Can every PDF reach 100 KB?
Not always. A one or two page scanned document can usually get close to 100 KB at a strong compression level. A long report with many photos, or a PDF that is already text-only and small, will not compress that far. Try the strongest level first and check the result.
If it is still too big
- Lower the compression level once more.
- Split the PDF and upload the pages you actually need.
- Re-scan at 150 DPI instead of 300 DPI — on screen it looks the same and the file is roughly a quarter of the size.
Quality
The selectable text layer is never touched. Only embedded images are re-compressed, so the document stays readable on screen.
Where 100 KB limits show up
Exam registrations, job portals and scholarship sites often cap each document - mark sheets, certificates, ID proof - at 100 KB. It is a tight limit, so upload one document per file rather than combining them.
Check before you upload
Look at the downloaded file's size in your file manager. Aim for about 90 KB to leave a safety margin, because some portals count 1 KB as 1,000 bytes rather than 1,024. Open the file once to confirm every line is still readable before you submit.