Compress a PDF to under 2 MB
The message "file size must be less than 2 MB" tends to appear at the last step of an application, after everything else is ready. Fixing it needs no software and no account: drop the file here, pick a compression level, and compare the size before and after until you are under the cap. The file is processed inside your browser and never reaches a server, which matters because most of what these portals ask for carries an ID number or financial details.
Drop your files here
Files are processed on your device and never uploaded
Runs in your browser. Your file never leaves your device.
You can process several files at once, up to 3.
Which Saudi portals cap uploads at 2 MB
Two megabytes is the most common ceiling among Saudi application portals. Documented examples from published user guides (verified on 2026-09-02): the CV upload on Jadarat, which requires a text-based PDF of no more than 2 MB because the system parses text rather than an image; case attachments on Najiz, where filing guides cite a 2 MB limit per attachment and recommend splitting documents into separately named files; and graduate admission portals, including the King Saud University graduate studies portal, whose FAQ states that an attachment must not exceed 2 MB. These limits change as portals are updated. The message on your own screen is the final authority, so if it names a different number, work to that one.
Why the file is over the limit in the first place
A text PDF exported from Word or any text editor is normally small; a full page of text is a few tens of kilobytes. Size comes from images. A document scanned at 300 dpi carries a full-page picture for every page, and a single phone photo is embedded at its original resolution of 12 megapixels or more. That is how a one-page certificate ends up at 4 MB and a photographed CV at 8 MB. Fully embedded fonts and a logo repeated on every page add weight too, but they are rarely the main cause. Compression works on exactly those images, re-encoding them at a lower quality or smaller dimensions, which is why a scan shrinks to half its size or far less while a text file barely moves.
How to hit the number: start light, then step up
There is no box where you type a target size. There are three levels: light, which keeps text selectable and copyable; medium; and strong, meant for scans. Medium and strong re-render pages as images, so text stops being selectable. The practical routine is to compress at light first and read the after size in the result. If it is under 2 MB you are done, and light is the only level suitable for a CV headed to Jadarat, since the system needs text it can read. If the file is still over, run the original again at medium, then at strong if needed. Each run reports the percentage saved, and your original stays untouched on your device until you pick the version you want.
When compression is the wrong tool
Some files will not get under the cap however hard you compress them, and forcing it only produces an unreadable result. A forty-page scan usually stays above 2 MB even at strong; the answer is to split it with the split PDF tool and upload each part as a separate attachment, which is what the Najiz guides recommend anyway. If the file carries instruction or terms pages the receiving office does not need, delete them with the organize pages tool before compressing: every removed page is size saved. And if the portal field asks for an image rather than a PDF, compression is the wrong road entirely. Convert the page you need to a JPG with the PDF to images tool and upload that.
The 10 MB case: the easy one
Some platforms accept larger files and show a message along the lines of "please upload a file in one of the following formats pdf zip jpg png jpeg with a maximum size of 10 MB". This is far easier. A scanned file of 15 or 20 MB usually drops below 10 MB at the medium level without numbers and stamps losing their legibility. Same steps; the only difference is that you stop at the first level that reaches the number instead of going all the way to strong.
The file never leaves your device
What gets uploaded to these portals is an ID scan, an academic transcript, a bank statement, a contract. Foreign compressors send the file to a server whose location and retention you do not know before handing it back. Here compression runs entirely inside your browser: the code comes down to your device, and the file is read, processed, and written on that same device, so there is no copy on our side to begin with. You can check this yourself by disconnecting from the internet after the page loads and running the compression anyway. Khallas is an independent tool with no affiliation to Jadarat, Najiz, any government body, or any university.
Related pages
Three steps, that's it
Drop the PDF into the tray and pick the light level
Compress, compare before and after, and rerun at a stronger level if it is still over 2 MB
Download the version that landed under the cap and upload it to the portal
Frequently asked questions
Can I type the exact size I need, like 2 MB?
No. You pick a compression level (light, medium, or strong) and see the size before and after immediately. If the file is still over the limit, rerun at a stronger level; if it is a long scan, split it first.
Does text stay selectable after compression?
At the light level, yes. Medium and strong re-render pages as images, so text stops being selectable. For a CV headed to Jadarat use light, because the system reads text, not a picture.
Which Saudi portals require files under 2 MB?
Published examples include the CV upload on Jadarat, case attachments on Najiz, and several graduate admission portals. Limits change, so check the message the portal itself shows you.
Is my file uploaded to a server during compression?
No. Compression runs inside your browser on your own device and the file never leaves it, which suits documents that carry an ID number or financial details.
The file is still over 2 MB after strong compression. What now?
Split it into parts with the split tool and upload each part separately if the portal allows, or remove the pages you do not need with the organize tool before compressing.
