Standard Photo Print Sizes (Wallet, 4x6, 5x7, 8x10) in Inches & cm

The standard photo print sizes are wallet (2.5 × 3.5 in), 3.5 × 5, 4 × 6, 5 × 7, 8 × 10, 8.5 × 11, 11 × 14, 12 × 18, 16 × 20, 20 × 30 and 24 × 36 inches, plus the A5, A4 and A3 paper sizes used outside North America. The classic snapshot is 4 × 6 inches (10.2 × 15.2 cm), which needs 1200 × 1800 pixels for a sharp print at 300 DPI. A wallet photo is 2.5 × 3.5 inches and needs 750 × 1050 pixels.

Two numbers decide whether a print looks good: the pixels your photo has, and the shape (aspect ratio) of the paper. The table below gives both for every common size. To check your own photo in one step, open it in Photo Print Size: it shows the DPI your photo reaches at each size and lets you crop it to the exact proportions before you order.

Standard print sizes in inches, centimeters and pixels

300 DPI is the usual target for prints you hold in your hand. 150 DPI is the lowest that still looks acceptable, mostly for large prints seen from a few feet away. Swap width and height for a landscape print.

Print size (in)	Centimeters	Aspect ratio	Pixels at 300 DPI	Pixels at 150 DPI
Wallet 2.5 × 3.5	6.4 × 8.9	5:7	750 × 1050	375 × 525
3.5 × 5	8.9 × 12.7	7:10	1050 × 1500	525 × 750
4 × 6	10.2 × 15.2	2:3	1200 × 1800	600 × 900
5 × 7	12.7 × 17.8	5:7	1500 × 2100	750 × 1050
8 × 10	20.3 × 25.4	4:5	2400 × 3000	1200 × 1500
8.5 × 11 (Letter)	21.6 × 27.9	17:22	2550 × 3300	1275 × 1650
11 × 14	27.9 × 35.6	11:14	3300 × 4200	1650 × 2100
12 × 18	30.5 × 45.7	2:3	3600 × 5400	1800 × 2700
16 × 20	40.6 × 50.8	4:5	4800 × 6000	2400 × 3000
20 × 30	50.8 × 76.2	2:3	6000 × 9000	3000 × 4500
24 × 36 (poster)	61 × 91.4	2:3	7200 × 10800	3600 × 5400
A5 (5.8 × 8.3)	14.8 × 21	1:√2	1748 × 2480	874 × 1240
A4 (8.3 × 11.7)	21 × 29.7	1:√2	2480 × 3508	1240 × 1754
A3 (11.7 × 16.5)	29.7 × 42	1:√2	3508 × 4961	1754 × 2480

The pixel figures are simple multiplication: inches × DPI. A 4 × 6 at 300 DPI is 4 × 300 by 6 × 300, so 1200 × 1800. The A sizes come from the ISO 216 standard, where every size has the same 1 : 1.414 ratio and is half the size before it.

Wallet, 4x6 and the other everyday sizes

Wallet (2.5 × 3.5 in). The size for school photos, keepsakes and photo booth style sets. Labs often print four wallets on one 5 × 7 sheet, which you then cut. Some labs use 2 × 3 inches instead, so read the size list before you order. Any phone photo is more than sharp enough: 750 × 1050 pixels is a tiny fraction of what a phone camera records.

4 × 6 in (10 × 15 cm). The default size at drugstores and online labs, and the cheapest per print. Its 2:3 ratio matches most dedicated cameras exactly, but not phone photos (see below).

5 × 7 in. Popular for frames on a desk and for greeting cards. It is slightly squarer than 4 × 6, so it trims a camera photo a little more and a phone photo a little less.

8 × 10 in. The standard portrait and frame size. It is much squarer (4:5), which means a camera photo loses about a sixth of its length. Plan the crop so heads and feet are not cut off.

8.5 × 11 in and A4. Not traditional photo sizes, but what home printers take. Printing on Letter or A4 paper with no borders gives the same cropping questions as any other size.

