# 5.5 × 8.5 in (5.5x8.5) book size on KDP: specs, page limits and cover size

Source: https://kdpbook.io/kdp/trim-sizes/5-5x8-5 · Updated 2026-10-15

5.5 × 8.5 in (often written 5.5x8.5; 139.7 × 215.9 mm) is half a US Letter sheet, a common size for novels, poetry, devotionals and chapter books. It is a regular trim on KDP, offered as a paperback (24–828 pages) and a hardcover (75–550 pages). With bleed, each interior page is 5.625 × 8.75 in.

Checked against KDP Help on 2026-09-28. Page ranges as published by KDP.

## Page limits

| Ink and paper | Paperback | Hardcover |
| --- | --- | --- |
| B&W white | 24–828 | 75–550 |
| B&W cream | 24–776 | 75–550 |
| B&W groundwood | 24–812 | not offered |
| Standard color | 72–600 | not offered |
| Premium color | 24–828 | 75–550 |

## Cover size

| Binding | Pages | Ink and paper | Spine | Full cover (width × height) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Paperback | 120 | B&W cream | 0.3 in | 11.55 × 8.75 in |
| Paperback | 240 | B&W cream | 0.6 in | 11.85 × 8.75 in |
| Paperback | 360 | B&W cream | 0.9 in | 12.15 × 8.75 in |
| Hardcover | 120 | B&W cream | 0.489 in | 13.064 × 9.917 in |
| Hardcover | 240 | B&W cream | 0.789 in | 13.364 × 9.917 in |
| Hardcover | 360 | B&W cream | 1.089 in | 13.664 × 9.917 in |

KDP prints spine text only on books with more than 79 pages. kdpbook also checks that the spine is wide enough for 7 pt text inside KDP's 0.0625 in spine margins, which in black and white on cream paper takes 90 pages.

## Questions

Q: How many pages can a 5.5 × 8.5 in book have on KDP?
A: As a paperback: 24–828 pages in black and white on white paper, 24–776 pages in black and white on cream paper, 24–812 pages in black and white on groundwood paper, 72–600 pages in standard color and 24–828 pages in premium color. As a hardcover: 75–550 pages in black and white on white paper, black and white on cream paper or premium color. KDP counts every page, blank ones included, and rounds an odd count up to the next even number.

Q: What cover size does a 5.5 × 8.5 in book need on KDP?
A: It depends on the page count and the paper, because the spine grows with every page. A 240-page 5.5 × 8.5 in paperback in black and white on cream paper needs a full-wrap cover of 11.85 × 8.75 in (301 × 222.3 mm): back and front at 5.5 in each, a 0.6 in spine and 0.125 in of bleed on the outside edges.

Q: Can a 5.5 × 8.5 in book be a hardcover on KDP?
A: Yes. 5.5 × 8.5 in is one of KDP's 5 hardcover sizes (5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6.14 × 9.21, 7 × 10, 8.25 × 11 in). A hardcover takes 75–550 pages in black and white on white paper, black and white on cream paper or premium color. KDP hardcovers are case laminate: the art is printed on the cover itself, and there is no dust jacket.