Skip to content
Compress

PDF size checker — will the portal accept your PDF?

See a PDF’s exact size in KB and MB, and whether it will get through an upload form: the size limit, page count, password, scanned pages, fonts and file name — with the fix for anything that fails. Checked in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

PDF Size Checker

Settings appear once you add a PDF.

Leave empty if the form doesn’t set one.

Bytes sent anywhere: 0 B

  • 100% private Your PDFs never leave this device. Everything runs in your browser.
  • No limits No file-size cap, no watermark, no sign-up and no daily quota. Free.
  • Batch ready Add as many PDFs as you like; each one is handled and saved in one go.

How to check a PDF’s size and whether it will upload

  1. Add your PDFs: Type the limit the form states — 2 MB for many job portals, 200 KB for some online forms, 25 MB for Gmail.

  2. Check the settings: Drop the PDF. Its exact size is shown in KB and bytes, and every page is checked for what upload forms reject.

  3. Save the result: Read the verdict. Anything that fails links straight to the tool that fixes it — compress, remove the password, make it searchable — and you can check again.

Why it doesn’t upload

The PDFs people check before an upload are the sensitive ones: a passport scan for a visa form, a CV, a tax return for a government portal. Checking them doesn’t need a copy anywhere else, so the file is read here, in your browser tab, and goes to exactly one place — the form you choose.

Check it in your browser’s Network tab

Worth knowing

  • It checks what a PDF can be tested for — size, pages, encryption, text, fonts, fields and name. A portal can still refuse a file for its content, like a blurry scan or the wrong document.
  • Portals disagree on what a kilobyte is. Sizes here use 1 KB = 1,000 bytes, the stricter reading; a file within 2.4% of a KB limit is flagged so you can leave a margin.
  • The destination limits are the ones each service publishes. A specific exam or government form can set its own — when the form states a limit, type that one in.
  • Font checks see whether a font is stored in the file, not whether it has every character your text uses.

Under the hood

What happens to your file

The file’s size is its exact byte count, compared with the limit in SI units (1 KB = 1,000 bytes) and flagged when it would only pass with 1,024-byte kilobytes. Encryption is detected with pdf-lib, page sizes and fonts are read from the page and font dictionaries, and pdf.js reads each page’s text to find scans. The file isn’t changed.

Runs on pdf-libpdf.js

Reference: ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0)

Why check a PDF before uploading it?

Upload forms reject files for reasons they rarely explain: a size a few KB over the cap, a password on the file, a scan with no text, a file name with an ampersand. Finding out after the deadline, or after the fifth failed upload, is the worst time. This checker tells you the exact size in KB and bytes and tests for the common rejections before you submit.

Each problem comes with the tool that fixes it, and the file is checked in your browser — your passport scan or tax return doesn’t go anywhere to be checked.

When to check a PDF’s size and format

  • Exam and recruitment forms

    Confirm a document is under a 100 KB or 200 KB cap before the portal times out.

  • Job applications

    Make sure your CV is under the portal’s limit and has real, searchable text for tracking systems.

  • Visa and immigration uploads

    Check size, page count and that no password is set.

  • Court and tender submissions

    See whether fonts are embedded and pages are one size before filing.

  • Email attachments

    Pick Gmail or Outlook to check several attachments against the total limit.

Tips for PDFs that upload the first time

  1. Leave a margin under KB limits: portals differ on whether a kilobyte is 1,000 or 1,024 bytes.
  2. Rename files to letters, numbers and dashes — some portals reject spaces and symbols.
  3. When the form states its own limit, type that exact number rather than a round guess.
  4. Too big? The “Compress it to fit” link opens Compress PDF set to the same limit.
  5. Several files for one form? Drop them together to check each one, and the total for email limits.

Questions

How do I check the size of a PDF in KB?

Drop it here. The exact size shows at once in KB and in bytes — 184 KB (184,320 bytes) — so you can compare it with the limit on the form without guessing from a rounded number.

Why does the portal say my PDF is too big when it looks under the limit?

Some systems count 1 KB as 1,024 bytes and others as 1,000, and file managers round. A 204 KB file passes a 200 KB limit in one and fails in the other. This checker flags files that close, so you can shrink them a little.

Will a scanned PDF be accepted?

Usually, yes — most forms only care about size and type. But applicant tracking systems can’t read a scanned CV, and some portals ask for a “text-searchable” PDF. The checker tells you when a file is a scan, and links to the tool that makes it searchable.

What else makes an upload form reject a PDF?

A password on the file, encryption restrictions, fillable form fields, scripts or attachments inside, very long file names or names with symbols, and too many pages. Each one is checked here, with its fix.

My PDF is too big. How do I make it fit?

Press Compress it to fit in the result. It opens Compress PDF — already set to the same limit — which shrinks the file just enough and keeps the text sharp where it can.

Read more about this

More compress tools

All compress tools