Compress PDF under 1 MB
Some upload forms — visa applications, school portals, government submissions — hard-cap PDF uploads at 1 MB. A standard scanned document is usually 3–10× that size.
Why this works
The Aggressive preset rasterises pages, downsamples to 150 dpi and re-encodes images with stronger compression. Most everyday documents land comfortably under 1 MB while remaining clearly readable.
How it works
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1Open the toolLaunch the compressor with the "Aggressive" preset selected.
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2Upload your PDFDrop the file in. We support PDFs up to 100 MB on the free tier.
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3Set target: under 1 MBThe tool runs multiple passes until the result is below 1 MB, or warns you if it cannot.
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4Verify and downloadPreview the output, then download. The size badge confirms the final byte count.
Real-world uses
Visa applicants
Most consulate portals reject anything over 1 MB per document.
University applicants
Common Application supplements, transcripts and recommendations.
Government form filers
IRS, DMV and city portals frequently enforce a 1 MB cap.
Common questions
What if my file still won't fit?
Try the Grayscale tool first — converting from colour to black-and-white halves the size of most scanned documents.
Will text stay searchable?
Yes. Even at 150 dpi, OCR-extracted text remains in the file as a hidden layer.
Is 1 MB always achievable?
For typical 1–20 page documents yes. Image-heavy 100-page reports may not compress below 1 MB without sacrificing readability.