Printable graph paper

To draw on graph paper on screen, plot points or graph an equation before printing, use the online graph paper.

What graph paper is used for

Graph paper turns any page into a measuring tool. Maths students use it to keep columns of figures aligned, plot functions and draw coordinate geometry; a quarter-inch grid is the standard size in American middle and high schools because a pencil-written digit fits neatly in one square. Scientists and lab students plot readings on decimal grids such as ten or five squares per inch. Engineers and architects sketch floor plans at a scale such as 1/4 inch = 1 foot, so every square is a foot of real space. Designers and game makers rough out pixel art, level maps and UI layouts; crafters chart knitting, cross-stitch and quilt blocks (though our cross-stitch grids and knitter’s graph paper match real fabric counts and gauges more closely).

Graph paper sizes at a glance

Every size below prints exactly to scale. Sizes with their own page link there; the others open in the generator above, already set up. Square counts use the default margins (half an inch on Letter, 10 mm on A4); the spec table above shows the exact count for any paper and margins you choose.

Some layouts have their own pages too: engineering paper (5 squares per inch on a pale green pad with a header), quilting graph paper, and larger sheets in A3, 11×17 and legal size. For metric grids on A4 specifically, see A4 graph paper.

Choosing a square size

Pick the spacing by what you will write or draw in each square:

• 1 to 3 mm, or 1/10 to 1/8 inch — dense data, detailed plans, small sketches and pixel art. Hard to write in.
• 4–5 mm or 1/5 inch — technical sketches, lab notebooks, compact handwriting. Five squares per inch makes decimal measuring easy.
• 1/4 inch or 6 mm — the all-rounder for algebra, geometry and general notes.
• 3/8 inch or 1 cm — one digit per square for children learning column arithmetic, and larger cells for low vision.
• 1/2 inch to 1 inch — the youngest children, large diagrams, tabletop game maps (1 inch is the standard miniature scale).

A bold line every 4 or 5 squares (every inch, or every centimetre on a 2 mm grid) makes counting much faster; turn it off for a uniform grid.

Inch and metric grids that look alike are not interchangeable. 1/10 inch is 2.54 mm, not 2.5 mm, and 1/5 inch is 5.08 mm, not 5 mm; over a page the difference adds up to a few millimetres. Use the grid that matches the ruler, scale or instructions you are working with.

Decimal inch grids: 1/10 and 1/5 inch

Most US graph paper divides the inch into quarters or eighths, which mirrors a tape measure. Decimal grids follow the other American system, decimal inches, used on engineer’s scales, in machining, in surveying (where field books record tenths of a foot) and in electronics. Both keep a bold line at every inch, so each bold square is one whole inch.

1/10 inch graph paper (10 squares per inch)

Tenth-inch squares (2.54 mm) turn every bold inch into 1.0 and every small square into 0.1, so a value like 3.7 is three bold lines plus seven squares, with no fractions to convert. Through-hole electronic parts sit on a 0.1 inch pitch, so one small square equals one hole on a standard perfboard or breadboard, which makes the grid handy for planning a circuit layout component by component.

In classrooms it is useful for teaching decimals: a 10 × 10 block bounded by bold lines is one whole, a row is one tenth and a single square is one hundredth. Students can shade 0.37 of a block and compare it with 0.4 in the block next to it. Money works the same way, with a dollar per block, a dime per row and a cent per square.

For lab graphs, decide what each bold inch represents (1, 10 or 100 units) and plot to the nearest small square. A Letter page holds 75 × 100 squares, so a range of 0–100 fits vertically at single-unit resolution, and a run of 75 readings fits one per column; turn the page to landscape for 100 columns. To start the axes flush with the bottom-left margin, open Advanced options and turn off Centre the grid on the page. If the lines look crowded on your printer, make the minor lines lighter and keep the bold inches dark. If your data spans several powers of ten, a straight-line grid squashes the small values; use log graph paper instead.

1/5 inch graph paper (5 squares per inch)

Five squares to the inch, each 0.2 inch (5.08 mm), with a heavier line every inch: the decimal-friendly grid of science labs and engineering notebooks. Natural scales are 1, 2, 5 or 10 units per square, so each bold line marks 5, 10, 25 or 50 units. Plotting temperatures from 0 to 100 °C at 2 °C per square uses exactly ten bold inches, the full 50-square height of a Letter page. It also suits drawing to a decimal scale such as 1 inch = 10 feet.

