Business Card Size and Dimensions
The standard US business card is 3.5 × 2 inches (88.9 × 50.8 mm). With a 1/8 inch bleed, set up your file at 3.75 × 2.25 inches, which is 1125 × 675 pixels at 300 DPI. Pick your country below for its size in inches, millimetres and pixels.
Use whatever your printer’s template specifies. 1/8 in is the most common US requirement; 3 mm is common in metric countries.
| Area | Inches | Millimetres | Pixels at 300 DPI | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trim size (final card) | 3.5 × 2 in | 88.9 × 50.8 mm | 1050 × 600 px | 252 × 144 pt |
| With bleed (1/8 in (0.125 in) each side) | 3.75 × 2.25 in | 95.25 × 57.15 mm | 1125 × 675 px | 270 × 162 pt |
| Safe area (1/8 in inside the trim) | 3.25 × 1.75 in | 82.55 × 44.45 mm | 975 × 525 px | 234 × 126 pt |
Set up your document at the “with bleed” size, keep text and logos inside the safe area, and export a PDF at the resolution shown. Pixel sizes matter for Photoshop and other raster tools; Canva, Illustrator and InDesign work in inches or millimetres.
Standard Business Card Sizes by Country
There is no single worldwide standard. North America uses inches and a slightly longer, narrower card; most other regions use metric sizes around 85–91 mm wide and 54–55 mm tall. If your customers are mostly in one country, use that country’s size so the card fits local wallets and card holders.
| Standard | Inches | Millimetres | Pixels at 300 DPI | With 1/8 in bleed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US standardUnited States and Canada | 3.5 × 2 | 88.9 × 50.8 | 1050 × 600 | 1125 × 675 |
| European standardUK, Ireland and most of Europe | 3.346 × 2.165 | 85 × 55 | 1004 × 650 | 1079 × 725 |
| Japanese standard (meishi)Japan | 3.583 × 2.165 | 91 × 55 | 1075 × 650 | 1150 × 725 |
| Australian standardAustralia and New Zealand | 3.543 × 2.165 | 90 × 55 | 1063 × 650 | 1138 × 725 |
| Chinese standardChina | 3.543 × 2.126 | 90 × 54 | 1063 × 638 | 1138 × 713 |
| Credit card size (ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1)Plastic and wallet-fit cards worldwide | 3.37 × 2.125 | 85.6 × 53.98 | 1011 × 638 | 1086 × 713 |
| SquareOffered by many online printers | 2.5 × 2.5 | 63.5 × 63.5 | 750 × 750 | 825 × 825 |
Pixel figures are rounded to the nearest whole pixel. The square size varies between printers.
Business Card Size in Pixels
Pixels only mean something in print when you pair them with a resolution. Print resolution is measured in dots (or pixels) per inch, and the professional standard is 300 DPI. Multiply each dimension in inches by 300 and you have the pixel size: 3.5 × 300 = 1050 and 2 × 300 = 600, so a US card is 1050 × 600 pixels.
Add the bleed before you multiply. A US card with 1/8 inch of bleed on each side is 3.75 × 2.25 inches, which is 1125 × 675 pixels at 300 DPI. That is the canvas to create in Photoshop or any other pixel-based tool. If a printer asks for 600 DPI, which some do for very fine type or line art, double everything: 2250 × 1350 pixels with bleed.
The mistake to avoid is designing at screen resolution. A 350 × 200 pixel image looks fine on a monitor but is only 100 pixels per inch on a printed card, and it will print soft and jagged. Text and logos are the parts where blur is most obvious, which is why it is worth keeping them as vector artwork and only using pixels for photos.
Bleed, Trim and Safe Area Explained
Every print-ready business card file has three nested rectangles. Getting them right is the difference between a card that looks professionally printed and one with white slivers along one edge or a phone number that almost touches the side.
Bleed
Extra background that extends past the edge of the card and gets cut off. Printers trim stacks of cards with a guillotine, and the blade can drift slightly. If your background color or photo stops exactly at the edge, that drift leaves a thin white sliver. Extending it 1/8 in (or 3 mm) past the edge means the cut always lands on color.
