Compress a PDF to under 1 MB
The strictest cap in common use. A colour scan will lose something reaching it; the page says what.
Drop files here
or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: PDF
One file per runUp to 20 MB per file5 runs per dayFree PDFs end with a small “Made with nouplo.com” lineRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Example: a colour scan of a degree certificate and transcript, under 1 MB for a job portal
A graduate job portal takes each document as a PDF of up to 1 MB. The degree certificate and a one-page transcript were scanned in colour at 300 dpi on US Letter: two pages, each a 2550 × 3300 picture, 3.4 MB in all, saved as degree.pdf. There is nothing to set.
- The steps in the table are tried in order, each starting again from the original file, and the first result under 1,000,000 bytes is the one you get.
- 1 MB is counted as 1,000,000 bytes, the stricter reading, so the file passes whether the portal counts 1,000,000 or 1,048,576.
- Step 1 only caps the long side at 2400 px: each 2550 × 3300 page becomes 1855 × 2400, about 218 dpi on an 11-inch page, at JPEG quality 0.85.
- If not even step 5 gets there, you get the smallest version made, with its size; then rescan in greyscale, or upload the two pages separately if the portal allows it.
| Step | JPEG quality | Each 2550 × 3300 page becomes | On Letter paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.85 | 1855 × 2400 | about 218 dpi |
| 2 | 0.7 | 1236 × 1600 | about 145 dpi |
| 3 | 0.5 | 850 × 1100 | 100 dpi |
| 4 | 0.4 | 695 × 900 | about 82 dpi |
| 5 | 0.3 | 541 × 700 | about 64 dpi |
degree-compressed.pdf, with the size it reached shown in the list. Open it before uploading: typed text stays readable well down the table, while a coloured crest or a seal is the first thing to blur.
How it works
- Drop the PDF. It is read in the browser and never leaves your computer.
- Nothing to set: the target is 1 MB and the compression level follows from it.
- Press the button. Expect a visible drop on a colour scan of more than a few pages — at this size that is the trade, not a fault.
- Check the size in the list. If it did not reach 1 MB, the answers below say why and what to do instead.
Frequently asked questions
- Which forms ask for 1 MB?
- The strict ones: job application portals, visa and residence systems, and forms that collect one attachment per field rather than one per case. Those systems store a lot of small files and cap each one hard.
- Will a colour scan still be readable?
- A few pages, yes. A long colour scan of typed text, mostly — the letters survive being re-encoded far better than photographs do. What suffers is anything with a photograph or a coloured stamp on it, which at 1 MB can come back visibly blotchy.
- Should I scan in greyscale instead?
- If you know the limit in advance, yes. A greyscale scan of the same document starts at perhaps a third of the size, so it reaches 1 MB with quality left over rather than being squeezed into it. This page cannot undo a colour scan that has already been made.
- Is the text still selectable afterwards?
- Yes. Only the images are re-encoded; a text layer is carried across untouched, so copying, searching and screen readers all still work. A tool that rasterises to hit a size costs you all three.
- Is 1 MB counted as 1,000 KB or 1,024 KB?
- The target is 1,000,000 bytes, the smaller of the two readings, so the file passes whether the portal counts a megabyte as 1,000,000 bytes or as 1,048,576 (1,024 KB).
- Is anything added to the PDF?
- On the free plan, a small grey line with our name is printed at the foot of the last page; Pro leaves it off. Nothing else changes: the pages, their order and any text layer stay as they were, and only the pictures are re-encoded.
- Is my file uploaded?
- No. The PDF is opened, re-encoded and rebuilt inside the browser tab, which is the whole point when the document is a contract or a passport scan.