Compress PDF to 2 MB
Need to compress a PDF to 2MB or under for a portal upload limit or email attachment? This tool targets 2 MB entirely in your browser.
Tool processing runs in your browser — your files/inputs are not uploaded to our servers for processing. Ads (if shown) load separately and do not receive your tool files.Advertising · Details
Quick answer
TryQuickImg compresses PDFs toward 2 MB with on-device scan mode. Not uploaded to our servers for processing.
Why 2 MB is usually about one page
2 MB is a generous limit, and a document that exceeds it is rarely oversized evenly. Almost always one or two pages carry a full-resolution photograph while the rest are light.
That changes the approach: compressing the whole document punishes the pages that were never the problem. If you can, replace or downsize the heavy image before exporting, and leave the rest alone.
Where that is not possible, Scan mode with a 2 MB target usually lands comfortably, and there is enough headroom that the resolution drop is not visible at normal viewing size.
Scan mode or Keep text?
This is the only decision that really changes the result, and it depends on what your PDF already contains.
- Keep text leaves the text layer alone and compresses the images around it. The document stays selectable, searchable and copyable. The reduction is smaller, which is fine whenever the target has headroom.
- Scan mode rasterizes each page into an image and compresses that. It reaches much smaller files, and it is the right choice for documents that were scanned or photographed in the first place — they have no text layer to preserve.
The trap is using Scan mode on a document that was born digital. You get a smaller file and lose the ability to search it, select a reference number from it, or have a screen reader read it aloud. Try Keep text first and only fall back to Scan mode if the target demands it.
Other targets: 100 KB · 200 KB · 500 KB · 1 MB · 5 MB · PDF for email
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF to 2 MB?
Open Compress PDF with the 2 MB target, drop your file, use Scan mode for scanned docs, and download. Processing runs in your browser — files are not uploaded to our servers for processing.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. TryQuickImg runs pdf.js and pdf-lib in your browser only.
Will text stay selectable?
Scan mode rasterizes pages (best for size on photo/scans). Use Keep text on the main tool when you need selectable text and a lighter shrink.