The standard 5mm square grid, ready to print.
Free Printable 5mm Graph Paper
The classic 5 mm square grid, drawn to scale for maths, plotting and design. Print it at 100 percent.
This is the PrintNook page, not the printable sheet.
To print the sheet at its true size, go back and use the Print or Download PDF button, then print at 100 percent scale, not Fit to page.
Print at 100 percent scale, not Fit to page. That is what keeps the measurements true.
Preview: A4, portrait, graph paper, 5 mm grid, 12 mm page margin.
Free for personal and commercial use. No attribution required, no watermark. See terms.
Need a grid other than 5 mm? Open it in the paper generator.
Five millimetre graph paper is the default square grid you remember from maths class, and for good reason. The 5 mm square is small enough to plot detailed graphs yet large enough to write a digit inside each box without cramping. PrintNook draws the grid in real millimetres, so when you print at 100 percent scale each square measures exactly 5 mm across. That accuracy matters when you are scaling a drawing, counting squares for area, or lining up columns of numbers. Choose A4 or Letter, pick a line color, and download a clean PDF that behaves the same on every printer.
What 5 mm graph paper is good for
Maths and coordinate plotting
Plot points, graph straight lines and curves, and keep long multiplication tidy. The 5 mm square is the standard unit most textbooks assume.
Scale drawing and design
Set a scale such as one square equals ten centimetres and sketch rooms, gardens, or circuit boards with consistent, checkable proportions.
Pixel art and cross stitch
Treat each 5 mm square as one pixel or stitch. Shade the boxes to plan a pattern you can count row by row before you commit.
When 5 mm is the right choice and when it is not
5 mm is the size textbooks assume, which is the practical reason to use it: a printed exercise that says count four squares means 20 mm, and the sheet has to agree. It also happens to be the size where a handwritten digit fits in one cell without touching the lines, which is why school maths settled on it. Where it stops being right is scale drawing at small ratios. If one square is one metre, a 5 mm grid gives you 37 metres across an A4 page, which is fine for a room and hopeless for a garden. Switch to 2 mm and you get 93 metres, at the cost of being able to write inside a cell.
Specifications
Counted from the generator itself at its default settings, not estimated. Change a setting and these numbers change with it. How we measure explains where they come from.
| Measure | A4 | US Letter |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet size (portrait) | 210 x 297 mm (8.27 in x 11.69 in) | 215.9 x 279.4 mm (8.50 in x 11.00 in) |
| Page margin | 12 mm | 12 mm |
| Grid spacing | 5 mm | 5 mm |
| Squares per page | 37 across by 54 down | 38 across by 51 down |
| Grid lines drawn | 38 vertical, 55 horizontal | 39 vertical, 52 horizontal |
| Line weight | 0.2 mm | 0.2 mm |
Print at 100 percent. Turn off Fit to page in your print dialog so the layout keeps its true measurements. See our print settings guide for the full checklist, or A4 versus Letter if you are unsure which size to pick.
Frequently asked questions
Is the grid exactly 5mm when printed?
Yes, as long as you print at 100 percent scale with Fit to page turned off. The grid is drawn in true millimetres, so each square measures 5 mm on paper.
Can I change the grid color?
Yes. A light grey keeps your own pencil marks in front, but you can pick a darker or warmer tone if you prefer a bolder grid.
Is the grid exactly 5 mm when printed?
Yes at 100 percent scale with Fit to page off. Switch on the scale ruler before downloading and the printed 100 mm bar tells you in one measurement whether the whole sheet came out true.
How many squares fit on a page?
The specification table above gives the exact count for A4 and for Letter at the default 12 mm margin. A wider margin takes squares off both dimensions.
Is 5 mm the same as quad ruled?
Not quite. US quad ruled paper is normally four squares to the inch, which is 6.35 mm. 5 mm is the metric equivalent and the one used in most of the world.
Free to use for coursework and at work?
Yes, for anything. The PDFs are free for personal, classroom and commercial use, with no attribution required and no watermark anywhere on the page.
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