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KDP Cover Calculator

Pick your trim size, page count and paper to get the KDP paperback cover dimensions and spine width. Download the layout as a 300 DPI template to use as a guide in your design app.

KDP Cover Calculator

Count every page of your interior file, blank pages included.

Paper and ink
Units

Full cover with bleed

12.926 x 9.25 in

6 x 9 in trim, 300 pages, white paper

Spine width
0.676 in
Back and front cover (trim)
6 x 9 in
Bleed (top, bottom, outer edges)
0.125 in
Safe area, front and back
5.75 x 8.75 in
Spine text
Yes, from 80 pages
Spine text area
0.551 x 8.75 in
Barcode area
2 x 1.2 in
Pages for this trim and paper
24 to 828 pages

Flat cover layout

Flat cover, back cover, spine and front cover side by side. Full size with bleed 12.926 in wide and 9.25 in high. Spine 0.676 in. Bleed 0.125 in on each outer edge, safe area 0.125 in inside the trim, barcode box 2 x 1.2 in on the back cover.Back cover6 x 9 inFront cover6 x 9 inBarcodeFull width 12.926 in6 inSpine 0.676 in6 inHeight 9.25 in

Keep text and images 0.125 in inside the trim on the front and back. Leave 0.0625 in on each side of spine text. Keep the barcode box 0.25 in from the trim edge and from the spine. Bleed runs 0.125 in past the trim on the top, bottom and outer edges.

Cover template

Background

A guide layer for your design app: place it over your artwork and hide it before you export. The image is 4,598 x 3,705 pixels at 300 DPI. The cover starts 360 pixels from the left and top edges, and the margins hold the dimensions. It is made in your browser and nothing is uploaded.

Next step: design the coverLay out the back, spine and front at this size and export a print-ready PDF.

Spine width by page count

PagesWhiteCreamGroundwoodStandard colorPremium color
1000.225 in0.25 in0.235 in0.225 in0.235 in
2000.45 in0.5 in0.47 in0.45 in0.469 in
3000.676 in0.75 in0.705 in0.676 in0.704 in
4000.901 in1 in0.94 in0.901 in0.939 in
5001.126 in1.25 in1.175 in1.126 in1.174 in
6001.351 in1.5 in1.41 in1.351 in1.408 in

Spine width is the page count times the thickness of one page: 0.002252 in for white paper and standard color, 0.0025 in for cream, 0.00235 in for groundwood and 0.002347 in for premium color. Check the result against the KDP template before you upload.

Figures from: KDP Help: Create a Paperback Cover (read 29 October 2026), KDP Help: Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins (read 29 October 2026)

How a KDP paperback cover is measured

KDP takes the cover as one flat PDF with the back cover, the spine and the front cover side by side. Its width is the back cover width, plus the spine, plus the front cover width, plus 0.125 in of bleed on each outer edge. Its height is the trim height plus 0.125 in of bleed at the top and at the bottom.

For a 6 x 9 in book of 300 pages on white paper that is 6 + 0.676 + 6 + 0.25 = 12.926 in wide and 9 + 0.25 = 9.25 in high. The bleed is only on the outside edges: the spine meets the back and front covers at fold lines, where nothing is trimmed.

Spine width depends on the paper

The spine is the page count times the thickness of one page, and the thickness depends on the paper. White paper and standard color give 0.002252 in a page, cream 0.0025 in, groundwood 0.00235 in and premium color 0.002347 in. At 300 pages that is a 0.676 in spine on white and 0.75 in on cream, almost 2 mm wider.

The page count is the number of pages in your interior file. Printed pages come in pairs, so an odd count is calculated as the next even number, and the page count has limits for each trim size and paper. If you add or remove pages after the cover is made, calculate the spine again: every 100 pages move it by about a quarter of an inch.

Safe area, barcode and the cover template

Books are trimmed with some variance, so keep text and images at least 0.125 in inside the trim on the front and back cover, and out of the spine. KDP prints spine text on books of more than 79 pages, and the text needs 0.0625 in of space on each side: on a 100 page white paper book the spine is 0.225 in wide, which leaves about 0.1 in for the text.

If you do not add a barcode, KDP places one on the back cover. To place your own, leave a box of 2 x 1.2 in at the lower right of the back cover, 0.25 in from the trim edge and from the spine.

The Download template button saves this layout as a PNG at 300 DPI with a transparent or white background. Set your design canvas to the full cover size, place the template over it with the corners lined up, design inside the green lines, and hide the layer before you export the cover as a single PDF.

Questions about KDP Cover Calculator

How do I calculate the spine width for a KDP paperback?

Multiply the page count by the thickness of one page: 0.002252 in for white paper and standard color, 0.0025 in for cream, 0.00235 in for groundwood and 0.002347 in for premium color. A 300 page book has a 0.676 in (17.16 mm) spine on white paper and 0.75 in (19.05 mm) on cream.

What size is the KDP cover for a 6 x 9 paperback?

With 300 pages on white paper the full cover is 12.926 x 9.25 in (328.3 x 234.95 mm), including 0.125 in of bleed on each outer edge. The back and front covers are 6 x 9 in each and the spine is 0.676 in.

How much bleed does a KDP cover need?

Add 0.125 in (3.2 mm) to the top, bottom and outside edges, so extend backgrounds and images that far past the trim line. Keep text and important images at least 0.125 in inside the trim, which on a 6 x 9 in cover leaves a safe area of 5.75 x 8.75 in on each of the front and back.

How many pages do I need for spine text, and where does the barcode go?

KDP prints spine text on books of more than 79 pages, so 80 or more, and the text needs 0.0625 in of space on each side. The barcode box is 2 x 1.2 in, on the back cover at the bottom next to the spine, 0.25 in from the trim edge and from the spine. If you leave it out, KDP adds a barcode there.

How do I get a KDP cover template?

Choose your trim size, page count and paper, then press Download template. You get a PNG at 300 DPI with the trim, bleed, spine, safe lines and barcode box, and the dimensions in the margins. For a 6 x 9 in book of 300 pages on white paper the cover area is about 3,878 x 2,775 pixels, starting 360 pixels in from the left and top edges.

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