Paper Size Converter — A4, Letter, Legal in mm & inches

Look up paper dimensions in millimetres and inches across ISO A/B series and US sizes (Letter, Legal, Tabloid).

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Paper Size Converter

Paper • A/B series · US sizes

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Choose a size to see equivalents

How to Use the Paper Size Converter

  1. Pick the system you know — choose the sizing standard you already have (e.g. US).
  2. Select your size — pick your known size from the list.
  3. Read every equivalent — all other systems update instantly, with your source highlighted.

Why Use This Paper Size Converter

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Every system side by side

Choose the size you already know and the equivalents in all the other standards appear together, with your source highlighted — so nothing has to be converted twice to be checked.

Live as you type

Results are recalculated on every keystroke, with no submit step and no page reload, so a value can be adjusted until the answer looks right rather than guessed once.

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100% private

Everything runs in your browser — no account, no uploads, nothing leaves your device.

Understanding the Paper Size Converter

The international A-series (A0, A1, A2 … A4) is defined by ISO 216 and built on an elegant idea proposed by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg in 1786: every size has the same aspect ratio of √2 (≈1.414), so folding a sheet in half yields the next size down with identical proportions. A0 is exactly one square metre, which fixes every other size. North America instead uses traditional "Letter", "Legal" and "Tabloid" sizes that pre-date the metric standard.

Knowing the exact dimensions in both millimetres and inches matters for printing, scaling artwork, setting up documents, and choosing frames or envelopes. This converter lists the full A/B series alongside the common US sizes so you can match or resize between systems without guesswork.

Formula & Logic

The ISO 216 A series is built on a single elegant property: every sheet has an aspect ratio of √2, so halving it across the long side produces two sheets of the same proportions. That is what makes A4 to A5 scaling lossless and why photocopier reduction settings are the tidy 71% (which is 1/√2). A0 is defined as one square metre of area, and each subsequent size halves it. North American Letter and Legal sizes come from a different tradition entirely, with no consistent ratio between them, which is why scaling between A4 and Letter always distorts or crops.

Aspect ratio = 1 : √2 (1.4142) for every A-series sizeA(n+1) = A(n) halved across the long dimensionA0 = 841 × 1189 mm = 1 m²Scaling A4 → A5 = 70.7% linear (1 ÷ √2)

where:

A4
210 × 297 mm — the world standard document size
A5
148 × 210 mm — exactly half an A4
US Letter
216 × 279 mm (8.5 × 11 in) — wider and shorter than A4
√2
the ratio that makes the halving property work

Assumptions: A-series dimensions are rounded to whole millimetres, so the halving is very slightly approximate in practice. Printing A4 artwork on Letter requires either 94% scaling or accepting a crop, because the two have different proportions.

SourceISO 216:2007

Step-by-Step Example: A4 to A5, and A4 to US Letter

Demonstrate the halving property, then show why the US comparison has no clean answer.

  • A4210 × 297 mm
  • US Letter216 × 279 mm
  1. Check the A4 ratio: 297 ÷ 210 = 1.4143, essentially √2.
  2. Halve across the long side: 297 ÷ 2 = 148.5, so A5 is 148 × 210 mm.
  3. Verify A5 keeps the ratio: 210 ÷ 148 = 1.4189 — the same proportions.
  4. Linear scale factor for the reduction: 148 ÷ 210 = 70.5%, the familiar 71% copier setting.
  5. Now US Letter: 279 ÷ 216 = 1.2917, a completely different ratio.
  6. Fitting A4 onto Letter needs 216 ÷ 210 = 102.9% width but only 279 ÷ 297 = 93.9% height — so 94% and crop.

ResultA4 → A5 scales cleanly at 71%; A4 → Letter needs 94% and loses margin

Letter is 6 mm wider and 18 mm shorter than A4. Documents laid out for one and printed on the other lose either bottom margin or edge content, which is why international documents are usually designed with generous margins rather than to the page edge.

Paper Size Converter FAQ

A4 is 210 × 297 mm, which is 8.27 × 11.69 inches — slightly narrower and taller than US Letter (8.5 × 11 in).
No. US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) is used in North America; A4 (210 × 297 mm) is the international standard everywhere else. A4 is about 6 mm narrower and 18 mm taller.

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✔ Written & reviewed by Dr Sam — 20+ yrs in management & research leadership📅 Last updated September 2026📚 Sources: NIST & BIPM SI unit definitions📑 How we build & check these