Free tool
Business card size, in inches, millimeters and pixels
The standard US business card is 3.5 x 2 inches, exactly 88.9 x 50.8 mm. That is the answer most people came for. The rest of this page is the part that decides whether the printed card comes back right: bleed, the safe margin, pixels at the resolution your printer wants, and a template you can download and open.
Start here
The short answer
United States and Canada
3.5 x 2 in
88.9 x 50.8 mm
UK and Europe
3.35 x 2.17 in
85 x 55 mm
Japan
3.58 x 2.17 in
91 x 55 mm
If you are in the US and your printer has not told you otherwise, use 3.5 x 2 inches and stop reading here. If you are sending a file rather than using a template, keep going, because the finished size is not the size of the file you send.
Every diagram on this page is drawn from the millimeter figures, at one scale. A US and Canada card is 3.50 in (88.9 mm) wide and 2.00 in (50.8 mm) tall, an aspect ratio of 1.750 to 1.
The tool
Build your template
Pick a size and a bleed. Every figure below is computed from the millimeter standard, and the download is a real file at true physical size, with the trim, the safe margin and the smallest usable QR code marked on a layer you delete before printing.
About 1/8 in. The most widely requested bleed, and a safe default.
Finished card (trim)
3.50 in (88.9 mm)
by 2.00 in (50.8 mm)
File to send (with bleed)
3.74 in (94.9 mm)
by 2.24 in (56.8 mm)
Safe margin
3.25 in (82.55 mm)
by 1.75 in (44.45 mm)
Pixels at 300 DPI, with bleed
1121 x 671 px
trimmed: 1050 x 600 px
No account, no email. The SVG opens at true size in Illustrator, Affinity, Inkscape and Figma. The PNG suits Photoshop and Canva.
Reference
Every size, every unit
Regional conventions, with the inch and pixel figures computed from the millimeter standard rather than rounded by hand. Pixels are at 300 DPI, trimmed, without bleed.
| Where | Millimeters | Inches | Pixels | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US and CanadaUnited States, Canada | 88.9 x 50.8 | 3.50 x 2.00 | 1050 x 600 | 1.75 |
| UK and EuropeUnited Kingdom, most of Europe | 85 x 55 | 3.35 x 2.17 | 1004 x 650 | 1.55 |
| ISO 7810 ID-1The credit card size | 85.6 x 53.98 | 3.37 x 2.13 | 1011 x 638 | 1.59 |
| Japan (meishi)Japan | 91 x 55 | 3.58 x 2.17 | 1075 x 650 | 1.65 |
| Australia and New ZealandAustralia, New Zealand | 90 x 55 | 3.54 x 2.17 | 1063 x 650 | 1.64 |
| ChinaChina | 90 x 54 | 3.54 x 2.13 | 1063 x 638 | 1.67 |
| ScandinavianFinland, Sweden, Norway | 90 x 50 | 3.54 x 1.97 | 1063 x 591 | 1.80 |
| SquareAnywhere, by choice | 63.5 x 63.5 | 2.50 x 2.50 | 750 x 750 | 1.00 |
| MiniAnywhere, by choice | 76.2 x 30 | 3.00 x 1.18 | 900 x 354 | 2.54 |
The differences look trivial written down and matter in a wallet. A Japanese card is 2.1 mm wider and 4.2 mm taller than a US one, which is enough to stop it sitting flush in a US card holder. If you hand cards to people in one country, use that country's size. If you travel, the credit card size fits more wallets than anything else.
The part that goes wrong
Bleed, trim and safe margin
Three measurements describe one file. Most people send the first one by mistake.
Trim is the finished card
3.50 in (88.9 mm) by 2.00 in (50.8 mm) for the size selected above. This is what you hold. It is not the size of the file you send, unless the design has a white border and nothing touches the edge.
Bleed is the margin that gets cut off
Cards are printed in sheets and cut in stacks, and the blade wanders by a fraction of a millimeter. Any color or photograph meant to reach the edge has to continue past it, so that when the cut lands slightly inside the line there is still ink there. With 3 mm the file measures 3.74 in (94.9 mm) by 2.24 in (56.8 mm).
Bleed is the number guides get wrong, because each one publishes its own. Three millimeters is the most widely requested and a safe default, but some large online printers ask for closer to 1.5 mm. Check the template your printer gives you. It is the only number that counts.
The safe margin is where your words have to stay
Keep text, your logo and any QR code at least 0.13 in (3.17 mm) inside the trim, which leaves 3.25 in (82.55 mm) by 1.75 in (44.45 mm) to work in. The same wandering blade that eats a background can clip a phone number. A thin border drawn right at the trim is the worst idea on a business card, because a cut half a millimeter off center makes it visibly uneven on one side.
Making the file
Pixels, DPI and software setup
Pixels only mean something once you fix a resolution. At 300 DPI the card above is 1121 x 671 pixels including bleed, and 1050 x 600 once trimmed. Set the document up in real units, not pixels, and the software works it out for you.
| Software | How to set it up |
|---|---|
| Illustrator, Affinity, Inkscape | New document at 88.9 x 50.8 mm, bleed 3 mm on all four edges, color mode CMYK. Or open the SVG above, which already has the guides in it. |
| Photoshop | New document 1121 x 671 pixels at 300 DPI. Pull guides 3 mm in from each edge for the trim, then another 3.175 mm for the safe margin. |
| Canva | Custom size in millimeters at 94.9 x 56.8, then turn on show print bleed under File and view settings. Canva's own business card preset does not include every printer's bleed. |
| Figma | Figma works in pixels, so make the frame 1121 x 671 and export at 1x. Place the SVG template as a locked layer to get the guides. |
One rule that saves a reprint: a logo or a code placed as a vector has no resolution and prints as sharply as the press allows. The same logo dropped in as a small PNG and scaled up is soft forever, and no DPI setting recovers it.
