Compress a PDF to a target size
Need a PDF under a specific upload limit? Pick your exact target — 100KB, 200KB, 500KB, 1MB and up — and compress cat makes a best-effort pass to get there. Everything runs locally in your browser; your files are never uploaded.
Compress PDF to 100 KB
Yes, though 100 KB is an aggressive target. compress cat runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded, it's free, and there's no signup. Set 100 KB and it makes a best-effort pass to get as close as possible (it can't guarantee every file lands exactly there). Image-heavy and scanned PDFs shrink most easily; a text-based PDF forced down to 100 KB may have to be rasterized into images, which makes the text no longer selectable or searchable and can look slightly soft.
Compress PDF to 200 KB
Yes, and 200 KB is usually comfortable to reach. compress cat works entirely in your browser — no upload, free, no signup — and makes a best-effort pass toward 200 KB. With twice the room of a 100 KB target, scans compress easily while still looking fine, and text PDFs usually keep their searchable text layer. Only in extreme cases would it need to rasterize pages and make the text unsearchable.
Compress PDF to 500 KB
Yes, and 500 KB is a fairly generous target. compress cat runs entirely in your browser — no upload, free, no signup — and makes a best-effort pass toward 500 KB. At this size most PDFs compress while keeping their searchable text layer and nearly all their sharpness, and rasterization that breaks text search almost never happens.
Compress PDF to 1 MB
Yes, and at 1 MB the result is near-lossless in most cases. compress cat runs entirely in your browser — no upload, free, no signup — and makes a best-effort pass toward 1 MB. This is a very relaxed target: the vast majority of documents fit while keeping their full searchable text and nearly all their sharpness, and rasterization is essentially never triggered.
Compress PDF to 300 KB
Yes, and 300 KB is usually easy to reach. compress cat runs entirely in your browser — no upload, free, no signup — and makes a best-effort pass toward 300 KB. It's a smart middle setting: with 50% more room than a 200 KB target, the tool rarely has to push images as hard, so the text layer usually survives intact and scans look clearer — yet it's still smaller than 500 KB, so it slips into slightly tighter upload boxes.
Compress PDF to 2 MB
Yes, and 2 MB is near-lossless in most cases. compress cat runs entirely in your browser — no upload, free, no signup — and makes a best-effort pass toward 2 MB. At about 2048 KB it's a common, relaxed cap: multi-page reports with images or a few color scans usually fit while keeping searchable text and nearly all their sharpness, and rasterization is essentially never triggered.
Compress PDF to 5 MB
Yes, and 5 MB is a generous target, especially for large files. compress cat runs entirely in your browser — no upload, free, no signup — and makes a best-effort pass toward 5 MB. At about 5120 KB it's a common cap on visa, study-abroad, and government systems that accept larger attachments: a multi-page scanned bundle of dozens of megabytes usually slims down dramatically to 5 MB while staying clearly readable and keeping its searchable text layer.
Compress PDF to 10 MB
Yes, and 10 MB is a generous cap — the point here is getting an oversized file small enough to send. compress cat runs entirely in your browser — no upload, free, no signup — and makes a best-effort pass toward 10 MB. At about 10240 KB it's a common attachment limit on Gmail and many upload systems: a high-resolution scan or photo-heavy PDF that started at twenty, thirty, or a hundred megabytes usually drops to 10 MB and sends fine as an attachment — and because the target is so roomy, quality loss tends to be minimal.
Or pick any custom size
Open the Compress PDF tool and type your own target in KB.
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Compress a PDF to an exact size with compress cat — free PDF tools by compresscat.com