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KDP cover template and spine width calculator

Get the exact Amazon KDP paperback cover size and spine width from trim, pages and paper, plus a 300 dpi guide template and a finished cover PDF. Free, made in your browser.

Faster with the free Chrome extension: right-click any picture on a website and send it straight to the KDP cover template. Add to Chrome · what it does

The full cover, measured for your book

A KDP paperback cover is one file: back cover, spine and front cover side by side, with 0.125 in of bleed all round. The spine grows with every page, so the file size is different for every book. Put in the trim size, the page count and the paper, and the tool works it out with KDP's published formula, then draws the template: bleed in red, the spine folds in purple, the safe areas for text in dashed blue, and the barcode corner.

Two ways to use it

  • Template: download the 300 dpi PNG and design over it in Canva, Photoshop, Affinity or Procreate, then hide the guides and export a PDF.
  • Builder: add a front picture (and a back one, or a colour), spine colour and spine text, and download the finished cover as a PDF at exactly the right size, ready to upload.

Before you upload

  1. Use the page count KDP reports for your interior file, blank pages included.
  2. Keep titles and text inside the dashed lines, 0.125 in from the trim.
  3. Check the cover in KDP's previewer; it's the final word.

Questions

How is the KDP spine width calculated?

Page count times the thickness KDP gives for your paper: 0.002252 in per page for black ink on white paper, 0.0025 in for cream, 0.002347 in for premium colour and 0.002252 in for standard colour. A 100-page coloring book on white paper has a 0.2252 in spine. These are the numbers from KDP's own "Create a Paperback Cover" help page.

What size should my KDP cover file be?

Width = 0.125 in bleed + back cover + spine + front cover + 0.125 in bleed; height = 0.125 in + trim height + 0.125 in. For an 8.5 × 11 in book of 100 white pages that is 17.4752 × 11.25 in, or 5243 × 3375 pixels at 300 dpi. The tool shows the exact figure for your book.

Can I put text on the spine?

KDP prints spine text from 79 pages (80 if you use its Cover Creator), and asks for at least 0.0625 in between the text and the spine's edges, because every book binds slightly differently. Below that, the tool leaves the spine plain and says so.

Where does the barcode go?

KDP adds one to the back cover if you don't supply your own. Its suggested size is 2 × 1.2 in, at least 0.25 in from the spine and the trim. The template marks that corner, and the builder keeps it white unless you untick it.

Does this make the inside of the book too?

No, this is the cover. For a coloring book interior, the coloring book maker turns your pictures into a printable PDF; pick KDP's trim size there, and put the final page count here.

Is it official?

No. It uses the numbers KDP publishes, but it isn't made by Amazon. Page limits depend on the trim size and ink, so check yours in KDP, and always look at the upload in KDP's own previewer before you publish.