How it gets under the limit
Most "compress PDF to 200 KB" pages simply let you pick a compression level and hope the file lands under the limit. This tool works from the limit instead. It starts at the best setting, with images kept at 300 DPI and high quality, and checks the actual size of the finished file. If that's too big, it tries the lowest setting to see whether the target can be reached at all, then searches the settings in between for the best quality that still fits. Every attempt is listed under the result, so you can see what it cost.
Pages are never turned into pictures. Only the images inside the PDF are resized and recompressed. Text, fonts and vector drawings stay as they are, so the text remains sharp at any zoom and you can still select, search and copy it. Hidden editing data, page thumbnails and duplicate copies of the same image or font are removed along the way.
What we measured
| Original | Limit | Best setting that fits | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-page form with a photo | 1.31 MB | 200 KB | 200 DPI, high quality | 140 KB |
| Same form | 1.31 MB | 100 KB | 150 DPI, good quality | 71 KB |
| 3 scanned pages (300 DPI) | 3.49 MB | 500 KB | 120 DPI, good quality | 450 KB |
| Same scan | 3.49 MB | 200 KB | 72 DPI, low quality | 171 KB |
| Report with two full fonts embedded | 1.51 MB | 200 KB | Can't be reached | 209 KB, the closest |
A form with a photo or two fits comfortably, at a quality you won't notice. Scanned pages are harder, because every page is a full-page picture: the three-page scan got under 200 KB only at 72 DPI. The text was still readable at normal zoom but went soft when we zoomed in. As a rough guide from this test, a scanned letter-size page needs about 50 to 60 KB at the lowest settings, so a 200 KB limit holds three pages or so. With more pages than that, check whether you really need to send all of them.
When 200 KB can't be reached
Some PDFs carry weight that has nothing to do with images. The report in the table embeds two complete font files, every character of them, and those alone took 187 KB. Shrinking the images to almost nothing still left 209 KB. Instead of pretending, the tool says so, shows how much space the fonts, text and file structure take, and still lets you download the smallest version it could make.
If that happens, you have a few options:
- Export the PDF again with font subsetting. Word, Google Docs and most "Save as PDF" options embed only the characters a document uses, which is usually a few kilobytes per font. Complete fonts usually come from an export setting that embeds the whole font file.
- Send fewer pages. Remove pages the form doesn't need with Delete PDF pages, or split the document with Split PDF if the portal accepts several files.
- Check the limit. Some forms say 200 KB per file but take several files, or accept JPG for photos and ID scans.
200 KB means 200,000 bytes here
A kilobyte can mean 1,000 bytes or 1,024, and upload forms rarely say which. This tool counts 1 KB as 1,000 bytes, the stricter reading, so a file it calls 199 KB is under the limit either way. Upload forms are a common reason files get rejected while looking just under the limit. Our guide on why a 500 KB file can fail a 500 KB limit explains the others.
Other limits: 100 KB, 300 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB
Exam portals, job applications and government forms ask for all sorts of numbers. Pick 100, 150, 300 or 500 KB, 1 MB, or type your own limit in kilobytes. The search works the same way for each. If you'd rather choose a quality level yourself without a target, use the regular PDF compressor. For photos rather than PDFs, Compress image to 200KB does the same for JPG, PNG and WebP.
Check before you send
Use Compare to flip between the original and the compressed version, page by page and zoomed in, before you download. A digitally signed PDF gets a warning, because any change to the file, compression included, makes the signature show as invalid. Password-protected files need to be unlocked first. Everything runs in your browser: the PDF is never uploaded, which matters for the ID documents, certificates and application forms these limits usually apply to.