ManyCompress a PDF to a Target Size
Get a PDF under a size limit — type the size you need, such as 200 KB or 2 MB, and the tool finds the best quality that fits under it. Made in your browser, so your file is never uploaded.
Open the tool — free → 🔒 Nothing uploaded · runs in your browser- Open the tool on the Compress tab.
- Drop in your PDF — its size and page count are shown.
- Type the size you need and choose MB or KB.
- Click Compress & download.
- You name the size — no guessing between “low” and “high”.
- Tells you plainly when a target cannot be reached.
- Never hands back a file bigger than the one you gave it.
- Private, free, no sign-up, no watermark.
How it reaches your target
Each page is redrawn as a JPEG picture, and the pictures are put back together as a new PDF. The tool begins at its sharpest setting and works down. At each page resolution it searches for the highest picture quality that still fits under your target, and it only moves to a lower resolution when nothing fits. You get the best-looking file that fits, not the smallest file possible.
Resolution runs from about 108 dots per inch down to about 32, and picture quality from 92% down to 35%. While it works, the line under the button shows the setting being tried. The download is the original name with -compressed added.
What changes in the file
Because every page becomes a picture:
- text can no longer be selected, searched or copied;
- links and fillable form boxes are gone;
- the page looks the same, only softer the harder it is squeezed.
That suits scans, photographed documents and PDFs full of pictures — they are pictures already. It is the wrong tool for a typed document you still need to search or edit. Keep the original of anything you compress.
When it cannot get there
| Message | What happened | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Done — under your target | The file fits. | Open it and read the smallest print before you send it. |
| Couldn't reach your target. Smallest achievable was … | Even the lowest setting is over the target. That smallest version is downloaded. | Take out pages you do not need, or send the document in parts. |
| Already small / mostly text — the original was kept | Redrawing the pages would have made the file bigger, which is usual for PDFs that are mostly typed text. | Nothing — you get your original back unchanged. |
Choosing a target
- The target is for the whole file. Each page gets roughly the target divided by the number of pages. A two-page scan has plenty of room in 200 KB; a thirty-page one does not.
- The result is at or under the number you type. Some upload forms count 1 MB as 1,000 KB instead of 1,024. If a file is refused right at the limit, type a slightly smaller number.
- The box starts with a suggestion in whole megabytes. Replace it with the limit you were given, and switch to KB for anything under 1 MB.
- Check before sending. At very small targets, small print blurs. Zoom in on the result.
How do I compress a PDF to 200 KB?
Open ManyHand PDF on the Compress tab, load the PDF, type 200, choose KB and click Compress & download. Quality is lowered only as far as needed to get under 200 KB, and you are told if the file cannot go that small.
How do I reduce a PDF to under 1 MB or 2 MB?
On the Compress tab, type 1 or 2, leave the unit on MB and click Compress & download. The result is at or under the size you typed.
Why can I not select text after compressing?
To reach a target size the pages are redrawn as pictures, so text is no longer selectable or searchable. This is best for scans and image-heavy PDFs.
Why did my PDF not get smaller?
PDFs that are mostly typed text are already small, and turning their pages into pictures would make them bigger. In that case the original file is kept.
Is my PDF uploaded to compress it?
No. Compression runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Does the compressed PDF have a watermark?
No. There is no watermark, no sign-up and no daily limit.