Compress a PDF to 1 MB
Add your PDF below; the target is already set to 1 MB. The tool tries the gentlest settings first and keeps the first result under the limit.
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Who asks for 1 MB
Visa and residency applications, insurance claims, school and bank forms often allow 1 MB per document, and some company email systems reject attachments much above it. It is a generous limit for a typed document and a tight one for a stack of scans.
What fits in 1 MB
- Typed documents, even long ones, nearly always fit; any extra size comes from embedded photos, which this tool shrinks.
- Scans and phone photos of pages: roughly ten to fifteen pages fit at a size that reads well on screen and prints cleanly.
- A thick scanned file (a full passport, a long contract) may need to be split into parts, or sent as the pages that were requested.
If it stays over 1 MB
- Switch the method to Rebuild every page as an image, which shrinks any PDF, including scans in colour formats the first method leaves alone.
- Split it with Split PDF if the form accepts several files, or drop pages with Remove pages from PDF.
- For email, a link to a shared file is often better than a smaller PDF; see attachment too big?.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1 MB 1000 KB or 1024 KB?
Forms usually mean 1024 KB, and the target here is set to that. If a form insists on 1000 KB, type 1000 into the target box.
Can I aim for another size?
Yes. Type any number of kilobytes into the Target size box, or clear it to choose the settings yourself.
Is my document uploaded?
No. Everything happens in your browser.