Compress PDF to 20 KB
Compress a PDF to 20 KB or less for one-page text forms, keeping the sharpest version that fits.
- 1 Choose files
- 2 Adjust
- 3 Download
or drag and drop here
PDF · 30 MB per file · 100 MB totalProcessed on this device. Your files are never uploaded.
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- ✓ No account
- ✓ Files stay on your device
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This panel counts the network requests this page makes after you choose a file, and how much each one sends. Your file is read and changed on this device. Our code never sends it anywhere.
- Requests since you chose a file –
- To pdfreadygo.com, for tool code and fonts –
- To ad and analytics services –
- Requests that sent a file or binary data –
- Most data sent in one request –
Ads and analytics can keep making small requests while you work, and they are counted above. Compare the largest one with the size of your file.
Before you chose a file, this page made 0 requests to load itself, its ads and its analytics. This counter can’t see inside ad frames, and ad frames can’t read your file. It also doesn’t list the tool’s background workers, which only load code from this site.
Test it yourself with airplane mode
- Open this page while you are online and wait a few seconds, so it can save itself for offline use.
- Turn on airplane mode, or turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data.
- Choose your file and run the tool. It still works, because nothing has to be sent.
A few extras, such as the HEIC photo decoder, are only saved after you first use them. Offline, they show an error instead of sending anything.
20 KB is the smallest size we offer, and it is tight even for one page. This tool is already set to 20 KB. It tries one setting after another and keeps the sharpest version that fits.
Good to know before you begin
Reaching a small size usually means saving pages as pictures, which removes searchable text, links and form fields. The tool aims at or under the target, counting 1 KB as 1,000 bytes. If no color version fits, it tries grayscale. If it still can’t get there, you get the smallest version with a note saying so.
How to compress a PDF to 20 KB
- Select Choose a PDF, or drag your file onto the box.
- Check that Target size says 20 KB. This page sets it for you.
- Select Compress PDF →. The tool tries Optimize first, then picture versions of your pages at lower and lower resolution.
- Read the line under Your file is ready. It tells you whether the file got under 20 KB, at about what resolution, and whether it used grayscale.
- Select Download result ↓, then open the file and zoom in on the smallest print before you upload it.
What fits in 20 KB
We tested with sample scans we made ourselves: letter-size pages scanned at 300 DPI in color, mostly printed text.
- A one-page scan of 1.90 MB came out at 16.6 KB, with pages saved as pictures at about 44 DPI. Small print was soft, and the tool warned us to check it.
- A three-page scan of 5.87 MB could not get under 20 KB, even in grayscale. The smallest version was 36.2 KB, and the tool said so rather than giving us a file that would be rejected.
- A six-page scan of 15.28 MB could not get under 20 KB, even in grayscale. The smallest version was 122.3 KB, and the tool said so rather than giving us a file that would be rejected.
If it won’t get under 20 KB
- Remove pages the form didn’t ask for, such as blank backs or instruction sheets, with Organize PDF or Split PDF, then compress again.
- Leave Use grayscale if color won’t fit ticked. In our six-page test, grayscale made the smallest version about 10% smaller.
- Rescan in black and white if your scanner app offers it, and crop to the edges of the paper so the file isn’t spending bytes on the table around it.
- Ask whether the form accepts more than one file. If it does, split the document and compress each part.
Questions
Is 20 KB counted as 20,000 or 20,480 bytes?
Portals differ, and few say. The tool aims at or under 20,000 bytes, which fits either way. Your phone or computer may show the same file as about 19.5 KB.
Is my file uploaded to PDFReadyGo?
No. The PDF is read and compressed in your browser. The limits are 30 MB per file and 100 pages for picture-based compression.
Can I make a photo or signature a set size instead?
Yes. Use Resize photo in KB to make a JPG photo or signature fit a limit in KB, at the pixel size a form asks for.
Having trouble? Read the FAQ or visit help and contact.
Other sizes
- 50 KBsingle certificates
- 100 KBone-page certificates and school forms
- 200 KBpassport and ID scans
- 300 KBcertificates for exam portals
- 500 KBshort multi-page packs
- 1 MBtranscripts and resumes
- 2 MBlonger scans and visa documents