11 × 14 in and up. Wall prints. At these sizes the 300 DPI target needs 3300 × 4200 pixels or more, which many phone photos do not reach. Large prints are viewed from farther away, so 150 to 200 DPI usually looks fine.

Which sizes crop a phone or camera photo?

A print can only be filled edge to edge if the photo has the same shape. Most phones save photos in 4:3 by default, while most interchangeable-lens cameras shoot 3:2. When the shapes differ, part of the photo is trimmed. This table shows how much of the photo’s length or width is lost at each size (filling the paper, no white borders).

Print size	Ratio	Phone photo (4:3)	Camera photo (3:2)
Wallet, 5 × 7	1.40	about 5% trimmed	about 7% trimmed
3.5 × 5	1.43	about 7% trimmed	about 5% trimmed
4 × 6, 12 × 18, 20 × 30, 24 × 36	1.50	about 11% trimmed	none
8 × 10, 16 × 20	1.25	about 6% trimmed	about 17% trimmed
8.5 × 11	1.29	about 3% trimmed	about 14% trimmed
11 × 14	1.27	about 5% trimmed	about 15% trimmed
A5, A4, A3	1.41	about 6% trimmed	about 6% trimmed

Labs usually crop from the center, which can cut off the top of a head or a sign at the edge of the frame. Doing the crop yourself lets you decide what stays. You have three options:

1. Crop to the print ratio yourself. In Photo Print Size, pick the size and orientation, then slide the crop up and down or left and right until the framing is right. The tool saves the cropped area as a JPG with the DPI for that size written in the file.
2. Choose a size that matches your photo. Camera photos fit 4 × 6 exactly. For phone photos, 5 × 7 and 11 × 14 lose the least among the common sizes.
3. Print with white borders (“fit” instead of “fill”). Most labs offer this option. The whole photo is printed and the leftover paper stays white. If you want the borders to be even, Add Border to Image adds them before you upload.

If you are not sure what ratio your photo has, Check Image Size shows its exact pixel dimensions, aspect ratio and megapixels, and the Aspect Ratio Calculator works out the matching dimensions for any ratio.

How big can you print your photo?

Divide each side’s pixels by 300 to get the largest sharp print in inches, or by 150 for the acceptable maximum. A 12-megapixel phone photo of 4032 × 3024 pixels gives:

• 13.4 × 10.1 inches at 300 DPI: an 8 × 10 still reaches about 300 DPI after cropping, and an 11 × 14 about 275 DPI.
• 26.9 × 20.2 inches at 150 DPI: a 16 × 20 comes out at about 190 DPI, fine on a wall. A 20 × 30 drops to about 135 DPI once cropped to 2:3, which starts to look soft.

The steps to check your own file:

1. Open the photo in Photo Print Size. It reads the file on your device; nothing is uploaded.
2. Read the table: each standard size gets the DPI your photo reaches after cropping, rated Excellent (300+), Good (200+), OK (150+) or Blurry.
3. Pick the size you want, adjust the crop and download the JPG.

Be careful with photos received through messaging apps or downloaded from social networks: they are often resized to a much smaller size than the original. A photo that looked fine on screen may only be 1600 pixels wide, enough for a 4 × 6 but not for an 8 × 10. Ask for the original file, or export it from your phone’s photo library rather than from a chat. To understand what the DPI number in a file means, and why changing it doesn’t help, read What Is DPI for Printing?.

Tips before you order prints

• Use the original file. The full-resolution photo from the camera or phone library has the most pixels. Screenshots and chat copies have far fewer.
• Convert HEIC if the lab refuses it. iPhones save photos as HEIC by default and some print sites only accept JPG. HEIC to JPG converts them in your browser. Our guide to HEIC vs JPG explains the difference.
• Don’t upscale to “reach” 300 DPI. Enlarging a small photo adds pixels but no detail. The print will look the same or softer.
• Mind the orientation. A 4 × 6 portrait and a 6 × 4 landscape are the same print. Crop to the orientation of the photo, not the default of the order form.
• Order one test print before a large order or a big wall print. Screens are brighter than paper, so prints often look darker than the image on your phone.