How to compress a PDF to 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB

Government portals, job sites and exam forms often ask for a PDF under 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB. Compress PDF has no "target size" box, so it cannot promise an exact number, but a few steps usually get a file under the limit.

Steps

Open Compress PDF. Upload the PDF. No account is needed.
Choose Extreme compression. Extreme gives the smallest result by lowering image quality. Start here when you have a strict limit.
Check the new size. Download the result and look at the file size on your device.
Still too big? Trim the content. Use Remove Pages or Extract Pages to drop pages you do not need, then compress the shorter file again.

Open the tool: Compress PDF

Good to know

Savings come mostly from images. A PDF that is already mostly plain text will not shrink much.
Files with large photos or scans shrink the most.
If the result is not smaller, the original was already optimized. Keep the original either way, because image compression cannot be undone.

Frequently asked questions

Can I set an exact target such as 100 KB?

No. Compress PDF has three levels (Extreme, Recommended, Less compression) but no fixed target size.

Which level gives the smallest file?

Extreme. It lowers image quality the most, so check that the text and photos are still readable.

Why is my PDF still over the limit?

It is probably text-heavy or already optimized. Remove pages you do not need, then compress again.

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