How to compress a PDF to 15 MB
- Choose the PDF. Tap Choose PDF files and pick the document. You can add several files; each one gets its own result.
- Keep the 15 MB limit. Exact size is already selected with 15360 KB as the maximum. If the form is strict, type a slightly lower number.
- Press Compress PDF. The tool tries a lossless save first, then re-draws pages at lower resolution and quality step by step until the file is 15 MB or smaller.
- Download and check. Download the -compressed.pdf file, open it and confirm every page is still readable before you upload it.
What fits in 15 MB?
At 15 MB, a born-digital PDF (typed text, exported from Word or a browser) usually fits without any visible change, because text costs about 1 KB per page. Scans and photos are different: in our tests a readable scanned page needs roughly 15 to 20 KB. That puts a realistic ceiling of about 853 scanned pages at 15 MB.
| Pages | Budget per page | Typed text | Scanned pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15,360 KB | Fits easily | Fits easily |
| 2 | 7,680 KB | Fits easily | Fits easily |
| 3 | 5,120 KB | Fits easily | Fits easily |
| 5 | 3,072 KB | Fits easily | Fits easily |
| 10 | 1,536 KB | Fits easily | Fits easily |
| 20 | 768 KB | Fits easily | Fits easily |
Who asks for 15 MB?
Very large targets matter for big reports, scanned books and image-heavy presentations that must stay under an email or upload limit. For reference, Gmail allows attachments up to 25 MB for personal accounts and Outlook's default limit for internet accounts is 20 MB, according to Google and Microsoft help pages.
What happens to quality at 15 MB?
To hit a target, pages are re-drawn as JPEG images. That means text is no longer selectable or searchable and links or form fields are lost. If your PDF is already under 15 MB, the tool returns it untouched; if a lossless save is enough, you get that instead of a re-drawn copy.
What we measured
These are real results from our own engine on 2026-10-17, in headless Chrome on a normal Windows PC. Use them to judge how hard 15 MB will be for your document. The closest measured target to 15 MB is 1 MB.
| Test file | Original | Target | Result | Fits? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-page scanned contract, 200 DPI | 2,522 KB | 1 MB | 895 KB | Yes |
| 5-page scanned contract, 200 DPI | 2,522 KB | 500 KB | 384 KB | Yes |
| 5-page scanned contract, 200 DPI | 2,522 KB | 200 KB | 148 KB | Yes |
| 5-page scanned contract, 200 DPI | 2,522 KB | 100 KB | 82 KB | Yes |
| 5-page scanned contract, 200 DPI | 2,522 KB | 50 KB | 34 KB | Yes |
| 4 full-colour photo pages | 8,265 KB | 1 MB | 827 KB | Yes |
| 4 full-colour photo pages | 8,265 KB | 500 KB | 412 KB | Yes |
| 4 full-colour photo pages | 8,265 KB | 200 KB | 150 KB | Yes |
| 4 full-colour photo pages | 8,265 KB | 100 KB | 91 KB | Yes |
| 4 full-colour photo pages | 8,265 KB | 50 KB | 39 KB | Yes |
If the PDF won't go under 15 MB
- Remove pages the form does not need, then compress again.
- Rescan in grayscale at about 150 DPI instead of colour at 300 DPI.
- Split the document and upload it in parts if the form allows it.
- Rebuild the PDF from the original photos with the image-to-PDF tool, which shrinks pictures before they go into the PDF.
Is it safe to compress a private PDF here?
Yes. The page reads your file with the browser's File API and does all the work in JavaScript on your device. When the job finishes, the page shows how many bytes were uploaded: zero. Nothing is stored, so there is nothing to delete afterwards.
Other sizes
Need a different limit? These pages open the same tool with another preset. The full list is on the all PDF sizes page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF to exactly 15 MB?
Open this page, choose your PDF and press Compress PDF. The 15 MB target is preset. The tool steps down quality until the file is at or under 15 MB and tells you the final size.
Will my PDF be exactly 15 MB?
It will be 15 MB or smaller. Hitting an exact byte count is not possible with image compression, so the tool aims for the largest result that still fits.
Does 15 MB mean 1,000 or 1,024 bytes per KB?
Systems count kilobytes differently: some use 1,000 bytes, others 1,024. Our tool uses 1 KB = 1,024 bytes, so its result is always safe for portals that count in 1,024s. If a portal still rejects a file that looks right, type a target a few KB lower.
How many pages can fit in 15 MB?
Typed PDFs: dozens or more. Scans: about 853 readable pages, based on our tests of roughly 15 to 20 KB per scanned page.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes, in Safari, Chrome and other modern browsers. Large scans take longer on phones because all the work happens on the device.
Is my file uploaded?
No. Compression runs in your browser and the result page confirms 0 bytes uploaded.
Is ilovepdfe the same as iLovePDF?
No. ilovepdfe is an independent site and is not affiliated with iLovePDF. The practical difference is that ilovepdfe processes files in your browser instead of uploading them.
Compress PDF
Compress PDF files without uploading them — Make a PDF smaller, or shrink it to an exact size such as 100 KB.
Sources
- File API (MDN) — MDN
- PDF format family (Library of Congress) — Library of Congress
- JPEG (Wikipedia) — Wikipedia
- Attachment size limits (Gmail Help) — Google
- Outlook attachment size limits (Microsoft) — Microsoft