Compress PDF to 1MB

How to compress a PDF to 1 MB

1. Click Select PDF file or drop your PDF onto the page.
2. The target is already set to 1 MB. Change it if your limit is different.
3. Tick Black and white for text documents to make room for more pages.
4. Click Compress to 1024 KB and download. The result screen confirms whether the file is within the limit.

When you need a 1 MB PDF

1 MB is a typical limit for email attachments in some systems, government e-services, job portals and online marketplaces. Uploading a larger file fails with errors such as "File size exceeds the maximum limit", and scans straight from a phone are often 2–10 MB.

How the 1 MB target is reached

With 1 MB of room, the tool can usually keep 150 DPI colour pages for small documents. Larger documents step down gradually until they fit, so you get the best quality possible under the limit. The tool tries settings from sharpest to smallest and stops at the first that fits, so you never get a file that is worse than it needs to be. If even the smallest readable setting is too big, it tells you and gives you the smallest version instead of an unreadable one.

Check before you upload

Open the downloaded PDF and zoom to 100% on the page with the smallest text, such as a certificate number, date or stamp. If it is readable on your screen, the reviewer will be able to read it too. If not, remove a page you don't need and compress again, or untick Black and white if a coloured stamp or photo became unclear. For more ways to get under a limit, see how to make a PDF smaller for upload forms.

Good to know

• Pages are re-saved as optimized images, so text can no longer be selected or searched. Keep your original.
• Page size and order stay exactly the same.
• Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first.

Other sizes: 100 KB, 200 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB, or the full PDF Compressor. For photos, use Compress Image to 100 KB. Your PDF is processed on your device and never uploaded.