{"id":938,"date":"2026-03-06T18:48:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theauthorcentral.com\/blog\/?p=938"},"modified":"2026-11-04T16:25:59","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T16:25:59","slug":"amazon-kdp-book-cover-design-dimensions-templates-and-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theauthorcentral.com\/blog\/amazon-kdp-book-cover-design-dimensions-templates-and-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"KDP Cover Dimensions: What Amazon Actually Asks For"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last reviewed in November 2026.<\/strong> Every number below was checked against Amazon KDP’s current help pages.<\/p>\n

Here’s the short version for anyone in a hurry. Kindle eBook covers are one front image, and Amazon would like it 2,560 pixels tall and 1,600 wide. Paperbacks and hardcovers want a single PDF with the back, spine and front laid out together, and nobody can give you its size from a chart, because it depends on your trim size, page count and paper. The KDP Cover Calculator and template generator does that sum properly, so use it.<\/p>\n

Honestly, most cover rejections we hear about come down to something small. The spine was built before the page count was final. A title line sits a little too near the trim. Someone exported the front image for the wrong format. All three are easy to dodge once you know what KDP looks at, which is what this guide is for. If you’re after colour, fonts or genre styling, our book cover design guide<\/a> covers that side. This one sticks to measurements and file rules.<\/p>\n

The Kindle cover<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is the relaxed one. You make a single flat image, and bleed, spine and barcode never come into it.<\/p>\n

Amazon calls 2,560 \u00d7 1,600 pixels ideal, with a height to width ratio of at least 1.6:1, and says the image should be around 2,500 pixels tall if you want it to look its best on high definition screens. Anything from 1,000 \u00d7 625 pixels up to 10,000 pixels a side gets accepted. You’ll find plenty of articles claiming the minimum is 1,000 pixels on the shortest side. The KDP page doesn’t say that, so ignore it.<\/p>\n

Save it as a JPEG or TIFF in RGB without colour separation, and keep the file under 50 MB. Don’t compress it too hard, either. Amazon squeezes it again for display, and a cover that was already squashed comes out looking muddy.<\/p>\n

On DPI, KDP’s own page is a bit awkward. The spec table says 72, while another line recommends at least 300 PPI. For screens, only the pixel count matters, so if you build at 2,560 \u00d7 1,600 you can forget about the label.<\/p>\n

Print covers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A paperback or hardcover cover<\/a> is one long image, back to front, saved as one PDF. KDP prefers it at 40 MB or under because heavy files slow printing, and over 650 MB it won’t convert. Images need to be 300 DPI at least, and CMYK is recommended for print.<\/p>\n

Someone will tell you it has to be 600 DPI. It doesn’t, since KDP sets no target above 300 for covers. Artwork that’s already higher is fine to keep, as long as the final PDF doesn’t balloon.<\/p>\n

For a paperback, total width is bleed, back cover, spine, front cover and bleed added up, and height is bleed plus trim height plus bleed. The bleed is 0.125″ (3.2 mm) on the top, bottom and outer edges. Push your background all the way into it, or you may find a thin white line along the edge once the book has been cut.<\/p>\n

Hardcovers skip bleed. They have a wrap, with artwork carrying on 0.51″ (15 mm) beyond the front cover edge so it can fold around the case board. Keep text and images 0.635″ (16 mm) from the book edge, and leave a 0.4″ (10 mm) hinge on both sides of the spine empty, since that’s the spot where the cover flexes. The calculator gives you the exact file size.<\/p>\n

I’m deliberately not printing a spine width formula here, and I’d advise against grabbing one from some other site. Spine width moves with page count, paper and ink, and KDP is free to revise its numbers. Put your final details into the calculator and work from the template it gives you.<\/p>\n

For paperback text, stay at least 0.125″ inside the trim and out of the spine, and use 7 points or bigger. The template shows the safe area, so there’s no need to measure.<\/p>\n

Spine text has a page limit. A paperback needs at least 79 pages before anything can go on the spine, and a shorter book with spine text will be rejected. Cover Creator sets the bar at 80. If you’re allowed spine text, leave 0.0625″ (1.6 mm) clear on either side, as binding never comes out identical from book to book. Hardcover spines are flat, and a black and white headband gets printed at the top and bottom once you pass 120 pages. The hardcover spine’s safe area is best taken from the template.<\/p>\n

Barcodes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You can skip the barcode altogether. KDP then puts an ISBN barcode in a white box at the lower right of the back cover, so that corner has to stay empty or the cover is rejected.<\/p>\n

Bringing your own is allowed. On a paperback it’s suggested at 2″ \u00d7 1.2″ (never under 1.4″ \u00d7 0.8″), solid black on solid white, with 0.25″ of space from the spine and the trim. Vector files work best, and a raster barcode should be 300 PPI. On a hardcover, use 2″ \u00d7 1.2″ at 300 DPI, at least 0.76″ up from the bottom and 0.25″ from the hinge. If yours fails validation, remove it and let KDP supply one. There’s no charge.<\/p>\n

Other file rules<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Send one PDF, not separate pieces. Embed fonts, flatten transparencies, and leave out spot colours and colour profiles, because KDP strips the profiles itself and spot colours don’t suit print on demand. Clear off any crop marks, colour bars, template text and file security before you export.<\/p>\n

Templates, Cover Creator and designers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The calculator takes your ink and paper choice, trim size and page count and returns a template with the full cover size, safe areas, spine and barcode margin marked. For paperbacks it works in any software that opens a PNG or PDF and saves a PDF. Finish the interior before you generate it, since the spine hangs on the page count. There’s a walkthrough in our step by step KDP Cover Calculator tutorial if the form looks confusing.<\/p>\n

You’ve got three ways to produce the cover. Cover Creator is KDP’s free tool, fine for simple designs and available for Kindle, paperback and hardcover; just wait for your manuscript to finish processing first so the spine uses the right page count. A custom file on the KDP template, made in InDesign, Photoshop or Affinity, gives you full control and is useful if you want the artwork for marketing too. Or you can hire a designer who already knows these rules. Our book cover design service does eBook, paperback and hardcover files.<\/p>\n

One design note while you’re here: most people see your cover as a thumbnail first, so the title must still read when it’s tiny. Our cover design guide goes deeper on colour and type.<\/p>\n

Before you upload<\/strong><\/h3>\n