Letter Paper Size
US Letter is 8.5 by 11 inches, which is 215.9 by 279.4 mm. The tool above opens on Letter drawn to scale against A4, the sheet most of the world uses instead, because that is the comparison that catches people out: neither fits inside the other. The table below gives Letter in millimetres, centimetres, inches and pixels at 72, 150 and 300 ppi, or the resolution you choose, in both portrait and landscape.
- Letter · 215.9 × 279.4 mm
- A4 · 210 × 297 mm
- Units
Custom sides are normalized to short × long in portrait; landscape turns both sheets. PPI sets the raster canvas size; it does not set screen size or guarantee print quality.
Letter is 5.9 mm wider and 17.6 mm shorter than A4.
- The default sheet in the US, Canada and Mexico.
- Also called ANSI A, US Letter.
- A4 is 5.9 mm narrower and 17.6 mm taller.
Paper size reference chart
Letter, Legal, Tabloid and the ANSI engineering sizes, all defined in inches. Chart dimensions follow the chosen orientation and resolution.
| Size | Millimeters | Inches | Pixels at 300 ppi | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 215.9 × 330.2 mm | 8.5 × 13 in | 2550 × 3900 px | An 8.5 × 13 inch sheet; regional Folio and Legal names vary, so check the dimensions. | |
| 215.9 × 279.4 mm | 8.5 × 11 in | 2550 × 3300 px | The default sheet in the US, Canada and Mexico. | |
| 215.9 × 355.6 mm | 8.5 × 14 in | 2550 × 4200 px | US contracts and legal pads, three inches longer. | |
| 279.4 × 431.8 mm | 11 × 17 in | 3300 × 5100 px | US newspapers, spreads and two-up Letter. | |
| 184.15 × 266.7 mm | 7.25 × 10.5 in | 2175 × 3150 px | US letterheads and memos, just under Letter. | |
| 139.7 × 215.9 mm | 5.5 × 8.5 in | 1650 × 2550 px | US notepads, planners and half-sheet handouts. | |
| 127 × 203.2 mm | 5 × 8 in | 1500 × 2400 px | Small US legal pads. | |
| 203.2 × 266.7 mm | 8 × 10.5 in | 2400 × 3150 px | US school and government notepads. | |
| 431.8 × 558.8 mm | 17 × 22 in | 5100 × 6600 px | Engineering drawings, four Letter sheets. | |
| 558.8 × 863.6 mm | 22 × 34 in | 6600 × 10200 px | Engineering drawings, eight Letter sheets. | |
| 863.6 × 1117.6 mm | 34 × 44 in | 10200 × 13200 px | Engineering drawings, sixteen Letter sheets. |
For an existing PDF, place four A6 pages on an A4 or Letter sheet with PDF N-up; export there, then print at actual size. To convert arbitrary artwork dimensions, use Pixels to Print Size.
US Letter in every unit
Nominal dimensions converted at 25.4 mm per inch. Pixel counts multiply unrounded inches by the named PPI and round to a whole pixel. Landscape swaps the sides. Printer margins, bleed and stock tolerances are separate.
| Measurement | Portrait | Landscape |
|---|---|---|
| Millimeters | 215.9 × 279.4 mm | 279.4 × 215.9 mm |
| Centimeters | 21.59 × 27.94 cm | 27.94 × 21.59 cm |
| Inches | 8.5 × 11 in | 11 × 8.5 in |
| Pixels at 72 dpi | 612 × 792 px | 792 × 612 px |
| Pixels at 150 dpi | 1275 × 1650 px | 1650 × 1275 px |
| Pixels at 300 dpi | 2550 × 3300 px | 3300 × 2550 px |
Common questions
- What size is letter paper?
- 8.5 by 11 inches, or 215.9 by 279.4 mm. Inches are the defining dimensions: Letter is stated in inches, so every millimeter figure on this page is the conversion at 25.4 mm to the inch rather than a second published number.
- Is Letter the same as A4?
- Neither sheet fits fully inside the other at the same orientation. Changing the document page size can reflow text, depending on the application and layout. A PDF printed with fit-to-page is scaled; it does not reflow its text. Actual-size printing can clip content outside the printable area. This lookup neither edits a document nor sets a printer driver. Letter is 5.9 mm wider and 17.6 mm shorter than A4.
- How many pixels is a Letter page?
- 2550 by 3300 at 300 ppi, 1275 by 1650 at 150 ppi and 612 by 792 at 72 ppi, in portrait. Because Letter is defined in inches, every one of those is a whole number with nothing rounded away: 8.5 inches at 300 ppi is exactly 2550 pixels.
- Is Letter also called ANSI A?
- Yes. Letter, US Letter and ANSI A are the same sheet. ANSI A is the base of the American engineering series, where each size up is the previous one doubled: ANSI B is Tabloid at 11 by 17 inches, then ANSI C, D and E. The Size list above has all of them.
- What is the aspect ratio of Letter?
- Letter is 17:22 in portrait, approximately 1:1.294. Halving the long side produces Half Letter at 5.5 × 8.5 inches, whose short-to-long ratio is 11:17. Half Letter is more elongated; the series does not preserve the square-root-of-two shape of ISO A.
Listed sizes are nominal trimmed dimensions, not measurements of your stock. Pixels are inches times the chosen PPI, rounded to whole pixels. Printer margins and bleed are separate.