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Compress PDF to 100 KB

or drop one here
Compression level
Target size
Choose a PDF file first.

100 KB is 102,400 bytes, the cap behind most CV, cover letter and application uploads. It holds 7 text pages, 2 pages with pictures, 3 scanned pages, 5 phone photos of pages or 3 pages scanned in colour. A short document exported from Word or LaTeX usually gets there without a single pixel changing.

How to compress a PDF to 100 KB

  1. Choose the PDF

    Press Choose a PDF, or drop the file on the page. The file is read in this tab and is not sent anywhere.

  2. The target is already set

    This page opens at 100 KB, so there is nothing to type. Pick a different level, or enter your own smaller number in KB, if you want another size.

  3. Press Compress

    Four methods race: copy the pages into a fresh file, re-encode the placed images, cut each embedded font down to the glyphs the pages draw, and, only when no other method reached the target, redraw the pages as images with the text kept on top.

  4. Read the check, then download

    Every candidate is opened again and its characters are counted against the source. The page shows the size, the method that won and the characters kept before it offers the download.

The four methods are described in full, with the measurements behind them, in how it works.

Short documents at 100 KB

A Word or LaTeX export carries its weight in fonts. Each embedded font can hold every glyph its designer drew while the document uses a few dozen letters. Font subsetting removes the rest and changes nothing on the page. A 6 page FDA device record went from 252 KB to 86 KB by cutting each embedded font down to the glyphs the pages draw.

DocumentPages at the default settingPages at the smallest setting
Text documentsPages at the default setting7Pages at the smallest setting7
Text with picturesPages at the default setting2Pages at the smallest setting2
Scanned pagesPages at the default setting3Pages at the smallest setting3
Phone photosPages at the default setting1Pages at the smallest setting5
Colour scansPages at the default setting1Pages at the smallest setting3

On the public files above 100 KB, the default methods cut the median file by 39.2%.

Scans and photos at 100 KB

A scanned page came down to about 29 KB in the public run, so 100 KB holds a 3 page scan. A phone photo of a page came down to about 18 KB at the smallest setting, so 5 photos fit.

A page scanned in colour came down to about 27 KB at the smallest setting, so 100 KB holds 3 of them. For the smallest file, scan in greyscale or black and white rather than colour. A colour scan of a black and white page stores three channels where one would do.

Before you run it

Read the form again and count the pages it needs. A CV is one or two, a cover letter one. Drop the rest with Delete pages and each page you keep gets more of the budget.

If the cap has room, 150 KB holds 10 text pages. The compression guide explains the four methods.

Questions

Which PDFs reach 100 KB without losing quality?
Short documents whose weight is fonts or dead objects, such as a CV or a letter exported from a word processor. Font subsetting and the structural rebuild change no pixel, and the result names the method that won.
Can a scanned PDF reach 100 KB?
Yes. A scanned page came down to about 29 KB in the public run, so 100 KB holds a 3 page scan. For a longer scan, 200 KB holds 6 pages.
Is this a free pdf compressor to 100kb?
Yes, it is free, with no account needed and no cap on runs. The file is compressed in this tab and never uploaded.
What does the 100 KB result tell me?
The size the file reached, the method that won and the characters kept. If the size is over 102,400 bytes, the tool offers the stronger pass before you download anything.

Related tools

Each runs in a browser tab like this one, reads its own output back before the download, and needs no account. The footer links every tool.

Where to go next