FileQuick

Compress PDF to 500 KB

Shrink a PDF to under 500 KB for an upload limit. It keeps text sharp and selectable and lowers image quality only as far as needed to fit 500 KB. Free, no sign-up.

How to reduce a PDF to 500 KB

Drop your PDF above — "Aim for a target size" is already set to 500 KB. The engine tries a lossless clean-up first, then recompresses the images inside the PDF, searching for the highest image quality that still fits under 500 KB. Text and fonts are never rasterised, so they stay sharp and searchable.

500 KB usually holds around five to ten scanned pages. It is a typical limit for job applications, scholarship documents and multi-page forms.

What makes a PDF big is almost always the pictures in it — scanned pages are one big photo each. Text costs very little. That is why a scanned 10-page certificate bundle needs much more squeezing than a 50-page typed report.

If the result still doesn't fit, the tool tells you instead of quietly wrecking the file. Then: delete pages the form doesn't need with Remove Pages, or split the PDF and upload the parts. For scans, rescanning at 150 DPI in greyscale makes a much smaller starting file.

Your PDF is sent over a secure connection to our compression server, processed, and deleted straight away — it is never stored or looked at.

Steps

  1. Drop your PDF onto the box above.
  2. The target is already 500 KB — tap another size or type your own if the form asks for something else.
  3. Click Compress PDF and wait a few seconds.
  4. Check the new size (it should be under 500 KB) and download.

Frequently asked questions

How do I compress a PDF to 500 KB?

Upload it here — the 500 KB target is already set. The engine recompresses the images inside the PDF until it fits, keeping the text as real, selectable text.

Will my PDF become blurry?

Text stays perfectly sharp. Photos and scanned pages get softer the smaller the target — the engine keeps the highest quality that still fits.

What if my PDF can't get down to 500 KB?

You will see "Target not reached" with the smallest safe version. Remove pages you don't need, or split the PDF, and try again.

Is it safe to upload my documents?

The file travels over HTTPS, is processed on our server and deleted immediately afterwards. Nothing is kept.

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