text, which is already tiny. If one is over the limit, the cause is usually an embedded photo or logo, and recompressing that photo is enough. Tick Keep text selectable and the tool won’t turn pages into pictures; it tells you if the file can’t fit that way.
A typed PDF that is still large after that may have embedded fonts or many pages. Removing pages the form doesn’t need is the cleanest fix.
If it still won’t fit
- Send only what’s asked for. Use Extract PDF pages to keep the page the form needs, such as the mark sheet and not the whole prospectus.
- Split it, if the portal takes several files. Split PDF makes separate files that each get the full limit.
- Combine first, then compress. If the form wants one PDF from several scans, merge them and compress the merged file, so the bundle as a whole fits.
- Rescan. Greyscale at 150 DPI usually beats any amount of compression on a 600 DPI colour scan.
Don’t force a long colour scan under 100 KB just to get it accepted. A file the office can’t read can do more harm than one that needed a second upload.
Other ways on a Mac
Preview can shrink a PDF: choose File › Export, then Reduce File Size in the Quartz Filter menu. It’s quick, but it uses one fixed setting with no target, so you can’t ask it for 200 KB. Some files come out far below the limit and blurry, others still too big. Apple’s own guide warns the result may be lower quality than the original.
For email rather than forms, the PDF for email guide covers attachment limits and what makes a PDF large.
Limits on real portals
Limits differ between portals, and even between documents on the same form. Two published examples:
| Where | Document | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| IBPS PO/MT-XVI notification, 30 June 2026 | 10th standard certificate | PDF, A4 pages, not more than 500 KB |
| Protean (NSDL) online PAN application with scanned images | Proof of identity, address, date of birth | Black and white, PDF/A or JPEG, max 300 KB per page, 200 DPI |
Other portals ask for 100 or 200 KB. Always read the limit printed next to the upload button for your application, and aim inside it.
Sources
- IBPS, Notification CRP PO/MT-XVI (30 June 2026), Annexure III. Certificate PDF limit of 500 KB
- Protean: Online application for new PAN card, scanning specifications. Supporting documents at 200 DPI, max 300 KB per page
- Apple Support: Reduce the size of a PDF in Preview on Mac