4x6 Photo Size in Pixels (Plus 5x7, 8x10 and A4)
A 4x6 print is 1200 × 1800 pixels at 300 DPI. Pixel sizes and aspect ratios for 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 and A4, and how to crop free so nothing is cut.
Published · 5 min read
A 4 × 6 inch photo is 1200 × 1800 pixels at 300 DPI, the usual quality for photo prints, and its shape is 2:3. A 5 × 7 is 1500 × 2100, an 8 × 10 is 2400 × 3000, and A4 is 2480 × 3508. Each size has a different shape, so a phone photo almost never fits exactly. Crop it to the right shape first with the free image cropper, and the print shop won't cut off heads or add white borders.
Print sizes in pixels
| Print size | At 300 DPI (best) | At 200 DPI (good) | At 150 DPI (minimum for most) | Shape |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 6 in (10 × 15 cm) | 1200 × 1800 | 800 × 1200 | 600 × 900 | 2:3 |
| 5 × 7 in (13 × 18 cm) | 1500 × 2100 | 1000 × 1400 | 750 × 1050 | 5:7 |
| 8 × 10 in (20 × 25 cm) | 2400 × 3000 | 1600 × 2000 | 1200 × 1500 | 4:5 |
| A4 (210 × 297 mm) | 2480 × 3508 | 1654 × 2339 | 1240 × 1754 | about 1:1.41 |
The formula is simple: inches × DPI = pixels. For centimetres, divide by 2.54 first. So 6 inches × 300 = 1800 pixels.
The cm sizes in brackets are the names shops in India and Europe often use; they're close to, not exactly, the inch sizes.
What the DPI columns mean
DPI (dots per inch) is how many pixels are packed into each inch of paper. At 300 DPI, prints held in your hand look crisp. At 200 DPI most people can't tell the difference at normal viewing distance. Below about 150 DPI, prints start to look soft, especially small text and fine detail.
A modern phone photo of around 4000 × 3000 pixels is 13.3 × 10 inches at 300 DPI, so it has more than enough pixels for every size in the table. Pixels are rarely the problem; the shape is.
You don't need to set a DPI number inside the file for a print shop. They use the pixels you send and scale them to the paper. Our explainers on what DPI is and changing DPI to 300 cover the rare cases where a form asks for it.
Why the shape matters more than the pixels
Most phone photos are 4:3 (or 3:4 held upright). None of the print sizes above is 4:3:
- 4 × 6 is 2:3, longer and thinner. An upright 3:4 photo loses a strip from each side, or gets white borders.
- 5 × 7 is 5:7, close to 3:4 but not the same.
- 8 × 10 is 4:5, squarer. A 3:4 photo loses a little from the top and bottom.
- A4 is about 1:1.41, longer than 3:4.
If you send a photo in the wrong shape, the shop or printer has to crop it (and may cut off a head) or fit it (and leave white bars). Cropping it yourself means you decide what goes.
How to crop for each print size
- Open the free image cropper and choose the photo (JPG, PNG or WebP; iPhone HEIC photos need converting first).
- Pick a shape:
- 4 × 6 landscape: choose Photo 3:2.
- 8 × 10 upright: choose Portrait 4:5.
- 4 × 6 upright, 5 × 7 or A4: choose Free, then type a Width (px) and Height (px) in that shape under the picture (2:3, 5:7 or about 1:1.41). These are pixels of your original photo, so make the box as large as the photo allows, as in the worked example below. Typing exactly 1200 × 1800 would cut out just a 1200 × 1800 patch of a bigger photo.
- Drag the box over the part you want to print. With Free, keep the box's numbers in the same proportion as you resize it, or retype them.
- Save as JPG (or PNG for no compression at all) and click Crop image.
If your cropped image is bigger than the 300 DPI size, that's fine; the shop will scale it down. If you want to send exactly 1200 × 1800, resize afterwards with the free image resizer with Lock proportions on.
A worked example: phone photo to 4 × 6 upright
Your photo is 3024 × 4032 pixels (3:4, upright). An upright 4 × 6 is 2:3.
- Keeping the full height of 4032 pixels, the 2:3 width is 4032 × 2 ÷ 3 = 2688 pixels.
- So the crop is 2688 × 4032, losing 336 pixels across the width (about 168 from each side).
- At 300 DPI, 2688 × 4032 is about 9 × 13.4 inches: far more than the 1200 × 1800 a 4 × 6 needs.
In the cropper: Free, type 2688 and 4032, drag the box to centre the subject, crop. Done.
Printing several photos on A4 at home
To print, say, four 4 × 6 photos on A4 paper, crop each one to 2:3 as above, then lay them out on a page in your printer software or document editor. For a single picture across several A4 sheets (a poster), see our guide to printing a large image on multiple pages.
For a passport-size photo, the shape is different again (35 × 45 mm is 7:9); see our guide to passport-size photo dimensions in cm and pixels. For more about shapes in general, read aspect ratios explained.
Crop before you print
Choose the print size, crop to its shape with the free image cropper, and send the result. Your photos stay on your device; nothing is uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
- What is 4x6 in pixels?
- 1200 × 1800 pixels at 300 DPI, or 800 × 1200 at 200 DPI. Its aspect ratio is 2:3 (3:2 in landscape).
- What is 5x7 in pixels?
- 1500 × 2100 pixels at 300 DPI. The aspect ratio is 5:7.
- What is A4 size in pixels at 300 DPI?
- 2480 × 3508 pixels. At 150 DPI it's 1240 × 1754.
- Is my phone photo good enough for an 8x10 print?
- Almost certainly. 8 × 10 at 300 DPI needs 2400 × 3000 pixels, and most phone photos are larger. Crop to 4:5 first so nothing important is cut.
- Why does my print have white borders?
- The photo's shape didn't match the paper's shape, so it was fitted with borders. Crop to the print's aspect ratio before printing.
Image tools
Try Crop Image
Free, no sign-up, and your files stay on your device. Crop a photo online: drag the crop box freely or lock it to square, 4:5, 9:16, 16:9, 3:2, 4:3 or passport shape, and type exact pixel sizes if you need them.