Need your PDF under 1MB for an email attachment, web form, or university submission? PDFico compresses your file directly in your browser. No upload, no sign up, no watermarks.
Compress PDF Now — FreeMany platforms enforce strict file size limits. Here are the most common ones and how PDFico helps you meet them.
| Platform | Size Limit | PDFico Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail attachments | 25 MB | Balanced |
| Outlook attachments | 20 MB | Balanced |
| University portals (UCAS, Common App) | 1-2 MB | Maximum compression |
| Government forms | 1-5 MB | Maximum compression |
| Job application portals | 2-5 MB | Balanced or Maximum |
| WhatsApp documents | 100 MB | Balanced |
Click the button above or go to the PDF Compressor. Drop your PDF file or click to browse.
For the smallest file size, choose "Maximum compression" from the dropdown. This optimises embedded images aggressively while keeping text sharp.
The tool shows you the before and after file size with the percentage reduction. If the file is still over 1MB, your PDF may contain high-resolution scans or photos.
Click download. Your compressed file is ready to attach, upload, or share. The original file stays untouched on your device.
Your PDF never leaves your device. Compression runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Ideal for confidential documents, tax returns, and medical records.
Many free compression tools stamp a watermark on your output. PDFico never adds watermarks, even on the free tier.
Whether you need your PDF under 1MB, 500KB, or 200KB, the maximum compression setting gives you the smallest possible file while keeping content readable.
Start compressing immediately. No email address, no account creation, no credit card. Just drop your file and compress.
Results depend on the content. Image-heavy PDFs (scanned documents, presentations with photos) typically shrink by 40-70%. Text-only PDFs are already compact and may only reduce by 5-15%.
PDFico optimises your file as much as possible at the selected compression level. You cannot set an exact target size, but maximum compression typically gets image-heavy PDFs well below 1MB.
No. Text and vector graphics are not affected by compression. Only embedded raster images (photos, scans) are optimised. Text stays crisp at any compression level.
With PDFico, yes. Your files are processed entirely in your browser and never sent to any server. This is fundamentally different from other tools that upload your documents for server-side processing.
If your PDF contains very high-resolution images, try these steps: (1) Use maximum compression. (2) If still too large, use the Split tool to break the PDF into smaller sections. (3) Consider whether all pages are needed for your submission.
Use the same compress tool with maximum compression. For very small targets, the PDF needs to be mostly text-based. Image-heavy documents have a lower limit on how small they can get without removing content.