How to compress a PDF to a specific size
Government portals, job sites and email servers all set hard limits, and "as small as possible" is not a plan when the limit is 2 MB. Here is a reliable method for hitting an exact target without guessing.
Drag and drop here, or choose from your device.
Up to 50 MB per file. Files are processed in your browser.
Full options and FAQs on the Compress PDF page.
Work down in steps, not all at once
Start with the lightest compression and check the reported size. If you are still over the limit, step up one level and repeat. Going straight to the strongest setting often sacrifices far more quality than you needed to lose — a 6 MB file might reach 2 MB at medium with readable text, while strong would have blurred it for no benefit.
What each level typically achieves
- Light: roughly 30-50% off an image-heavy file, print quality preserved.
- Medium: 60-80% off a scan, comfortable on-screen reading.
- Strong: 80-90% off, fine for body text, risky for small print and stamps.
When you cannot reach the target
A 40-page scanned report may simply not fit in 1 MB while staying readable. At that point, reduce what you send rather than how hard you squeeze it: extract only the required pages, or split the document and submit it in parts if the portal allows multiple files.
Check whether the limit is per file or per submission — many portals accept several files of 2 MB but not one of 6 MB, which makes splitting the cleaner solution.
Step by step
- 1Note your exact target, for example 2 MB, and your file's current size.
- 2Compress at the light level and read the new size.
- 3Step up one level at a time until you are under the target.
- 4Zoom into the smallest text in the result to confirm it is still legible.
- 5If even the strong level misses, extract only the pages required and compress those.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I set an exact size and let the tool hit it?
- Compression levels are a more reliable control than a numeric target, because the achievable size depends on what is inside the file. Stepping down level by level gets you under the limit with the least quality loss.
- Why did my 3 MB PDF only shrink to 2.8 MB?
- The file was probably already optimised or mostly text. There is little left to remove; the biggest savings always come from re-encoding images.