Compress a PDF to 100KB
100 KB is one of the tightest limits an upload form sets, and it is realistic for a single page and not much more. Compress can open with 100 KB already chosen: it reads your PDF on your device, tries the best quality that fits, and tells you the size it actually reached. When it can tell from the start that your file will not get there, it says so before running. Nothing is uploaded.
What can get as small as 100 KB
- A phone photo of one page, saved as a PDF. This is the case that goes furthest: in our tests a photo from a 12-megapixel phone camera got under 100 KB with room to spare.
- A single page scanned in color — but only just. In our tests a one-page color scan made at 300 DPI reached 100 KB only at the lowest quality setting, so small print can soften. Look at the preview before you upload it, and make sure the details the form needs are still legible.
What usually stays over 100 KB
- Two or more pages scanned in color. In our tests a two-page color scan could not get under 100 KB even at the lowest setting, and Compress tells you it missed rather than calling the result done.
- A text-only PDF whose size comes from embedded fonts. Compress re-saves pictures and does not rebuild fonts, so there is nothing in a file like that for it to shrink.
- A color scan from an app that stores each page in a lossless format rather than as a JPEG. Compress leaves pictures like that exactly as they were, so a file made of them barely gets smaller.
- A one-bit black-and-white scan that is over 100 KB to begin with, since Compress leaves those pages untouched, and a password-protected PDF, which it cannot open.
More on this: Why PDF files get large.
If your PDF stays over 100 KB
Keep only the page the form asks for
A form that asks for bank details usually wants the first page of the passbook, not the whole booklet. Use Extract PDF pages to keep just that page, then compress it.
Photograph the page instead of scanning it
In our tests a phone photo of a page went further below 100 KB than a 300 DPI scan of one. Take a clear, flat, well-lit photo of the single page as a JPG — on an iPhone, set the camera format to Most Compatible — save it as a PDF with JPG to PDF, then compress it.
Scan in gray, if the form allows it
A page scanned in grayscale starts smaller than the same page in color. Only do this when the form does not ask for a color copy.
Forms that ask for 100 KB
Each limit below is copied from the form's own instructions and dated. Limits change between application rounds, so check the form you are filling in as well.
| Form | Documents | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerala Employment Department — Chief Minister's Connect to Work Scheme | Every document except the photo and signature, including address proof, income certificate and the first page of the bank passbook | PDF, less than 100 KB each | eemployment.kerala.gov.inread September 27, 2026 |
| GST registration — non-resident foreign taxpayer | Proof of the authorized signatory, and proof of bank account details | PDF or JPEG, no more than 100 KB | tutorial.gst.gov.inread September 27, 2026 |
A different size
Aiming for a different size? Each of these has its own page: Compress a PDF to 200KB and Compress a PDF to 1MB. If you have no set size to hit, open Compress PDF without a target and choose from the sizes it offers for your file.
Compress runs in your browser. Your PDF is not uploaded, there is no account, and no watermark is added to the smaller copy.