Trim line
The finished size of the card: 3.5 × 2 in for a US card. It is where the printer aims to cut. Design the card to look right at this size, but remember the cut can land a fraction off in either direction.
Safe area
The zone inside the trim line where text, logos and anything important should stay, usually 1/8 in (or 3 mm) in from the edge. Anything outside it risks being cut off or sitting awkwardly close to the edge. More margin than the minimum almost always looks better.
For a US card with the common 1/8 inch settings, that works out to a 3.75 × 2.25 inch file, a 3.5 × 2 inch trim and a 3.25 × 1.75 inch safe area. Printers do not all use the same numbers, though. Some ask for a smaller bleed, some want the file at the trim size with bleed added separately, and some want crop marks. The printer’s template is always the final word.
Horizontal, Vertical and Other Business Card Formats
A vertical card is the same size as a horizontal one, just rotated, so the pixel and bleed figures simply swap. Double-sided cards also use the same dimensions; you supply a second file (or a second page in the PDF) for the back, set up exactly like the front. Beyond the standard card, these are the formats you will see most.
| Format | Typical size | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|
| Standard horizontal | 3.5 × 2 in (US) / 85 × 55 mm (Europe) | The default everywhere. Fits every wallet, card holder and scanner app, and it is the cheapest to print. |
| Standard vertical | 2 × 3.5 in / 55 × 85 mm | The same card turned on its side. Most printers charge the same, and it stands out in a stack of horizontal cards. |
| Square | Often 2.5 × 2.5 in (varies by printer) | Memorable and good for a centered logo, but it does not fit standard card slots, so it can get left behind. |
| Credit card size | 3.370 × 2.125 in (85.6 × 53.98 mm) | The ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 size used for bank cards. Common for plastic, metal and NFC cards. |
| Folded | Usually 3.5 × 4 in flat, folding to 3.5 × 2 in | Twice the space, for a price list, a map or a loyalty stamp grid. Ask your printer which edge folds. |
Rounded corners do not change the size. The printer trims the card to its normal dimensions and then rounds the corners, usually to a radius of 1/8 or 1/4 inch, so keep anything important out of the corners if you plan to order them.
How Big Should Text and Your Logo Be?
A business card is read at arm’s length, often in poor light, so size matters more than it does on screen. These are rules of thumb that hold up for most typefaces:
- Your name: about 10–14 pt. It should be the first thing people read after the logo.
- Title and contact details: about 7–9 pt. Thin or condensed fonts need the upper end of that range.
- The smallest text: rarely below 6–7 pt, and never for a phone number or email address.
- Logo on the front: roughly 0.5–1 inch tall beside the details, or much larger if it has the whole side to itself.
- Fine lines: hairlines thinner than about 0.25 pt can break up or disappear in print.
The quickest test is to print the card at 100% on ordinary paper, cut it out, and read it at arm’s length. If you squint at the phone number, so will everyone else. For typeface choices that stay readable this small, see our best logo fonts and the font pairing tool.
How to Set Up a Business Card File
The numbers are the same everywhere; only the place you type them changes. Here is where they go in the tools most small businesses use.
Canva
Start from the business card preset, which is 3.5 × 2 in for US users. Turn on the print bleed option in the file settings so the bleed area shows, stretch backgrounds to the outer edge, and download with the PDF Print option.
Photoshop
Create a new document at the "with bleed" size, 3.75 × 2.25 in (1125 × 675 px) for a US card, at 300 pixels per inch. Add guides at 1/8 in and 1/4 in from each edge for the trim and safe area. Ask your printer whether they want RGB or CMYK before you export.
Illustrator or InDesign
Create a 3.5 × 2 in artboard or page and enter 0.125 in in the bleed fields of the document setup. The bleed shows as a red outline. Place your logo as a vector file, and export a PDF with bleed and crop marks included.
Figma
Figma works in pixels, so make a 1125 × 675 frame for a US card with bleed at 300 DPI and keep content 75 px in from every edge. Figma does not export CMYK print PDFs on its own, so check that your printer accepts RGB files.
