A5 Notebook Size: Dimensions in cm, mm and Inches
A5 is the default size for journals, planners and bullet journals. Here is the exact page size, how real A5 notebooks differ from it, what fits on a page, and how A5 compares with US sizes.
An A5 notebook has pages of 148 × 210 mm, which is 14.8 × 21 cm or 5.83 × 8.27 inches (about 5 13/16 × 8 1/4 in). A5 is exactly half of an A4 sheet. Hardcover A5 notebooks measure a few millimeters more because the cover overhangs the pages.
- Centimeters
- 14.8 × 21 cm
- Inches
- 5.83 × 8.27 in
- Diagonal
- 25.7 cm (10.1 in)
- 300 DPI pixels
- 1748 × 2480 px
On this page
A5 notebook dimensions in every unit
ISO 216 fixes A5 at 148 × 210 mm. Everything else is a conversion of those two numbers.
| Unit | Width | Height | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millimeters | 148 mm | 210 mm | The defined size |
| Centimeters | 14.8 cm | 21 cm | Shop listings outside the US |
| Inches | 5.83 in | 8.27 in | 5.8268 × 8.2677 in unrounded |
| Inches (fraction) | 5 13/16 in | 8 1/4 in | Measuring with a ruler |
| PDF points | 420 pt | 595 pt | Page setup in InDesign and PDF tools |
| Pixels at 300 DPI | 1748 px | 2480 px | Printable inserts and covers |
| Pixels at 150 DPI | 874 px | 1240 px | Draft printables |
An open A5 notebook lies flat at 296 × 210 mm, the size of an A4 sheet turned sideways. That is why A5 inserts are printed two-up on A4 paper and folded down the middle.
Real A5 notebooks: cover and page sizes by brand
"A5" on a notebook usually describes the page format, not the outside measurement. Hardcovers overhang the paper by about 2 to 4 mm on the three open edges, and some brands trim the page a little narrower than true A5.
| Notebook | Size | Difference from true A5 |
|---|---|---|
| True A5 (ISO 216) | 148 × 210 mm | Reference |
| Hobonichi Techo Cousin | A5 pages | True A5 page format |
| Leuchtturm1917 Medium (A5) | 145 × 210 mm cover | 3 mm narrower |
| Moleskine Large | 130 × 210 mm | 18 mm narrower, sold as Large rather than A5 |
| Traveler's Notebook Regular refill | 110 × 210 mm | 38 mm narrower ("slim A5" format) |
The Leuchtturm1917 Medium has 249 numbered pages and 6 mm ruled or 5 mm dot spacing, depending on the edition. A Moleskine Classic Large has 240 pages. Many cheaper A5 journals carry 80 to 192 pages.
A leather cover or folio made "for A5" is built around a hardcover notebook's outside dimensions, which are a few millimeters larger than 148 × 210 mm. Measure your notebook closed, including the cover, before ordering one, and expect a Moleskine Large (13 cm wide) to sit loose in a cover cut for true A5.
"A5 slim" or "A5 narrow" has no standard definition. It generally means the full 210 mm height with a page roughly 110 to 120 mm wide, as with Traveler's-style refills.
A5 vs B5, A4, A6 and US sizes
A5 is half of A4 and double A6. B5 is the step between A5 and A4, with about 42% more page area than A5. Half Letter is the US size most often used in its place.
| Size | cm | Inches | Area vs A5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A6 | 10.5 × 14.8 | 4.1 × 5.8 | 50% |
| Junior legal | 12.7 × 20.3 | 5 × 8 | 83% |
| Half Letter | 14 × 21.6 | 5.5 × 8.5 | 97% |
| A5 | 14.8 × 21 | 5.83 × 8.27 | 100% |
| 6 × 9 in journal | 15.2 × 22.9 | 6 × 9 | 112% |
| B5 (ISO) | 17.6 × 25 | 6.9 × 9.8 | 142% |
| 8 × 10 in | 20.3 × 25.4 | 8 × 10 | 166% |
| A4 | 21 × 29.7 | 8.27 × 11.69 | 200% |
A5 or B5 for a notebook?
