Text4PDF

A4 vs Letter: Which Paper Size Should You Use for PDFs?

Mon Sep 29 2025

Not sure whether to use A4 or Letter when converting text to PDF? Here’s a quick, practical guide.

When you convert text to PDF, choosing A4 or Letter affects line length, page count, and how your PDF prints in different regions. Here’s the quick guide you need.

The sizes

  • A4: 210 × 297 mm (8.27 × 11.69 in) — standard in most of the world
  • Letter: 8.5 × 11 in (216 × 279 mm) — standard in the United States & Canada

Both are similar, but A4 is taller and narrower, while Letter is a bit wider.

Which should you pick?

  • Sending to US/Canada teams or printing domestically (US/CA): choose Letter.
  • International recipients or mixed audiences: choose A4 (safer global default).
  • Long text with many paragraphs: A4’s extra height can reduce page count slightly.
  • Wide content (code, tables): use Landscape regardless of size.

Good news: Text → PDF lets you switch between A4 and Letter instantly. Try both; pick the one with better line breaks.

Margins & font size still matter

Paper size isn’t everything. For readable documents:

  • Margins: Start with Normal. Switch to Narrow for dense content, or Wide for formal docs.
  • Font size: 12 pt works for most text; 13 pt for accessibility; 11–12 pt for logs or code.
  • Page numbers: Turn On for anything longer than a page.

Export checklist

  1. Select A4 or Letter.
  2. Choose Portrait (or Landscape for wide text).
  3. Set Margins and Font size.
  4. Optional Header/Footer and Page numbers.
  5. Click Download PDF.

Print considerations

  • Share your intent: if recipients will print in North America, mention Letter in your notes.
  • For international teams, default to A4 to avoid printer scaling.

Still undecided? Open Text → PDF and preview both sizes in your browser before exporting. It’s instant—and your text never leaves your device.