Compress a PDF to 300 KB
300 KB is enough for a short scanned document that still looks like a document, which is why so many portals settle on it.
Runs in your browser — nothing uploadedAlready set to 300 KB
Where 300 KB comes from
- Visa and consular forms that ask for supporting documents one at a time.
- University applications, where 300 KB is a common per-document allowance.
- Tender and procurement portals submitting signed single-page declarations.
What actually fits in 300 KB
Worked out from what this tool produces, not from a rule of thumb. Where a row says no, it says what to do instead.
| What you have | Fits in 300 KB? | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 pages of text | Comfortably | The lossless pass; text stays selectable |
| Two scanned pages, greyscale | Easily | Around 150 dpi |
| Three to four scanned pages, greyscale | Yes | Around 110–120 dpi |
| Two scanned pages in colour | Yes | Around 120 dpi |
| A CV with a photograph and some design | Comfortably | One balanced pass, or none at all |
This is roughly where a scan stops having to be compromised. Above 300 KB you are choosing quality; below 200 KB you are rationing it.
If the file is already under 300 KB, the tool will say so and change nothing rather than re-encoding a document that did not need it.
Questions
- My file is 310 KB. Is it worth compressing?
- Yes, and it will almost certainly cost you nothing visible. The lossless pass alone — which rewrites the file structure without touching a pixel — often takes 5–15% off a document that was exported rather than scanned.
- Does compressing twice make it smaller again?
- Barely, and it looks worse each time. Re-encoding an already re-encoded page compounds the artefacts without compounding the saving. Start again from the original and aim straight at the number.
A different limit?
Every one of these opens the same tool with a different number in the box. If the limit you were given is not here, open Compress PDF and type it in.