PDF Tools
Compress PDF to 1 MB
Compress a PDF to under 1 MB - good for keeping long documents emailable while staying well under common size caps.
The algorithm
1 MB is a comfortable target for a wide range of documents, from scanned reports to image-heavy presentations. The tool preserves near-original quality and typically finishes in a single attempt.
Suitable for emailing contracts, submitting applications on portals with 1 MB-2 MB limits, or archiving multiple scanned pages in a reasonable file size.
A real use case
Common use: Many corporate email systems warn or block attachments over 1 MB. Compressing a scanned contract or report to under 1 MB keeps it emailable without needing cloud links or file transfer services.
Common questions
What's the quality difference between 1 MB and 500 KB?
At 1 MB the compression is lighter - JPEG quality stays near 85-95% for most pages. At 500 KB it drops to 70-85%. For most documents the difference is barely visible, but for photos and detailed graphics 1 MB is noticeably sharper.
Does the PDF stay the same page count?
Yes. Compression never removes pages. Each page is re-encoded individually.
Is this really private?
Yes. The whole compression runs in your browser using JavaScript and Canvas APIs. Your PDF is never uploaded, stored, or seen by us. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it will still work.
Will the text still be selectable in the compressed PDF?
For aggressive KB targets, each page is rasterized into a JPEG and embedded as an image, which makes text non-selectable. If you need searchable text, pick a larger target or use the regular compressor at /tools/pdf-compressor/.
What file size can I compress?
Up to around 200 MB on most devices. Very large or very long PDFs may exceed browser memory limits - if that happens, try splitting the PDF into smaller sections first.
Why does my file end up slightly under the target rather than exactly at it?
The tool uses a binary search to find the highest JPEG quality that still fits under the target. It stops at the first setting that lands under the limit, so output is always a little below the ceiling - which is exactly what upload portals want.