Your printer’s online editor
The simplest route. Download or open the printer’s own template, which has their exact bleed and safe-area guides built in. Printers’ requirements differ slightly, and their template overrides any generic guide, including this one.
Once the file is set up, the design itself is the harder part. Our step-by-step guide on how to design a business card covers what to put on each side, and 32 business card ideas shows the main styles with examples.
From Brand Kit to Print File
The size is the easy part. What makes a card look professional is that it matches everything else your customers see: the same logo, the same colors and the same fonts as your website, your social profiles and your storefront. A card designed on its own, from a template, rarely does.
That is why it pays to settle the brand before the card. You need three things: a high-quality logo file (vector if you have one, or a high-resolution PNG), so it prints sharp; your brand colors as exact codes, so every reprint matches; and a heading and body font. With those in hand, any printer’s editor or design tool will produce a card that looks like it belongs to your business.
Magnt generates all three in about 60 seconds: 3 logo concepts to choose from, with your pick delivered as high-res PNG files (transparent and reversed), a 5-color palette with HEX codes, a font pairing and a brand summary PDF. It is a one-time $19. Magnt does not design the card itself, so take those assets into your printer’s editor or a design tool and build the card at the sizes on this page.
Business Card Print File Checklist
Run through this before you upload.
- The document is the "with bleed" size, not the trim size
- Background colors and images extend all the way to the bleed edge
- All text and logos sit inside the safe area
- Nothing important is smaller than about 7 pt
- The logo is a vector file or a high-resolution PNG, not a small web image
- Photos are 300 DPI at the size they appear on the card
- Your brand colors are defined, not picked by eye, so reprints match
- You have checked the printer’s template and file requirements
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard business card size?
In the United States and Canada the standard business card is 3.5 × 2 inches (88.9 × 50.8 mm). In the UK and most of Europe it is 85 × 55 mm, in Japan 91 × 55 mm, in Australia and New Zealand 90 × 55 mm, and in China 90 × 54 mm.
What size is a business card in pixels?
A US business card is 1050 × 600 pixels at 300 DPI, the usual print resolution. With a 1/8 inch bleed on every side the file should be 1125 × 675 pixels. At 600 DPI those figures double to 2100 × 1200 and 2250 × 1350 pixels.
What is the business card size in cm and mm?
A US standard card is 8.89 × 5.08 cm (88.9 × 50.8 mm). A European standard card is 8.5 × 5.5 cm (85 × 55 mm).
How much bleed does a business card need?
Most US printers ask for 1/8 inch (0.125 in) of bleed on each side, making a 3.5 × 2 inch card file 3.75 × 2.25 inches. Printers in metric countries commonly ask for 2–3 mm per side. Requirements vary, so always follow the template from the printer you are using.
What resolution should a business card be?
Print at 300 DPI, which is 300 pixels for every inch of the card. That is enough for sharp photos and text at arm’s length. Anything designed at 72 DPI, the old screen standard, will print blurry. Logos and text are best kept as vector artwork, which is sharp at any resolution.
Are vertical business cards the same size?
Yes. A vertical card uses the same dimensions turned on their side, so a US vertical card is 2 × 3.5 inches. Most printers charge the same for either orientation.
What is the safe zone on a business card?
The safe zone is the area inside the trim line where text and logos should stay, usually at least 1/8 inch (or 3 mm) from the edge. On a US card that leaves a safe area of about 3.25 × 1.75 inches.
Can I print a business card from my Magnt brand kit?
Magnt gives you the brand assets a card is built from: your logo as high-res PNG files (transparent and reversed), a 5-color palette with HEX codes, a font pairing and a brand summary PDF. It does not design the card itself, so build the card at the sizes on this page in Canva, a design tool or your printer’s editor, using those assets.
Get the Logo, Colors and Fonts Your Card Needs
Magnt builds your brand kit in about 60 seconds: 3 logo concepts, high-res PNG logo files, a 5-color palette with HEX codes, a font pairing and a brand summary PDF. One-time $19, full commercial rights, 7-day money-back guarantee.