KDP margin calculator
Trim size, page count and whether you use bleed — those three decide every margin on a KDP paperback page. Enter them and get the numbers to type into your document, plus which side the gutter goes on.
Two facing pages, to scale. Shaded = where content may go. The gutter is the margin against the spine, and it swaps sides.
The gutter table
KDP's inside margin depends on the total page count, because a thicker book swallows more of the page in the binding:
| Page count | Inside (gutter) | Outside, top, bottom |
|---|---|---|
| 24–150 | 0.375" | 0.25" — or 0.375" with bleed |
| 151–300 | 0.5" | |
| 301–500 | 0.625" | |
| 501–700 | 0.75" | |
| 701–828 | 0.875" |
These are minimums. Puzzle books usually sit at the minimum inside and a little more outside, so the grid does not crowd the edge.
Setting it up in Word, Google Docs or InDesign
Set the page size to the trim (or the trim plus bleed, if you use it). Turn on mirror margins (Word: Layout → Margins → Custom → Multiple pages: Mirror margins; InDesign: Facing pages). Then "inside" is the gutter figure above and "outside" is the outer figure. Export to PDF with fonts embedded — an un-embedded font is the other common rejection, and the previewer's message about it is not obvious.
Then the cover, and the price
The page count you used here also fixes the spine width and the cover size — the spine calculator does that sum — and the printing cost, which the royalty calculator turns into what you keep per copy. All three use Amazon's published figures. If you are new to this, the guide walks the whole thing in order.
Making a puzzle book?
Puzzle Press lays out the whole paperback — word search, sudoku, mazes, fill-ins or crosswords with solutions — to exactly these margins, gutter side included, then the cover with the spine worked out from the page count. Free to use; pay only to remove the watermark.
Make a book freeSee a finished book (PDF) · and its cover — made with it, nothing mocked up.