How do I compress a PDF for the income tax portal in India?

The Indian income tax portal accepts PDFs under 2MB. Set Vakru compression to medium quality and check the output — most PDFs compress to under 500KB without visible quality loss. No upload to any server.

How does PDF compression work?

Each page is rendered to a canvas via pdf.js, then re-embedded as a compressed JPEG using pdf-lib. This reduces the size of embedded images while preserving the document layout.

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. Compression runs entirely in your browser. Your PDF never leaves your device.

What quality presets are available?

Three presets: Best Compression (smallest file, lower quality), Medium Compression (balanced size and quality), and Low Compression (higher quality, larger file).

Does it work on encrypted PDFs?

No. The PDF must not be password-protected. Please remove the password protection before compressing.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. Works on iOS Safari and Android Chrome without any installation.

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What is compress pdf online free?

PDF files often contain high-resolution images that balloon file size - making them slow to email, upload, or share. Vakru compresses PDFs by re-rendering each page at your chosen quality level and recompressing embedded images. Choose Screen for the smallest file, Web for balanced quality, or Print for high-fidelity output. All processing runs in your browser with no upload. Free forever.

Three quality presets: Screen, Web, PrintRenders each page and recompresses imagesShows before/after file size and % savedWorks on any non-encrypted PDFNo file upload - runs in browser100% private - files stay on your device

How it works

Shrink PDF to 100KB, 200KB or 500KB while keeping text and images sharp - perfect for Gmail, WhatsApp and government form uploads.

Add your PDF

Drop a PDF file into the compressor. Processing happens in your browser - we never upload your document.

Pick compression level

Choose a target like 100KB, 200KB or 500KB, or set a custom file size. The engine balances image quality and bytes automatically.

Compress locally

The PDF compressor optimizes images, fonts and metadata inside the file - keeping selectable text intact.

Download smaller PDF

Get the optimized PDF instantly, ready for email attachments, portals or web uploads.

💡 Pro Tips

Use Screen preset for email attachments

Screen quality renders at ~72 DPI - enough for reading on screen and significantly smaller than Web or Print. Perfect for email.

Web preset is the sweet spot

Web quality (~150 DPI) cuts file size substantially while keeping text and images readable - great for online sharing and uploads.

Compress before merging for smallest result

Compressing each PDF individually before merging them produces a smaller combined file than merging first.

Unlock encrypted PDFs first

If your PDF is password-protected, use the Unlock PDF tool to remove the password before compressing.

Frequently Asked Questions