# Make a PDF fit a 100KB, 200KB, 500KB, 1MB, or 2MB limit

What to try when a school, job, visa, or government portal rejects your file.

Upload limits are frustrating because they usually appear at the worst moment. The fix is to start with the target size, then choose the compression level that keeps the document readable.

- Date: 2026-05-05
- Reading time: 5 min read
- Category: Upload limits

## Start with the number the portal gives you

If a portal says 2MB, choose a 2MB workflow. If it says 500KB, expect stronger compression and check the preview carefully.

BitePDF shows the original size, output size, and saved percentage so you can tell quickly whether the file is close enough.


## Compression is not the only lever

When compression alone is not enough, extract only the required pages, cut extra page ranges, or merge only the pages the portal asks for.

For email and handoff, a file link can also be easier than sending another attachment.


## Common targets

The most common targets are 100KB, 200KB, 500KB, 1MB, 2MB, 5MB, and 10MB.

If the file becomes too blurry at one target, try a slightly larger target or remove unnecessary pages before compressing again.


## Links

- Canonical article: https://bitepdf.com/blog/compress-pdf-to-upload-size-limits
- BitePDF: https://bitepdf.com/
- Tools catalog: https://bitepdf.com/tools
- Full LLM context: https://bitepdf.com/llms-full.txt