Compress PDF to 1 MB
Bring a PDF with photos or scans under 1 MB for email or an online form. No upload, no signup, no watermark.
Files stay on your device How it works
Drop files here, paste, or
PDF · up to 10 files, 100 MB each
Your files
Your file is ready
Under 1 MB for email and forms
1 MB is a size many online forms and inboxes are comfortable with, and it's a common cap for attachments in job applications, school portals and customer-service forms. A scanned contract, a photo-heavy report or a PDF made from phone pictures easily runs to several megabytes. This tool brings each PDF to 1 MB or less, giving up as little quality as it can.
How to use it
- Choose up to 10 PDFs, each up to 100 MB, or drop them on the box.
- Press Compress to 1 MB.
- Download each result. Its note shows the size before and after, or, if 1 MB wasn't reachable, the smallest size it got to.
Why most files keep their quality
The tool starts gently: photos and scanned pages are re-saved at up to 2,000 pixels on their longest side, at good quality. That alone often brings a multi-megabyte scan under 1 MB with little visible change. Only if the file still doesn't fit does it step down in size and quality, and it stops at the first step that works. Text, fonts and drawings are left as they are, so text stays sharp and searchable.
When it can't reach 1 MB
Two kinds of PDF resist: very long scanned documents, where even small pictures add up, and PDFs that are mostly text or vector drawings, which this tool doesn't re-save. Either way you get the smallest version made and a note with its size. From there, sending only the pages that matter with Split PDF is usually the quickest route under the limit.
Keep the original
The compressed copy is made for sending. Keep the full-size file too: if you ever need to print a scan large, or compress again to a different limit, starting from the original gives a better result than compressing a copy twice.
Tips for scans and photos
- Scan text pages in gray rather than color, at 150 to 200 DPI: they stay easy to read and come out much smaller.
- For a PDF made from photos, crop each picture to the paper first so the background isn't saved too.
- Need it smaller still? Compress PDF to 500 KB goes further, and Compress PDF lets you choose the strength yourself.