kdp · cover size
KDP cover size and spine width for the 16 standard trim sizes
A KDP paperback cover is one PDF: back, spine and front side by side, with 0.125 in of bleed around. Pick your trim size for the full table, or enter your page count below. A 6 × 9 in book of 120 white pages, for example, needs 12.520 × 9.250 in.
Your trim size and page count
Gives the spine and the full cover in inches, millimeters and pixels, the margins, and a PDF cover guide with the folds, safe areas and barcode box drawn in. No sign-up, 20 a day.
The formula, for 6 × 9 in
- spine
- pages × 0.002252 in on white paper, × 0.0025 in on cream, × 0.00235 in on groundwood, × 0.002347 in on premium color (standard color uses the white figure)
- width
- 0.125 + 6 + spine + 6 + 0.125 in: bleed, back, spine, front, bleed
- height
- 0.125 + 9 + 0.125 = 9.250 in, whatever the page count
- spine text
- only from 80 pages (KDP: more than 79), at least 0.0625 in from each fold
- cover text
- at least 0.125 in inside the trim on every side
- images
- 300 dpi at print size; one PDF, up to 650 MB (KDP suggests 40 MB or less)
16 standard trim sizes
Pick a trim size for its full table
| trim | mm | pages on white | full cover at 120 pages | used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 × 8 in | 127.0 × 203.2 | 24 to 828 | 10.520 × 8.250 in | novels, poetry and pocket journals |
| 5.06 × 7.81 in | 128.5 × 198.4 | 24 to 828 | 10.640 × 8.060 in | compact fiction |
| 5.25 × 8 in | 133.4 × 203.2 | 24 to 828 | 11.020 × 8.250 in | novels and memoirs |
| 5.5 × 8.5 in | 139.7 × 215.9 | 24 to 828 | 11.520 × 8.750 in | novels, devotionals, planners and journals |
| 6 × 9 in | 152.4 × 228.6 | 24 to 828 | 12.520 × 9.250 in | nonfiction, novels and journals |
| 6.14 × 9.21 in | 156.0 × 233.9 | 24 to 828 | 12.800 × 9.460 in | textbooks and longer nonfiction |
| 6.69 × 9.61 in | 169.9 × 244.1 | 24 to 828 | 13.900 × 9.860 in | illustrated nonfiction and workbooks |
| 7 × 10 in | 177.8 × 254.0 | 24 to 828 | 14.520 × 10.250 in | workbooks, textbooks, cookbooks and puzzle books |
| 7.44 × 9.69 in | 189.0 × 246.1 | 24 to 828 | 15.400 × 9.940 in | illustrated nonfiction and workbooks |
| 7.5 × 9.25 in | 190.5 × 235.0 | 24 to 828 | 15.520 × 9.500 in | workbooks, manuals and illustrated nonfiction |
| 8 × 10 in | 203.2 × 254.0 | 24 to 828 | 16.520 × 10.250 in | children's activity books, coloring books and photo books |
| 8.25 × 6 in | 209.6 × 152.4 | 24 to 800 | 17.020 × 6.250 in | landscape picture books, sketchbooks and photo books |
| 8.25 × 8.25 in | 209.6 × 209.6 | 24 to 800 | 17.020 × 8.500 in | square picture books and photo books |
| 8.5 × 8.5 in | 215.9 × 215.9 | 24 to 590 | 17.520 × 8.750 in | square children's books, coloring books and photo books |
| 8.5 × 11 in | 215.9 × 279.4 | 24 to 590 | 17.520 × 11.250 in | puzzle books, coloring books, workbooks and large print activity books |
| A4, 8.27 × 11.69 in | 210.0 × 297.0 | 24 to 780 | 17.060 × 11.940 in | workbooks and puzzle books |
the inside pages too
Need the whole book, not only the cover size?
Our book maker makes sudoku, word search, maze and coloring books with the interior PDF, a wrap cover sized to its page count with these numbers, and a signed check report on both files. Puzzle books at 6 × 9, 7 × 10, 8 × 10, 8.5 × 11 in, and A4 (8.27 × 11.69 in); coloring books at 6 × 9, 7 × 10, 8 × 10 and 8.5 × 11 in. From $3.30 a book, no subscription.
Questions
Does the trim size change the spine width?
No. The spine depends only on the page count and the paper: pages × 0.002252 in on white, × 0.0025 in on cream, × 0.00235 in on groundwood. The trim size changes the width of the back and the front.
Why is my cover 0.25 in bigger than two covers and a spine?
KDP wants 0.125 in of bleed on every outside edge, so the art can be trimmed cleanly: 0.125 in on the left, right, top and bottom of the whole wrap.
Is this the same as KDP's own cover calculator?
It uses the same published formula, so the spine and the full cover size come out the same. KDP's calculator also covers custom trim sizes, hardcovers and right-to-left books, which ours does not, and its cover template is worth a look before you upload.
What about a custom trim size?
KDP also takes your own trim size for paperbacks: 4 to 8.5 in wide and 6 to 11.69 in tall. The formula is the same: 0.125 + width + spine + width + 0.125 across, and the height plus 0.25 in. This page and our calculator cover the 16 standard sizes.
Numbers from KDP’s paperback help pages (trim sizes, page limits, margins and bleed, cover size, spine width and spine text, the groundwood spine and barcodes), read on 21 and 22 October 2026 (ruleset kdp-paperback-2026-10-21). KDP changes its specs now and then; its own pages win.