Compress PDF to 200 KB

Online applications for jobs, visas, universities and banks commonly cap each PDF at 200 KB, sometimes 300 or 400 KB. A degree certificate scanned on a phone is usually several megabytes. This tool shrinks the PDF step by step until it fits: a lossless clean-up first, then smaller and lighter images, and only if you allow it, pages turned into compact images. Your documents are processed in your browser and never uploaded.

How to use this tool

1. Choose the PDF — for example a CV, passport scan, transcript or bank statement.
2. Leave the target at 200 KB or type the exact limit from the application form.
3. Keep “turn pages into images” on if only the look matters; untick it when the text must stay selectable. Add grayscale for black-and-white documents.
4. Download the result and check the reported size and method before you upload.

Formula

Target in bytes = KB × 1,024 (200 KB = 204,800 bytes). The tool finds the highest resolution between 150 and 40 DPI at which the images still fit, then finds the best JPEG quality by repeatedly halving the interval, first between 50% and 85%, then between 20% and 50% if nothing fits.

Images are never enlarged, and an image is only replaced when the new version is smaller. Page images, if needed, are tried from 150 down to 30 DPI.

Example

A 3-page CV with a photo, exported from a design app at 1.4 MB, typically reaches about 150–200 KB in the image pass at around 120–150 DPI, with the text still selectable. A 6-page colour scan of a transcript may need the page-image pass at about 80 DPI.

Tips for upload portals

Upload only the pages the form asks for — use Extract PDF Pages first. Black-and-white documents compress much better with grayscale on. If the portal says “200 KB” but rejects a 199 KB file, it probably means 200,000 bytes: enter 195. When even the smallest version is too large, the tool says so and gives you the smallest file it could make.