A compact microstrip lowpass filter (LPF) with an elliptic function response is proposed. A high equivalent capacitance and inductance between the structures of the resonator result in the sharp transition band of 0.04 GHz from 4 GHz to 4.04 GHz with an attenuation level of -3 dB and -20 dB, respectively. To improve the LPF rejection band, multiple open stubs are connected to the proposed resonator. A filter with a 3-dB cut-off frequency at 4 GHz is designed, fabricated, and measured, and agreement between the measured and simulated results is achieved. The results show that a stopband bandwidth of 131% with a suppression level better than -20 dB is obtained while achieving a compact size with a wide stopband.