Compress PDF to 500KB or Less — Free, No Upload

Try to compress a PDF to 500KB or below for very strict upload limits. Tuko preselects the 500KB target and reports whether the target was reached.

Compress your PDF to under 500KB

Choose your PDF and Tuko tries progressively stronger settings until it fits. Free, no account, and nothing is uploaded.

Choose your PDF

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500KB is a very small PDF target. It is most realistic for one or two pages, simple forms, or low-resolution scans. Tuko automatically tries the 500KB target, but it will not claim success unless the output actually fits under the limit.

Before and after: what compression changes

How much a PDF shrinks depends on what is inside it. These are the three kinds of file people bring most often, and what to expect from each.

Phone photos saved as a PDF

Before: Each page is a full camera photo. A few pages can add up to several MB because the photos keep every pixel the camera took.
What Tuko does: Smart compression shrinks and re-encodes the photos inside the PDF. The page layout stays the same.
After: Usually the biggest drop. Zoom in on small print, IC numbers and signatures before you upload.

High-resolution scan from a scanner or copier

Before: Every page is one large image, often scanned at a higher resolution than any portal needs.
What Tuko does: If Smart compression is not enough, Tuko can redraw each page at a smaller size until the file fits.
After: The file gets much smaller, but text becomes part of the image and can no longer be selected or searched.

PDF exported from Word or a website

Before: Mostly text and vector graphics, with few or no photos. These files are usually small already.
What Tuko does: There are few images to shrink, so Smart compression changes very little.
After: If it is still too big, look for one large embedded image or remove pages you do not need.

Quick check: will it fit under 500KB?

Divide the limit by the number of pages. Under 500KB, a 5-page file has about 100 KB per page and a 10-page file about 50 KB per page. If that is far below what one page of your file uses now, remove pages you do not need or split the file before compressing.

If 500KB is too small

Remove blank or unnecessary pages.
Rescan at lower resolution if the source is extremely large.
Use grayscale when colour is not required.
Check whether the receiving portal actually allows 1MB or 2MB instead.

Related guides

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Compress PDF to 1MB or Less — Free, No Upload

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Compress a PDF to under 2MB right on this page. The 2MB target is already set, Tuko tries stronger settings until it fits, and your file never leaves your browser.

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