Shrink a PDF so it fits upload limits
Government forms usually cap uploads at 200 KB or 1 MB. This tool optimises every page and brings the file size down a long way. Scanned copies give the best results, and the black & white option shrinks them further still.
Most Indian application portals limit each upload to somewhere between 200 KB and 2 MB. A phone-scanned document runs to several megabytes because every page is a full-resolution photograph, so the file is refused with a message that does not explain what to do about it.
Compression re-encodes each page at a sensible resolution for reading and printing. A ten-megabyte scan commonly comes down to under one megabyte with the text still perfectly legible.
| Type of PDF | Typical reduction |
|---|---|
| Phone or scanner scans | 60–90% smaller |
| Documents with photographs | 50–80% smaller |
| Text made from Word or a website | Very little — sometimes nothing |
That last row surprises people. A text-only PDF is already tiny and highly efficient; there is nothing to squeeze. If your file is already small and will not shrink, the tool says so rather than pretending otherwise.
Compression turns pages into images, so text in the compressed file can no longer be selected, searched or copied. For a form upload that is irrelevant — the office only looks at it. For a document you need to search or quote from, keep the original as well.
If the compressed text looks soft, step back to Light. If you still cannot meet the limit, black & white mode usually gets you there, or split the document into parts with Split by File Size.
Scanned PDFs often drop by 60-90%. Text-only PDFs change much less.
No. Compression turns the pages into images, so text cannot be copied. For form uploads that is perfectly fine.
On the balanced setting the document reads comfortably. Choose 'Light' if you need higher quality.
No. Compression runs in your browser and the file stays on your device.
No. Pages become images. Keep your original if you need searchable text.
It is almost certainly a text PDF rather than a scan, and text PDFs are already small. There is genuinely nothing to remove.
Not exactly — pick a level and check the result. For a hard limit on a single image, Image Resize targets an exact KB.
On Balanced, yes for ordinary documents. Use Light for anything with fine detail.
🔒 Everything on this page happens inside your browser. Your file is never uploaded to a server.