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JPG to PDF under 5 MB
To make a PDF under 5 MB, PixelFit compresses the JPG to at most 4,999,260 bytes and wraps it in a one-page PDF with about 740 bytes of PDF structure, 5,000,000 bytes or less in total. Measured: an A4 scan at 150 DPI fits at quality 95; a 4:3 photo at about 5,757 × 4,317 (extrapolated) pixels (quality 75).
PDF under 5 MB
PDF · under 5 MB (at most 5,000,000 bytes) · original pixel size · white background
PixelFit aims at 5,000,000 bytes or less, so the file passes whether the form counts 1 MB as 1,000,000 or 1,048,576 bytes.
Fit, background and padding white background · page the size of the picture
Saving presets is part of Pro.
The result appears here: the exact byte count, pixel size and quality, the size before and after, a preview and a download button.
The batch kit (one ZIP for up to 500 photos, several photos merged into one PDF) is part of Pro.
Where the 5 MB go in a JPG-to-PDF file
Of the 5,000,000 bytes that pass as 5 MB whether a megabyte is 1,000,000 or 1,048,576 bytes, PDF structure takes 740 bytes for one A4 page (computed with PixelFit's own writer), leaving 4,999,260 bytes, 99.9 %, for the JPEG; ten pages leave 499,473 bytes each.
For one photo that is plenty: a full 12 MP phone photo fits at quality 92 (extrapolated). The limit matters when many pages share it.
How many pages fit in a 5 MB PDF
The 5,000,000 bytes of 5 MB, less 740 bytes of PDF structure for the first page and about 502 for each extra one, shared evenly.
| Pages | JPEG bytes per page | Max A4 DPI at q50 | Max A4 DPI at q75 | A4 at 150 DPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 page | 4,999,260 | 600 DPI or more* | 600 DPI or more* | quality 95+ |
| 2 pages | 2,499,381 | 600 DPI or more* | 600 DPI or more* | quality 95+ |
| 3 pages | 1,666,086 | 600 DPI or more* | 481 DPI* | quality 95+ |
| 5 pages | 999,450 | 487 DPI* | 350 DPI* | quality 95+ |
| 10 pages | 499,473 | 310 DPI* | 227 DPI | quality 91 |
| 20 pages | 249,485 | 196 DPI | 146 DPI | quality 73 |
| 50 pages | 99,490 | 105 DPI | 81 DPI | no: 1.3× over at q30 |
| 100 pages | 49,491 | 69 DPI | 55 DPI | no: 2.5× over at q30 |
Phone photos in one PDF under 5 MB
Largest 4:3 photo per page, in pixels, when 1 to 10 photos share 5,000,000 bytes; "full" means a 12 MP phone photo keeps all its pixels (the tool never enlarges).
| Photos | Quality 60 | Quality 75 | Quality 90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 photo | full 4032 × 3024* | full 4032 × 3024* | full 4032 × 3024* |
| 2 photos | full 4032 × 3024* | 3,893 × 2,919* | 2,963 × 2,222 |
| 3 photos | 3,603 × 2,702* | 3,096 × 2,322* | 2,367 × 1,775 |
| 5 photos | 2,703 × 2,027 | 2,322 × 1,741 | 1,802 × 1,351 |
| 10 photos | 1,853 × 1,389 | 1,602 × 1,201 | 1,258 × 943 |
A4 and Letter pixel sizes against 5 MB
One typed page per DPI: its pixels, the quality it gets alone in 5 MB, and how many fit at quality 75.
| DPI | A4 pixels | One A4 page under 5 MB | Letter page | Pages at q75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 DPI | 595 × 842 | quality 95+ | quality 95+ | 61 |
| 100 DPI | 827 × 1169 | quality 95+ | quality 95+ | 36 |
| 150 DPI | 1240 × 1754 | quality 95+ | quality 95+ | 19 |
| 200 DPI | 1654 × 2339 | quality 95+ | quality 95+ | 12 |
| 300 DPI | 2480 × 3508 | quality 95+ | quality 95+ | 6 |
Readable pages and photos in 5 MB
At 5 MB, 29 typed A4 pages scanned at 150 DPI fit at quality 50 or better, and 19 at 200 DPI: room for a long multi-page document. 11 photos of 1600 × 1200 at quality 70 also fit.
A single page at 300 DPI gets quality 95+; there is room to keep the scan near its original quality. Full-size 12 MP photos (4032 × 3024, our landscape sample, extrapolated from encodes up to 3000 px) that fit together in 5 MB: 2 at quality 60, 1 at quality 75, 1 at quality 90.
One image free, several merged with Pro
Free: each image becomes its own one-page PDF under 5 MB. Pro: several images merged into one PDF under 5 MB, on your device; 10 pages get 499,473 bytes of JPEG each.
How to turn a JPG into a PDF under 5 MB
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Open the tool above
Preset: PDF output, at most 5 MB.
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Add the JPG
Drop, paste or pick it (PNG, WebP and HEIC work too).
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Choose the page
Keep the picture's own size or fit it on A4 or Letter.
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Download
name-5mb.pdf arrives with its exact byte count (5,000,000 bytes or less).
Sources
- Measured by PixelFit with sharp 0.35.5 / libvips 8.18.7 on 31 October 2026.
- Samples, Wikimedia Commons, checked 31 October 2026: typed page (public domain) commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=194775753; landscape (CC0 1.0) commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=154070378
- Paper sizes, Markus Kuhn, checked 31 October 2026: cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html
- PDF format, Library of Congress, checked 31 October 2026: loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000474.shtml
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a JPG to PDF under 5 MB?
Drop the JPG into the tool on this page, preset to PDF under 5 MB: the picture is compressed to 4,999,260 bytes or less, so the PDF ends at or below 5,000,000 bytes.
Can I convert JPG to PDF for free?
Yes, one image per PDF, with no upload. Under 5 MB a full 12 MP phone photo keeps all its pixels at quality 92; merging several JPGs is Pro.
How many pages fit in a 5 MB PDF?
About 29 typed A4 pages scanned at 150 DPI at quality 50 or better, or 19 at 200 DPI; 11 photos of 1600 × 1200 at quality 70.
What DPI should a scan have for a 5 MB PDF?
One typed A4 page fits under 5 MB at 600 DPI or more (extrapolated) at quality 50, and at 600 DPI or more at quality 75; any of the usual 72 to 300 DPI settings works, up to 300 DPI.
Why is the PDF bigger than my JPG?
A PDF wraps the JPEG in page, image and cross-reference objects: 740 bytes for one page in PixelFit's writer, about 502 more per added page.
Related
Other PDF size limits
- JPG to PDF under 4 MB 23 A4 pages at 150 DPI
- JPG to PDF under 3 MB 17 A4 pages at 150 DPI
- JPG to PDF under 2 MB 11 A4 pages at 150 DPI
- JPG to PDF under 10 MB 59 A4 pages at 150 DPI
More for 5 MB
- Compress an image to 5 MB Same limit, image output
- JPG to PDF: what changes Format facts
- Image resizer with KB target Any size and format
Other formats to PDF
Pixel sizes that fit 5 MB
- 12×18 inch print about 3.83 MB as a quality-75 JPG
- A3 (297×420 mm) about 3.48 MB as a quality-75 JPG
- 4000×4000 square about 3.23 MB as a quality-75 JPG