Notebook Sizes: Chart of Standard Dimensions in Inches and cm

Notebook size guides

Notebook sizes chart

Sizes are page dimensions, width × height in portrait orientation. A hardcover is usually 2 to 5 mm larger than its pages on each edge, and a spiral notebook is wider than its pages because of the coil.

A4 21 × 29.7 cmB5 17.6 × 25 cmA5 14.8 × 21 cmA6 10.5 × 14.8 cm

A5 is the standard size for journals and planners in most of the world. Its exact dimensions, page counts and brand variations are in the A5 notebook size guide. For the paper standards behind A4, B5 and the US sheets, see the paper sizes chart.

US school notebook sizes

US notebooks are named by binding and format rather than by an international size code. The three that appear on school supply lists have different page sizes, which matters when a teacher asks for "a notebook that fits in a folder".

Composition notebook size

A composition book has sewn pages of 7.5 × 9.75 in (190.5 × 247.7 mm) inside a stiff marbled cover that adds a few millimeters on each edge. The standard book has 100 sheets (200 pages) in wide or college ruling. Because the pages are sewn, they do not tear out cleanly, which is why they are used for lab notebooks and journals that must stay intact.

Spiral notebook size

The classic one-subject spiral notebook has 8 × 10.5 in pages (20.3 × 26.7 cm), usually 70 or 100 sheets. Premium lines such as Five Star use full Letter-size pages, 8.5 × 11 in, so torn-out sheets fit a standard binder and printer. The coil and cover add roughly 0.5 to 1.25 in to the overall width, so a "Letter" spiral notebook measures about 9.1 to 9.8 in across.

Legal pads, steno pads and memo books

• Legal pad (Letter width): 8.5 × 11.75 in including the glued header; the perforated sheet tears off at 8.5 × 11 in.
• Legal pad (Legal length): 8.5 × 14 in sheets for contracts and long-form notes.
• Junior legal pad: 5 × 8 in.
• Steno pad: 6 × 9 in, top-spiral, with a vertical center line for two columns.
• Memo book: 3 × 5 in top-spiral or 3.5 × 5.5 in stapled pocket notebook.

International notebook sizes: A4, B5, A5, A6

Outside North America, notebooks follow the ISO A and B series. Each A size is half the one above, and each B size sits between two A sizes. That gives a simple rule: B5 is a roomier A5, and B6 is a roomier A6.

A notebook sold as "B5" in Asia is usually the Japanese JIS size, 182 × 257 mm, or a trimmed version of it. Kokuyo's Campus B5, for example, measures 179 × 252 mm and is sold in Japan as "semi-B5". European B5 notebooks use the ISO 176 × 250 mm sheet.

Popular brand notebook sizes

Brands name their sizes loosely. "Large" or "Medium" can mean a different page size from one maker to the next, and several "A5" notebooks are a few millimeters narrower than true A5.

Manufacturers adjust sizes and add editions, so check the current product listing when a cover or insert must fit exactly. Traveler's Notebook covers are larger than the refills listed above.

What size is my notebook? Decoding listed dimensions

Product listings often give a bare measurement instead of a size name. Match it to the nearest standard below; anything within 3 to 5 mm is the same format with a different trim or cover.

For a "big" notebook, the practical ceiling for a bound writing notebook is A4 or Letter. Larger pads (A3, 11 × 14 in, 14 × 17 in) are sold as sketchbooks or drawing pads rather than notebooks.

Line spacing: wide, college and narrow ruled

The size of a notebook decides how much fits on a page, but the ruling decides how many lines you get. US ruling is defined in fractions of an inch; metric notebooks use whole millimeters.

Wide ruling suits young children and large handwriting, which is why it dominates early elementary supply lists. College ruling is the default for middle school onward. Leuchtturm1917 ruled pages use 6 mm spacing and Kokuyo Campus B5 uses 7 mm, which explains why the same handwriting feels cramped in one and roomy in the other.

To estimate lines per page, divide the ruled height by the spacing. An 8 × 10.5 in spiral page with about 9.5 in of ruled area gives roughly 33 college-ruled lines or 27 wide-ruled lines.

Which notebook size to choose

• Students: Letter or A4 for subjects with handouts, since printed sheets can be glued or stapled in flat. B5 is a lighter alternative for written subjects.
• Bullet journals and planners: A5 with 5 mm dot grid is the standard because most templates and stencils are drawn for it.
• Carrying everywhere: 3.5 × 5.5 in pocket notebooks fit a back pocket; A6 fits a coat pocket; A5 needs a bag.
• Laptop users: an A4 notebook (21 × 29.7 cm) is about the footprint of a 13 to 14-inch laptop, so both fit the same sleeve. See laptop bag sizes and backpack sizes for carrying both.

Making or printing your own notebook

Homemade and print-on-demand notebooks are built from folded sheets called signatures. A sheet folded once gives 4 pages, folded twice gives 8, and folded three times gives 16. That fold count, not the number of sheets, sets how many pages you can print per sheet.

1. Pick the finished page size, then double it to get the sheet you print on. An A5 notebook prints on A4; a 5.5 × 8.5 in notebook prints on Letter.
2. Print in booklet mode. Word, Acrobat and most printer drivers have a "booklet" setting that orders the pages so they read correctly once folded.
3. Keep signatures thin. Four to eight sheets of 80 to 90 gsm paper (16 to 32 pages) fold flat; thicker stacks push the inner pages out at the fore edge.
4. Trim after binding. Inner pages creep outward by about the paper thickness per sheet, so trim 2 to 3 mm off the open edge for a flush finish, and set margins of at least 10 mm to allow for it.

Frequently asked questions