Compress a PDF to under 100 KB
Under 100 KB, as the upload form asks.
Drop files here
or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: PDF
One file per runUp to 20 MB per file5 runs per dayFree PDFs end with a small “Made with nouplo.com” lineRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Example: a two-page mark sheet scanned on a phone, for a form that allows 100 KB
The application form wants the Class 12 mark sheet as one PDF of at most 100 KB. The phone’s scanner app saved marksheet.pdf: two A4 pages as JPEG images of 2480 × 3508 pixels, far over the limit.
- 100 KB is taken as 100,000 bytes, the smaller reading, so the file also passes a form that counts 1,024.
- Ten settings are tried in turn, each from the original file, and the first copy under 100,000 bytes is kept.
- The last three turn the pages grey: typed marks and stamps read as well in grey, and colour noise costs bytes.
- Page images stored as JPEG, and opaque ones stored without loss such as PNG scans, are re-encoded as JPEG; text in the PDF stays as it is.
| Step | JPEG quality | Each A4 page image becomes | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.85 | 1697 × 2400 | 205 dpi |
| 2 | 0.7 | 1131 × 1600 | 137 dpi |
| 3 | 0.5 | 778 × 1100 | 94 dpi |
| 4 | 0.4 | 636 × 900 | 77 dpi |
| 5 | 0.3 | 495 × 700 | 60 dpi |
| 6 | 0.25 | 424 × 600 | 51 dpi |
| 7 | 0.2 | 353 × 500 | 43 dpi |
| 8 | 0.2, grey | 353 × 500 | 43 dpi |
| 9 | 0.15, grey | 297 × 420 | 36 dpi |
| 10 | 0.12, grey | 240 × 340 | 29 dpi |
marksheet-compressed.pdf from the first step under 100,000 bytes, its size shown before you upload. Zoom in and check the marks are readable. If no step fits, the smallest copy comes back: drop a page or rescan in greyscale.
How it works
- Drop the PDF the form asks for — a scan, a certificate, a filled form.
- Press Compress to 100 KB: settings are tried from gentle to strong until the file fits.
- Download it and check the size shown before you upload.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a scan really fit in 100 KB?
- One or two scanned pages, usually — they are re-encoded at a lower resolution, in greyscale at the last three steps. At the very last step an A4 page is only 240 × 340 pixels and small print may no longer be readable, so open the file and check it before you upload. Ten colour pages will not; split the file or scan fewer pages.
- What if it still does not fit?
- You get the smallest version it could make and its size. Remove pages you do not need, or scan in greyscale at 150–200 dpi, and try again.
- How is the size counted?
- The result stays under 100,000 bytes, so it passes whether the form counts a kilobyte as 1,000 or 1,024 bytes.
- How sharp will the pages be?
- It depends on the step that fits. On an A4 page step 1 keeps about 205 dpi, step 3 about 94, step 5 about 60, step 7 about 43 and the last step about 29. One page reaches 100 KB at an earlier, sharper step than two, so send only the pages the form asks for.
- Why did my PDF not shrink at all?
- Page images are re-encoded as JPEG: the JPEG pages phone scanner apps write, and pages a scanner stored without loss, as long as they have no transparency. A PDF of typed text, a black-and-white scan stored at 1 bit a pixel, or pictures with transparency are left as they are. Turn the pages into pictures with PDF to JPG, then use JPG to PDF under 100 KB.
- Is my file uploaded?
- No. The PDF is opened, re-encoded and rebuilt in your browser tab, so certificates and ID scans never leave your device.