What we actually know about
Fitting a QR code
A code on a card has to survive being printed small and scanned at arm's length in whatever light the room has. The smallest that works reliably is about 0.79 in (20 mm) square. On the card selected above that is 39 percent of the height, which is more than most layouts have budgeted for.
- Inside the safe margin, never across the trim. A code clipped by the blade stops being a code.
- Leave its own clear margin. The pattern needs quiet space around it. Crowding it with a caption or a rule is a common cause of a card that will not scan.
- Dark code, light background. Reversed out of a dark color it often fails, and over a photograph it almost always does.
- Say what it opens. "Save my contact" or "See my work" next to the square gets more scans than a bare pattern.
- Print one and scan it at the real size, on two phones, before you order the batch. A proof at 100 percent costs nothing.
The other decision is whether the code can be changed later. A card outlives the job it was printed for, and a code baked to a fixed address is wrong the day your booking link moves. That trade is covered in static versus dynamic QR codes, and a QR code for a business card makes one you can re-point without reprinting.
How it feels
Thickness and stock
Thickness is quoted in points, where one point is about one thousandth of an inch. It is the part of a card people judge without being able to name.
| Stock | In the hand | 100 cards stack to about |
|---|---|---|
| 14 pt | Everyday card. Bends if you press it. | 1.4 in (36 mm) |
| 16 pt | A little firmer, still flexes. | 1.6 in (41 mm) |
| 18 pt | Holds its shape when held by one corner. | 1.8 in (46 mm) |
| 32 pt | Rigid, with a visible edge. Costs the most. | 3.2 in (81 mm) |
Stack heights are approximate, because coating and compression change them. For finishes: matte cuts glare and takes a pen, gloss lifts photographs and fights a QR code under a ceiling light, and uncoated stock is the one people can write on, which matters more than it sounds if your card gets a note scribbled on the back.
The other measurement
Type sizes that stay readable
There is no legal minimum, only the point where people stop being able to read your phone number. 8 pt is a practical floor for contact details, and 10 to 12 pt or larger suits a name. Those numbers assume a normal weight at a normal width: a hairline sans or a tight script fails at sizes where a sturdier face is comfortable.
Judge it on paper, not on a screen. Print the card at 100 percent, hold it at arm's length, and see whether an 8 and a B are still different shapes. If they are not, the typeface is wrong, not the size.
Before you send the file
What goes wrong
- Sending the trim size when bleed was asked for. The printer either scales your art up, cropping it, or leaves a white hairline on one edge.
- A thin border at the edge. It shows every millimeter the blade drifts, and it drifts.
- Text too close to the cut. Anything outside the safe margin is a gamble on a machine that was never promised to be exact.
- A logo placed as a small raster image. Sharp on screen, soft on card, and nothing fixes it after the fact.
- RGB artwork sent to a CMYK press. Bright blues and oranges come back duller than the screen promised.
- A QR code that was never printed and tested. It is the one element that either works or does not, with nothing in between.
Questions people ask
What is the standard business card size?
In the United States and Canada it is 3.5 x 2 inches, which is exactly 88.9 x 50.8 mm. In the United Kingdom and most of Europe it is 85 x 55 mm, in Japan 91 x 55 mm, and in Australia 90 x 55 mm.
What size is a business card in pixels?
At 300 DPI, a 3.5 x 2 inch card is 1050 x 600 pixels trimmed. With 3 mm of bleed on every side the artboard is 1121 x 671 pixels. Use the builder above to get the exact numbers for any size and bleed.
Is a business card 2x3 or 3x5 inches?
Neither. The standard US card is 3.5 x 2 inches. A 2 x 3 inch card is slightly shorter and much taller than standard, and 3 x 5 inches is an index card, not a business card.
How much bleed does a business card need?
Three millimeters, about 1/8 inch, on every side is the most widely requested amount and a safe default. It is not universal: some online printers ask for less, and the printer's own template always wins. If nothing on your design touches the edge, you may not need bleed at all.
How many business cards fit on a sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper?
Ten standard cards, in two columns of five, which is why pre-perforated card stock comes that way. That leaves a half inch margin down each side and no bleed, so the design needs a white border.
Are business cards the same size as a credit card?
Close, but not the same. A credit card follows ISO 7810 ID-1 at 85.6 x 53.98 mm. A US business card is 88.9 x 50.8 mm, so it is wider and shorter. Cards cut to the ID-1 size sit flat in a wallet slot made for bank cards.
What resolution should business card artwork be?
300 DPI for anything with a photograph or a raster logo. Vector artwork has no resolution and prints at whatever the press can hold, which is why logos and QR codes are better placed as vectors.
How small can the QR code on a business card be?
About 0.79 in (20 mm) square is the smallest that scans reliably from a card held in the hand. On a standard card that is roughly 39 percent of the height, which is more space than most people expect to give it.
Putting a code on the card
Now that the size is settled: the free QR code generator makes a code you can download as a vector and drop straight into the template above. Making one takes about ten seconds and needs no account.