This is the same ruling as engineering paper, but on plain white without the pad styling, which is better for graphs you photocopy or hand in with a lab report. Lab graphs are often submitted with readings taken off the grid, so print at actual size and check that one bold square measures exactly an inch. For experiments over time, turn the page to landscape to give the horizontal axis more room.

Fine metric grids: 2.5 mm, 3 mm and 4 mm

Between the precise 2 mm grid and everyday 5 mm squares there are three useful in-between sizes. Fine grids look sharpest from a laser printer.

2.5 mm graph paper (4 squares per cm)

Four squares make exactly one centimetre, and the bold line every centimetre makes the page read like a metric ruler in both directions. That makes it easy to plot values to a quarter unit and to read measurements without counting dozens of tiny squares. Scale plans work out neatly: at 1:40 each square is 10 cm, at 1:100 it is 25 cm. It also suits electronics and model-making layouts drawn close to real size, and embroidery or pixel designs that need more detail. Set the bold line to every 8 squares for a 2 cm major grid.

3 mm graph paper

At 3 mm, squares are small enough for detail but large enough to see easily without a magnifier, a good compromise when 5 mm feels clumsy and 2 mm looks like a grey blur. The bold line every ten squares makes 3 cm blocks; choose every five squares (15 mm) for more frequent guides. Use it for technical sketches and floor plans (at 1:100 each square is 30 cm), charts with many data points, and cross-stitch, knitting or bead sketches before you transfer them to a true-size chart.

4 mm graph paper

Four millimetres is the pitch of squared exercise books in parts of Europe, notably Spain’s 4 × 4 mm cuadrícula. Each square is a fifth narrower and shorter than 5 mm, so an A4 page holds about 55% more squares (47 × 69 against 38 × 55). It suits maths notes with one digit per square and long calculations on one page, compact lists, detailed flowcharts and pixel sketches. The bold line every five squares is exactly 2 cm; turn it off for a plain European squared look. If you would rather the grid almost disappeared, 4 mm dot grid gives the same spacing with only a dot at each corner.

3/8 inch graph paper for big handwriting

Standard quad-ruled paper is fine for older students but cramped for a seven-year-old writing one digit per box. Three-eighths of an inch, a little under a centimetre, gives each digit room while still fitting a full sum across the page, which makes it a popular middle step between 1/2 inch squares for the youngest children and the 1/4 inch paper of later grades.

• Column arithmetic: one digit per square keeps ones, tens and hundreds aligned in addition, subtraction and multiplication.
• Arrays and area: colour rectangles of squares to show multiplication facts or count areas. A bold line every 5 squares helps with counting.
• Low vision: larger cells are easier to see and write in; in Advanced options choose a darker grey line and a heavier weight, which also photocopies better.
• Quick floor plans: at one square to one foot, a 12 × 15 foot room is a tidy 12 × 15 squares.

For classwork, add a title and name and date fields, then raise Pages in the PDF to get a class set in one file.

Letter, A4, B5 or something else?

Use the paper that is already in your printer: US Letter in the US, Canada and parts of Latin America, A4 nearly everywhere else. A4 is 6 mm narrower and 18 mm taller than Letter, so the same spacing gives a slightly different number of squares — the table above shows both. For posters and big diagrams choose Tabloid (11 × 17 in) or A3; for planners and journals A5 or Half Letter.

B5 graph paper (ISO and JIS)

B5 is a favourite size for maths and science notebooks: wider than A5 for long equations and diagrams, smaller than A4 to carry around. Plain 5 mm squares are the most common ruling in B5 notebooks in Japan and Europe, with 4 mm used for small handwriting. Printed pages work as refills for B5 binders and discbound notebooks.

Choose ISO B5 for European journals and JIS B5 for Japanese notebooks and binders; the grid is centred on either. The B5 setup has no bold lines by default, for a clean notebook look; set a bold line every 4 squares for 2 cm blocks. No B5 paper? Print at 100% on A4 and trim. For the same page size in other rulings, see B5 lined paper or the 5 mm dot grid.

Tips for printing a grid that measures true

Because every square should be exactly the size stated, scaling matters more than on an ordinary document. Print the PDF rather than a screenshot or image, choose Actual size, and check the result with a ruler: ten quarter-inch squares should measure 2.5 inches (63.5 mm). If it is off by more than half a millimetre, run the printer calibration once.

Quick checks for other sizes: