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Margin & bleed calculator

KDP margin and bleed calculator

Get the minimum inside and outside margins for your page count, the PDF page size to set with or without bleed, and the area left for text and art.

Right-hand page, to scale—

Trim lineArea for text and artBleed

Inside margin—gutter, toward the spine

Outside margins—top, bottom and outer edge, minimum

PDF page size——

Live area—inside the minimum margins

How KDP margins work

The inside margin (gutter) grows with page count, because thicker books curve further into the spine.
Top, bottom and outside margins must each be at least 0.25 in without bleed, or 0.375 in with bleed. They don't have to match.
Larger margins than the minimum are fine, and usually look better in a novel.

When to use bleed

Use bleed if any image or background color touches the edge of a page.
With bleed, the PDF page is 0.125 in wider and 0.25 in taller than the trim, and it must be uploaded as a PDF.
Text-only books don't need bleed.

Inside margin by page count

KDP's minimum gutter for each page-count band.

Outside margins: at least 0.25 in without bleed, 0.375 in with bleed.
Page count	Inside margin (gutter)
24–150	0.375 in
151–300	0.5 in
301–500	0.625 in
501–700	0.75 in
701–828	0.875 in

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Sources

Checked against KDP's help pages on 6 November 2026. KDP changes its rules from time to time, so confirm anything important on KDP's own pages before you publish. Bookhatch is not affiliated with Amazon.

FAQ

Common questions

What margins does KDP require?

An inside margin from 0.375 in (24–150 pages) up to 0.875 in (701–828 pages), and outside margins of at least 0.25 in, or 0.375 in if the book has bleed.

What page size should my PDF be?

The trim size if there's no bleed. With bleed, add 0.125 in to the width and 0.25 in to the height, for example 8.625 × 11.25 in for an 8.5 × 11 in book.

Is the gutter the same as the inside margin?

Yes. KDP asks you to use the same value for both if your software has separate fields.

Do left and right pages need different margins?

The gutter is always on the spine side, so it alternates: on the left of right-hand pages and on the right of left-hand pages. Most layout software calls this mirrored margins.

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