pdfpix

Compress PDF to 5 MB

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

5 MB is 5,242,880 bytes. It holds 360 text pages, 130 pages with pictures, 170 scanned pages, 280 phone photos of pages or 180 pages scanned in colour. Most email services and upload portals accept a file this size. Type 5 with the unit set to MB, and the result shows its exact size.

How to compress a PDF to 5 MB

  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 5 MB, 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.

What fits in 5 MB

From 1 MB up, the run adds a second public set of 24 files from 2.0 MB to 38.4 MB: scanned FDA approval files from 1997, NASA technical reports, and long US government publications. Every file in both sets is a public document, and the worked example on each page links to its source.

DocumentPages at the default settingPages at the smallest setting
Text documentsPages at the default setting360Pages at the smallest setting360
Text with picturesPages at the default setting120Pages at the smallest setting130
Scanned pagesPages at the default setting170Pages at the smallest setting170
Phone photosPages at the default setting70Pages at the smallest setting280
Colour scansPages at the default setting50Pages at the smallest setting180

A 3 page phone photo scan from a public CC BY dataset went from 7.5 MB to 215 KB by re-encoding the placed pictures at 150 dpi. On the public files above 5 MB, the default methods cut the median file by 84%.

Two readings of 5 MB

This tool aims under 5,242,880 bytes. A portal that counts in millions stops at 5,000,000, 242,880 bytes sooner. Set the target to 4,800 KB, 4,915,200 bytes, and the file clears both.

A 5 MB mail limit takes a PDF of about 3.75 MB, because mail encoding adds about a third.

Very long files

A file of several hundred pages may need more than 5 MB. Split PDF divides it by page ranges, and each part gets the whole budget.

4 MB and 10 MB are the nearest targets.

Questions

How do I compress a PDF under 5MB?
Choose the file and press Compress; the target is already 5 MB. If the result is over, the tool offers a stronger pass before you download anything.
Is the pdf compress 5mb tool free?
Yes, with no account needed and no cap on runs. The file is compressed in this tab and never uploaded.
Is 5 MB 5,000,000 bytes?
Not here. This tool counts 5 MB as 5,242,880 bytes. A system that counts in millions stops at 5,000,000, so aim at 4,800 KB if it refused a file once.
Will compressing to 5 MB change my text?
No. The text layer is kept apart from the pictures. Every output is read again, and one that keeps less than 98% of the source's characters is refused.

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