How to compress a PDF to 1 MB
- 1
Add your PDF
Drop one or more PDF files onto the compressor above, paste them, or click to browse.
- 2
1 MB is preset
The target is already set to 1 MB, and each file is compressed to land at or just under it. You can switch to another size or a percentage to reduce by.
- 3
Compress
Click Compress. The PDF is processed in an isolated cloud sandbox and deleted afterwards.
- 4
Check and download
Check the new size, then download each file or all of them as a ZIP.
What fits in 1 MB
Spread across the pages, 1 MB gives each page this much room. Text costs very little; scans and photos cost the most.
| Pages | Budget per page | What survives |
|---|---|---|
| 1 page | 1 MB | Photos and scans stay sharp |
| 5 pages | 200 KB | Scans at good resolution |
| 10 pages | 100 KB | Scans readable, photos softened |
| 25 pages | 40 KB | Text pages fine, scans get blurry |
| 100 pages | 10 KB | Text-only pages only |
Rough guide. Text-only pages are often just a few KB each; a scanned page is mostly image data.
What 1 MB is typically for
- Many job portals and online forms cap documents at 1 MB
- Portfolios with a handful of images
- Scanned contracts and statements
Limits vary by site and change over time; check the exact number where you're uploading.
How PDF gets smaller
Downsamples and recompresses images, subsets and compresses fonts, and removes duplicate data.
Compress PDF by quality level instead →Neighbouring sizes
- 300 KBPDF to 300 KBShort scanned documents
- 500 KBPDF to 500 KBRésumés & cover letters
- 1 MBPDF to 1 MBYou're here
- 2 MBPDF to 2 MBPortfolios & reports
- 5 MBPDF to 5 MBEmail-friendly PDFs
Or compress PDF by level and set any size or percentage yourself.
PDF to 1 MB: frequently asked questions
PDF to 1 MB, done.
Drop the file, keep the preset, download the result. No sign-up, no watermark.
- Most conversions never leave your device
- Cloud files deleted automatically
- No watermarks