RaahUPSC · PDF Tools
Compress PDF
Shrink large scanned documents to fit upload limits by re-rendering each page as a JPEG at the resolution and quality you choose. The tool shows the before and after size.
✓ No upload · ✓ No sign-up · ✓ No watermark
How to use Compress PDF
- Drop in one or more PDFs.
- Pick a Resolution: Small 72 dpi, Medium 108 dpi, Good 144 dpi or High 216 dpi.
- Set JPEG quality with the slider (60 by default), and tick Also make grayscale for extra savings.
- Click Compress PDF and compare the original and new sizes shown.
Why rasterising saves space
Each page is drawn to an image at your chosen resolution and saved as a JPEG inside a new PDF of the same page size. Phone scans often carry 12-megapixel photos per page, so bringing them down to 108 or 144 dpi can cut the file dramatically. Lower quality values shrink files further but add blur and blocky artefacts.
This is aimed at the common problem of exam and job portals that accept documents only under a few hundred KB. If the result is not smaller, the message says so and you should keep the original.
Limitations
- Text becomes part of an image, so it is no longer selectable or searchable, and links stop working.
- Text-based PDFs exported from Word often get bigger, not smaller.
- Large files with many pages need plenty of memory and can be slow on phones.
Frequently asked questions
Which setting should I try first for a 2 MB scan?
Start with Medium (108 dpi) and quality 60. If it is still too big, drop to Small or tick grayscale; if it is blurry, go up a step.
Can I compress to an exact size like 200 KB?
There is no target-size option. Adjust resolution and quality and run again until it fits.
Is a scanned ID card safe to compress here?
The file never leaves your device. Rendering and compression run in the browser tab itself.