- Choose A5 for journals, planners and anything carried daily. It fits most handbags and small backpacks, and nearly all bullet journal templates, stencils and printable inserts are drawn for it.
- Choose B5 for lecture notes, study notes and sketching. The extra 28 mm of width allows a usable margin column or two-column layouts, while the notebook still fits a bag sized for a 13-inch laptop.
A5 vs Half Letter (5.5 × 8.5 in)
The two are interchangeable for writing, but not for hardware. A5 ring planners take 148 mm wide paper punched for A5 rings, while US Half Letter (Classic-size) planners use 5.5 in paper and their own ring spacing, so refills generally do not swap. A Half Letter sheet in an A5 cover also sticks out about 6 mm at the top or bottom.
How much fits on an A5 page
A typical A5 notebook leaves about 185 to 195 mm of ruled height after the top and bottom margins. Divide that by the line spacing to estimate lines per page.
| Ruling | Spacing | Lines per page (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrow / Leuchtturm ruled | 6 mm | 31 to 32 |
| College ruled equivalent | 7.1 mm | 26 to 27 |
| Wide ruled equivalent | 8.7 mm | 21 to 22 |
| Dot grid | 5 mm | 37 to 39 rows, about 28 columns |
A 5 mm dot grid on a 148 mm wide page gives roughly 26 to 28 usable columns once margins are left. A seven-day week laid across one page therefore gets about 4 dots (20 mm) per day, while a two-page spread doubles that to 8 dots.
Printing A5 pages and covers
- Inserts: set the document to A5 (148 × 210 mm) and print "2 pages per sheet" or booklet mode on A4 paper. On Letter paper, A5 pages fit two-up only if scaled to about 94%, because Letter is 279.4 mm long and two A5 pages need 296 mm.
- Margins for binding: leave at least 15 mm on the inner (gutter) edge of bound notebooks; sewn A5 books do not open fully flat at the spine.
- Softcover wrap: the cover artwork is two A5 panels plus the spine. Width = 148 + spine + 148 mm, height = 210 mm, plus 3 mm bleed on every outer edge.
- Spine width: multiply the number of sheets by the paper thickness. 80 gsm paper is about 0.1 mm thick, so 48 sheets (96 pages) make a spine of about 4.8 mm and a full cover file of 306.8 × 216 mm with bleed.
A C5 envelope (162 × 229 mm) takes an A5 sheet or thin booklet flat. A thick A5 notebook needs a padded bag or a C4 envelope. See which envelope fits which paper size.
For the sheet A5 is cut from, see the A4 paper size guide. All other notebook formats, from pocket to Letter, are in the notebook sizes chart, and the full A, B and US series are in the paper sizes guide. If you are comparing a notebook with a tablet, the 10.1-inch tablet dimensions page gives the screen measurements.
Frequently asked questions
What is the American equivalent of an A5 notebook?
Half Letter, also called Statement size: 5.5 × 8.5 in (139.7 × 215.9 mm). A5 is 8.3 mm wider and 5.9 mm shorter. Many US journals are also sold at 5 × 8 in or 6 × 8 in, which bracket A5.
Is an 8 × 10 notebook bigger than A5?
Yes. 8 × 10 in is 20.3 × 25.4 cm, about 66% more page area than A5 (14.8 × 21 cm). It is closer to B5 than to A5.
Is a 10.1-inch tablet the same size as A5 paper?
The diagonal is nearly identical: A5 measures 25.7 cm (10.1 in) corner to corner. The shape is not. A 16:10 tablet screen of 10.1 in is about 21.8 × 13.6 cm, so it is longer and narrower than an A5 page.
Is a Moleskine Large an A5 notebook?
Not quite. A Moleskine Large is 13 × 21 cm, the same height as A5 but 1.8 cm narrower. A5 inserts and printed A5 pages will overhang its edges.
How much does an A5 sheet weigh?
A5 is 1/32 of a square meter, so a sheet of 80 gsm paper weighs 2.5 g and 100 gsm weighs about 3.1 g. A 120-sheet A5 notebook of 80 gsm paper has about 300 g of paper before the cover.