KDP formatting for the ebook and the paperback
KDP needs two different files, built to two different sets of rules. Make either one here from the Word manuscript you already have, and check it against Amazon's requirements before you upload.
Your manuscript stays yours. Deleted after 24 hours on Free, or 7 days after unlock. Never used to train models. How your manuscript is processed
No manuscript handy? — it runs through exactly the same pipeline as your own file.
Each has its own page with the full detail: Kindle / KDP formatter for the ebook, print book formatter for the paperback interior.
- free to try
- no account
- KDP trim sizes and margins
- words untouched
Before you upload
Will KDP accept your book?
Trim size, page count, margins and spine, checked against Amazon's published requirements. No upload and no account — it is arithmetic, and it is the same arithmetic the formatter above runs.
KDP will print this: 6" × 9", 250 pages, 0.563″ spine.
- Page count
- 250 pages
- 6" × 9" prints between 24 and 828 pages.
- Inside (gutter) margin
- 0.500″
- The minimum KDP requires at this page count. It grows with the spine.
- Outside, top and bottom margins
- at least 0.250″
- The floor for an interior with nothing running to the page edge.
- Page size to set
- 6.00″ × 9.00″
- The trim size itself. No bleed means no extra.
- Spine width
- 0.563″
- 250 pages on black & white on white paper.
- Spine text
- allowed
- KDP prints spine text above 79 pages.
- Full cover size
- 12.813″ × 9.250″
- Back, spine and front as one flat PDF, including bleed on the outside edges.
These are the numbers to set in your layout software. Or upload your .docx and the formatter applies them — including mirroring the inside margin across the spread and re-measuring the page count from the rendered file, which is the number all of this actually depends on.
The part that surprises people
The page limit is not 828
828 is the number everyone quotes, and it is right for eleven of the sixteen sizes and wrong for the other five. Amazon does not publish a reason, and we are not going to invent one — but the pattern is that the ceiling falls at the largest trims, so if your book is too long, the fix is usually a smaller trim rather than a larger one.
| Trim size | Group | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| 5" × 8" | standard | 24–828 |
| 5.06" × 7.81" | standard | 24–828 |
| 5.25" × 8" | standard | 24–828 |
| 5.5" × 8.5" | standard | 24–828 |
| 6" × 9"most common | standard | 24–828 |
| 6.14" × 9.21" | large | 24–828 |
| 6.69" × 9.61" | large | 24–828 |
| 7" × 10" | large | 24–828 |
| 7.44" × 9.69" | large | 24–828 |
| 7.5" × 9.25" | large | 24–828 |
| 8" × 10" | large | 24–828 |
| 8.25" × 6" | large | 24–800 |
| 8.25" × 8.25" | large | 24–800 |
| 8.5" × 8.5" | large | 24–590 |
| 8.5" × 11" | large | 24–590 |
| 8.27" × 11.69" (A4) | large | 24–780 |
All sixteen are offered by the formatter above. We listed seven of them until we checked this table against Amazon's, which is also how we found that our own page ceiling was a flat 828 for every size.
Interior margins
The inside margin grows with the book
The inside edge is bound, and a thicker book curves more at the spine, so more of the page disappears into it. KDP's minimum inside margin is a step function of the finished page count — not the count you estimated, the one the rendered file actually has.
| Page count | Inside margin |
|---|---|
| 24–150 | 0.375″ |
| 151–300 | 0.500″ |
| 301–500 | 0.625″ |
| 501–700 | 0.750″ |
| 701–828 | 0.875″ |
Outside, top and bottom: 0.25″ minimum on an interior where nothing runs to the page edge. They do not have to match each other — only clear the floor.
0.375″ if the book bleeds. Bleed is for images and backgrounds that reach the edge, and if even one page needs it the whole file is set up with it.
The formatter measures your finished page count from the rendered PDF and then re-renders if the gutter it needs has changed — because widening the gutter narrows the text block, which adds pages, which can push the book into the next band.
The Kindle ebook
What KDP accepts for the ebook
Nothing here is computed from your book — an ebook has no pages and no margins, so these are the same for everyone. They are worth stating because the format list has changed and a lot of advice online has not.
- Manuscript formats
- EPUB, DOC/DOCX, KPF, HTML, RTF, TXT, and PDF for some languages
- MOBI
- No longer accepted — reflowable since 2021, fixed-layout since March 2025
- Cover image
- 1,600 × 2,560 px ideal, 1.6:1 ratio, under 50 MB, JPEG or TIFF, RGB
- Cover minimum
- 625 × 1,000 px
The choice that matters is EPUB or Word, and it is not about which one Amazon prefers — it takes both. It is about who decides your chapter navigation.
