# 8.5 × 11 in (8.5x11) book size on KDP: specs, page limits and cover size

Source: https://kdpbook.io/kdp/trim-sizes/8-5x11 · Updated 2026-10-15

8.5 × 11 in (often written 8.5x11; 215.9 × 279.4 mm) is US Letter size, a common format for coloring books, activity and puzzle books and workbooks. It is a large trim on KDP, offered as a paperback only (24–590 pages, or up to 600 in standard color). With bleed, each interior page is 8.625 × 11.25 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 | 24–590 | not offered |
| B&W cream | 24–550 | not offered |
| B&W groundwood | 24–578 | not offered |
| Standard color | 72–600 | not offered |
| Premium color | 24–590 | not offered |

KDP's table gives 72–600 pages for standard color at this size, more than the 590 pages it allows for black and white on white paper; kdpbook stops standard color books at 590 pages to stay on the safe side.

## Cover size

| Binding | Pages | Ink and paper | Spine | Full cover (width × height) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Paperback | 60 | B&W white | 0.135 in | 17.385 × 11.25 in |
| Paperback | 120 | B&W white | 0.27 in | 17.52 × 11.25 in |
| Paperback | 200 | B&W white | 0.45 in | 17.7 × 11.25 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 white paper takes 100 pages.

## Questions

Q: How many pages can an 8.5 × 11 in book have on KDP?
A: As a paperback: 24–590 pages in black and white on white paper, 24–550 pages in black and white on cream paper, 24–578 pages in black and white on groundwood paper, 72–600 pages in standard color and 24–590 pages in 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 an 8.5 × 11 in book need on KDP?
A: It depends on the page count and the paper, because the spine grows with every page. A 120-page 8.5 × 11 in paperback in black and white on white paper needs a full-wrap cover of 17.52 × 11.25 in (445 × 285.8 mm): back and front at 8.5 in each, a 0.27 in spine and 0.125 in of bleed on the outside edges.

Q: Can an 8.5 × 11 in book be a hardcover on KDP?
A: No. KDP prints hardcovers only in 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6.14 × 9.21, 7 × 10, 8.25 × 11 in. The closest hardcover size to 8.5 × 11 in is 8.25 × 11 in; a book that needs a paperback and a hardcover at the same trim has to use one of the hardcover sizes.

Q: Is 8.5 × 11 in the same as US Letter paper?
A: Yes. US Letter (paper size) is 215.9 × 279.4 mm, which KDP lists as 8.5 × 11 in.