---
title: "Book trim sizes compared — paperback and hardcover"
description: "Paperback and hardcover trim sizes drawn at true scale, with the page count your own word count runs to in each. Free, no sign-up."
source: https://usegalley.com/resources/book-trim-size-comparison
---
[Home](https://usegalley.com/) [Resources](https://usegalley.com/resources) Trim size comparison

# Book trim size comparison

Paperback and hardcover trim sizes drawn at true scale against each other, with what your own word count runs to in each. The trim decides the page count, and the page count decides the spine and the print cost.

Binding

Word count

Type size

Units

Mass market —

Small trade —

B-format —

Trade —

Digest —

US trade —

Royal —

Digest —

US trade —

Royal —

Large —

Extra large —

| Trim | Pages | Words a page | Spine, cream | What it is for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

This runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, and
there is no account to make.

## How the trim sizes compare

The rectangles are drawn to scale against each other, so the strip shows the
real difference in proportion. A mass market page is narrower than a 6 by 9,
not just shorter.

Page counts use the same model as the
[words to printed pages](https://usegalley.com/resources/word-count-to-page-count)
calculator: standard margins, normal leading, mixed prose, thirty chapters,
ten pages of matter, rounded up to a multiple of four. Spine widths are the
page count times 0.0025 inches, which is KDP's figure for black ink on cream.

Hardcover has two constraints a paperback does not. It comes in five sizes
rather than sixteen, and it has to land between 75 and 550 pages, so a very
long novel cannot be a KDP hardcover at all.

Galley sets the manuscript on the real page rather than on a letter sheet you
resize at export, so the trim is a decision you make once and see for the
whole draft. More in [book design](https://usegalley.com/docs/book-design).

**For working things out, not for signing anything.** Printers
and retailers set their own rates and specifications, change them without
notice, and none of them is affiliated with me or with Galley.
I checked these figures by hand in August 2026
against [KDP's trim size list](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GVBQ3CMEQW3W2VL6).
Confirm on the official page before you commit money to a price, a
print run or a contract.

## Questions

What is the best trim size for a novel? For self-publishing, 6 by 9 inches. It is the size readers expect from a paperback novel, every printer supports it, and it holds the most words per page of the common trims, which keeps the print cost down. Pick 5.06 by 7.81 if you want the book to feel like a British paperback.

Does trim size change my page count? Heavily. The same 90,000 words runs to about 290 pages at 6 by 9 and about 450 at mass market size. That changes the spine width, the print cost, and the shelf presence of the finished book.

What trim sizes does a hardcover come in? On Amazon KDP, five: 5.5 by 8.5, 6 by 9, 6.14 by 9.21, 7 by 10 and 8.25 by 11 inches. Hardcovers also have to be between 75 and 550 pages, which rules out both very short and very long books.

Should the hardcover match the paperback? It is easier if it does. Same trim means the same interior file and the same page count, so the two editions stay in step and you only lay the book out once. Different trims mean two layouts, two page counts and two spine widths.

Can I change trim size later? Yes, but the whole interior reflows and the page count moves, so the cover spine has to be rebuilt. Choose the trim before you commission a cover, not after.

## Next

[Words to printed pagesThe model behind these page counts, with every dial exposed.](https://usegalley.com/resources/word-count-to-page-count) [Spine width calculatorThe cover that fits the trim you pick.](https://usegalley.com/resources/book-spine-width-calculator) [KDP royalty calculatorWhat each trim costs you per copy.](https://usegalley.com/resources/kdp-royalty-calculator) [Cover template generatorTurn the trim you picked into a wrap template.](https://usegalley.com/resources/book-cover-template-generator)

More at [the resources index](https://usegalley.com/resources).

Put all this into practice when you write your novel in Galley.

[Launch Galley](https://app.usegalley.com)