How to Reduce a PDF to 200 KB for Online Forms (Free)
Updated
Application and registration websites often reject a document that is over a size limit such as 200 KB. A phone scan is usually several megabytes, so it needs shrinking first.
The quick way
- Open Compress PDF to 200 KB and drop your file.
- Press the compress button. The tool tries progressively stronger compression and stops at the gentlest setting that fits under 200 KB.
- Download the result and upload it to the form.
If it will not fit
A long document may not reach 200 KB without becoming unreadable. In that case: keep only the pages the form needs by using Extract Pages first, or split the file into two parts. Fewer pages compress far better than many.
Make a better scan in the first place
Use the Scan to PDF tool with good daylight and the page flat. Even lighting compresses much smaller than photos with shadows, because shadows add detail the compressor has to keep.
What you give up
Compression rebuilds each page as an image, so the text in the compressed file cannot be selected or searched. Keep your original file if you need the text. The compressed copy is for uploading.
Other common limits
The site also has versions for 100 KB, 300 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB and 2 MB.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my PDF so big?+
Scans and phone photos are stored as large images. A single page can be several megabytes.
Is my document uploaded?+
No. Compression runs in your browser.
Will the text still be readable?+
Yes for a normal scan, but it is no longer selectable text.