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

Source: https://kdpbook.io/kdp/trim-sizes/8-5x8-5 · Updated 2026-10-15

8.5 × 8.5 in (often written 8.5x8.5; 215.9 × 215.9 mm) is the larger square size, a classic format for picture books and early-childhood books. 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 × 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 | 24–590 | 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 | 24 | Premium color | 0.056 in | 17.306 × 8.75 in |
| Paperback | 32 | Premium color | 0.075 in | 17.325 × 8.75 in |
| Paperback | 48 | Premium color | 0.113 in | 17.363 × 8.75 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 premium color takes 96 pages.

## Questions

Q: How many pages can an 8.5 × 8.5 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 × 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 32-page 8.5 × 8.5 in paperback in premium color needs a full-wrap cover of 17.325 × 8.75 in (440.1 × 222.3 mm): back and front at 8.5 in each, a 0.075 in spine and 0.125 in of bleed on the outside edges.

Q: Can an 8.5 × 8.5 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, all portrait, so there is no square hardcover: an 8.5 × 8.5 in book is published as a paperback.