Why files get rejected
What KDP sends back
Amazon publishes the common causes for a paperback interior. Most are artefacts of the file rather than anything about the book.
- Fonts that are not embedded
- Type smaller than 7 point
- Transparent objects or layers left unflattened
- Locked or encrypted PDFs
- Filenames containing emoji or unsupported characters
- Crop marks, trim marks, comments, annotations or bookmarks
- Placeholder text left in the file
- Missing or excessive blank pages
- Incorrect pagination
- Watermarks or a PDF-creator logo
A file produced here avoids all ten by construction: fonts are embedded, nothing is smaller than 9 point, there are no annotations or crop marks, and the page count is measured rather than assumed.
Before you start
What this does and does not cover
Supported
- Kindle ebook — reflowable EPUB and structured DOCX
- Paperback interior at all 16 KDP trim sizes
- Mirrored margins and page-count-aware gutter
- Front matter, chapters, scene breaks
- Spine width and full cover dimensions
Not yet
- Hardcover interiors
- Images inside the print interior
- Bleed — interiors here are text-only
- Footnotes, endnotes and indexes
- Fixed-layout books: picture books, comics, cookbooks
- The cover artwork itself
This is not an official Amazon tool
typesetting.aiis independent and not affiliated with Amazon. The requirements repeated here are Amazon's, published in the KDP help pages linked below, and we record the month we last read each one.
Amazon can change them without telling anybody. Where this page and the KDP help centre disagree, KDP is right — tell us and we will fix it.
Questions
Publishing on KDP, answered
How do I format a book for KDP?
Twice. The Kindle ebook is a reflowable file — an EPUB or a Word document with real heading styles — where the reader controls type size and there are no pages. The paperback is a PDF at a fixed trim size with mirrored margins, an inside margin sized to the page count, and embedded fonts. Both come from the same manuscript; upload it above, choose which file you need, and check the result against Amazon's requirements before you upload it to KDP.
Do I need two separate files to publish on KDP?
Yes, if you want both an ebook and a paperback. They are different products with different requirements: the ebook is reflowable, has no pages and no margins, and the reader picks the type size; the paperback is a fixed-page interior with a trim size, mirrored margins and a gutter sized to its finished page count. One file cannot be both, which is why KDP asks for them separately.
Should I upload EPUB or Word for the Kindle ebook?
KDP accepts both, along with KPF, HTML, RTF, plain text and — for some languages — PDF. Upload an EPUB when you care what the chapter navigation looks like, because the navigation is decided inside the file you upload. Upload Word when you would rather Amazon's converter decide it for you.
What is the maximum page count for a KDP paperback?
It depends on the trim size, which surprises people. Most sizes go to 828 pages, but 8.5 × 11 and 8.5 × 8.5 stop at 590, 8.25 × 6 and 8.25 × 8.25 stop at 800, and A4 stops at 780. The minimum is 24 pages at every trim. The checker on this page uses the real ceiling for the size you pick.
Why does the inside margin have to be wider than the outside one?
Because the inside edge is bound. A thicker book curves more at the spine, so more of the page disappears into it — which is why KDP's requirement grows with page count, from 0.375″ under 150 pages to 0.875″ above 700. The outside, top and bottom margins have a flat floor of 0.25″, or 0.375″ if anything on the page bleeds.
Does the paperback need bleed?
Only if something — an image, a background, an illustration — is meant to run right to the edge of the page. Text-only interiors do not bleed. If even one page needs it, the whole file has to be set up with bleed, and the minimum outside margin rises to 0.375″.
Can I publish a hardcover with this?
Not yet. KDP prints hardcovers at five trim sizes with a page range of 75 to 550, and standard colour is not offered for them. The formatter here produces paperback interiors and Kindle ebooks; a hardcover interior has different requirements and we would rather say so than hand you a file that gets rejected.
Is this an official Amazon tool?
No. typesetting.ai is independent and not affiliated with Amazon. The requirements on this page are Amazon's, published in the KDP help pages linked at the foot of this page, and we record the month we last read each one. If a requirement has changed since, the source is right and we are wrong.
Checked against the source
The requirements on this page are published by the organisations below, not by us. We last read them in September 2026 and compared them against what the tool produces. If a requirement has changed since, the source is right and we are wrong — tell us and we will fix it.
- Amazon KDP — Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins·September 2026
- Amazon KDP — Create a Paperback Cover·September 2026
- Amazon KDP — Print Options·September 2026
- Amazon KDP — What file formats are supported for eBook manuscripts?·September 2026
Where next
Related tools and guides
Working on the cover?
Publishing outside Amazon too?
Format my KDP files
Upload the .docx you already have and get back the file KDP asks for — a reflowable Kindle ebook, or a paperback interior at your trim size. Free to read before you decide anything.
Format my KDP files