Letter vs A4: Which Paper Size Should You Use?
If you've ever printed a document that looked perfect on screen but came out with odd margins, mismatched paper sizes were probably the reason. The two dominant standards — US Letter and A4 — are close enough to be confused and different enough to cause trouble. Here's what you need to know before printing your calendar.
The actual dimensions
| Size | Inches | Millimeters | Used mainly in |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Letter | 8.5 × 11 | 216 × 279 | USA, Canada, Mexico, Philippines |
| A4 | 8.27 × 11.69 | 210 × 297 | Rest of the world |
| Legal | 8.5 × 14 | 216 × 356 | US legal documents |
| A5 | 5.83 × 8.27 | 148 × 210 | Planners and notebooks |
Letter is slightly wider; A4 is slightly taller. Neither fits perfectly inside the other, which is why a document designed strictly for one can clip or leave uneven margins on the other.
Which should you choose?
Simple rule: use whatever paper is in your printer. If you live in the US or Canada, that's Letter. Almost everywhere else, it's A4. The calendars on this site are designed with flexible margins so they scale cleanly to either size — select the right paper in your browser's print dialog and choose "Fit to page" if you want zero risk.
Landscape or portrait?
For monthly calendars, landscape is the most popular choice: each day gets a wider writing box and the grid fills the page naturally. Portrait works better when the calendar shares the page with notes, or when you're clipping pages into a standard binder. Yearly calendars (twelve mini-months) usually look best in portrait.
Tips for a clean result on any paper
- Set paper size explicitly in the print dialog rather than trusting the default.
- Use "Fit to page" scaling if you switch between Letter and A4 often.
- For wall calendars, heavier paper (28 lb / 105 gsm or more) prevents curling.
- Print a single test page before printing all twelve months.
Printing at a copy shop
Save your calendar as a PDF first (choose "Save as PDF" as the printer). PDFs lock the layout, so what you approved on screen is exactly what the shop's machine produces — regardless of what software they use.
Ready to try? Make your calendar, pick your paper, and print.