Compress PDF to 150 KB
150 KB is the budget for a two-page document: the front and back of an ID, a two-sided mark sheet or a certificate with an attached page. The target is preset, so the PDF comes back at or just under 150 KB.
Compress PDF
or drop PDF files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
Images above this DPI are downsampled. 150 is sharp on screen and fine for office printing; 72 is screen-only.
JPEG quality for re-compressed images. 70 keeps scanned text readable; below 40 artefacts appear around letters.
When aiming for a target size, image quality never drops below this; resolution is reduced instead.
How to use this tool
- 1
Add both sides as one PDF
Upload the document with all its pages in order; up to 20 PDFs of 95 MB each go through in one batch, each with its own 150 KB target.
- 2
Leave the target at 150 KB
Target size reads 150 KB. If the field says "below 150 KB", type 145 so a portal that counts kilobytes as 1,000 bytes still accepts it.
- 3
Compress and read the fine print
Press Compress, open the download and check the smallest numbers on both pages, such as a roll number or an ID number, before uploading.
Think of 150 KB as 75 KB per side: plenty for a cropped ID card in color, just enough for a full A4 page of small print in grayscale.
Compress PDF to 150 KB for ID proofs and certificates
Two-page documents are where 100 KB is too tight and 200 KB is more than a portal allows. Scholarship and admission forms often ask for identity proof with both sides, a mark sheet with grades on the back, or a caste or income certificate with an endorsement page, and some of them cap each upload at 150 KB. The limit is printed beside each field, and it can differ between fields on the same screen.
Most people meet the limit with a phone scan. Since iOS 11 in 2017, the Notes app on iPhone can scan documents straight to PDF, and Google Drive does the same on Android. Both save each page as a color image at camera resolution, so a two-page scan often comes out between 1 MB and 3 MB. Nearly all of that is pixels the portal never needed.
A phone scan before and after a 150 KB target
Phone scan, 2 pages
2.4 MB
Color, about 3000 × 4000 px per page; a typical scanner-app result
Compressed for the form
≤150 KB
Grayscale, about 150 DPI, text and seal readable
To get from megabytes to 150 KB, the compressor works on the images inside the PDF and leaves the rest alone. It re-encodes each page image as JPEG at the highest quality that fits, and if quality reaches the floor set in Lowest image quality, it reduces resolution instead. Around 150 DPI is where it usually settles for two pages, the same resolution Adobe Acrobat's PDF Optimizer uses by default when it downsamples color images.
Grayscale is the biggest lever. A color scan stores three channels, and on a certificate printed in black ink the extra two carry mostly paper tint and noise. With Convert to grayscale on, the same budget buys a sharper page, which matters for the small digits of a roll number or a date of birth.
What helps a two-page PDF fit in 150 KB
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Crop each page to the document edge before building the PDF | Scan at 600 DPI; the extra pixels are thrown away again |
| Scan in daylight or under even light so the paper looks white | Photograph the page at an angle with a shadow across it |
| Use grayscale for text pages and keep color only where a photo matters | Combine unrelated documents into one file for a single field |
| Upload the typed original instead of a printout scan when you have it | Expect a digitally signed PDF to stay validly signed after compression |
150 KB PDF questions
How many pages fit into a 150 KB PDF?
Two scanned pages in grayscale at about 150 DPI fit comfortably, and three often do. A typed PDF exported from a word processor can carry many more, because text is stored as characters rather than pixels.
Can I compress the e-Aadhaar PDF from UIDAI to 150 KB?
The downloaded e-Aadhaar is password-protected: the password is the first four letters of your name in capitals followed by your year of birth. Open it with unlock PDF, then compress the unlocked copy. Note that rewriting the file removes UIDAI's digital signature, so use the compressed copy only where a readable image is enough.
Why did my 150 KB PDF come out blurry on the second page?
The target is shared by all pages. If one page is a color photo and the other plain text, the photo takes most of the bytes and resolution drops everywhere. Scan the text page in grayscale, or turn on Convert to grayscale for the whole file.
Is 150 KB enough for a color photo ID?
For a cropped card, yes: an ID-sized color scan typically needs well under 100 KB at 200 DPI. The problem is the empty A4 page around it, which costs bytes when it carries scanner noise, so crop to the card first.
How do I make a 150 KB PDF from phone photos?
Use image to PDF under 150 KB: it puts the photos in page order and sizes the result in one step. Shoot each page flat, filling the frame, in daylight.
Does the compressed PDF keep the document's text searchable?
If the original had a text layer, it stays: compression re-encodes images and keeps text, fonts and links. A scan without a text layer stays an image either way.
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