Business Card Dimensions: Standard, International & Special Sizes

October 17, 2022April 26, 2023 by Egle Goleckyte

A business card is one of the most essential and cost-effective marketing tools available to a company. It allows people to remember you when they return from a meeting and provides a means for them to contact you in the future. Specific or special business card dimensions can make your card stand out from the crowd. Customers may scan your card and transmit your contact information to their phone using scanning apps for cell phones (skip straight to the business card size chart).

Business Card Dimensions: Standard, International & Special Sizes size-charts.com — _{Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash}

However, all too frequently, small businesses make blunders on their business cards that hinder them from establishing a good impression. For example, their cards may get too small or too big. Not only that but if the appearance and quality of your card are sloppy or unprofessional, it will likely be discarded.

Look at our business card size chart below to choose the right size for your card!

Jump right into the Frequently Asked Questions

Table of Content of Business Card Dimensions

Business Card Size Charts
How to Choose the Right Business Card Size
How to Measure Business Card Size
Frequently Asked Questions

Business Card Sizing Charts

Because business card sizes vary by kind, developing a card is all about going on your trip. Although 3.5″ x 2″ cards are still considered old-school chic, today’s company owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers have many choices. The dimensions of a card are listed below.

Standard Business Card dimensions

There are no legally mandated card sizes. However, due to tradition and popularity, there is the default size. It is the most frequent business card size for slim, square, folded, rounded, and standard cards.

Card Type	Size (inches)	Size (millimeters)	Size (pixels: 300 PPI)
Slim	1.5 x 3.5	38 x 89	450 x 1050
Square	2 x 2	51 x 51	600 x 600
Folded	3.5 x 4	89 x 102	1050 x 1200
Rounded	3.5 x 2	89 x 51	1050 x 600
Standard	3.5 x 2	89 x 51	1050 x 600

Country-Specific Business Card dimensions

A table of conventional card sizes in several nations is below for comparison.

Country/Standard	Dimensions (inches)	Dimensions (millimeters)	Aspect ratio
Iran	3.346” × 1.889”	85mm × 48mm	1.771
Japan	3.582” × 2.165”	91mm × 55mm	1.655
Canada, United States	3.5” × 2	89mm × 51mm	1.75
Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia	3.543” × 2.125”	90mm × 54mm	1.667
Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Taiwan, Sweden, Vietnam, India, Colombia	3.54” × 2.165”	90mm × 55mm	1.636
Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenia, Portugal, Turkey	3.346” × 2.165”	85mm × 55mm	1.545
Sri Lanka, Argentina, India, Brazil, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Latvia, Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa	3.543” × 1.968”	90mm × 50mm	1.8

International Business Card Sizes

Here’s an overview of ISO’s proposals for business cards in worldwide available paper dimensions and a list of typical sizes.

Standard Name	Inches	Millimeters	Pixels	Aspect Ratio
ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1, (credit card size)	3.370” × 2.125”	85.60mm × 53.98mm	324 x 204	1.586
ISO 216, B8 size	3.465” × 2.441”	88mm × 62mm	333 x 243	1.419
ISO 216, A8 size	2.913” × 2.047”	74mm × 52mm	280 x 197	74mm × 52mm
ISO 216, C8 size	3.189” × 2.244”	81mm × 57mm	306 x 215	1.421

How to Choose the Right Business Card Size

Choosing the “appropriate standard” size may seem excessive, yet the “standard” size of cards differs by area. The typical card size in most nations is 3.5 inches by 2 inches. Of course, many nonstandard designs try to draw attention, but these measurements are always a safe option.

Check out our business card size chart above to compare the typical sizes of different nations.

Learn more about business card dimensions and sizes (video)

_{Best Business Card Sizes: Standard Size vs. European Sizes by Primoprint}

How To Measure Business Card Size

A printed card is typically 3.5 x 2 inches; that is the final card size. Bleed is used in many printed designs. The “bleed area” is an additional 1/8 inch room for design elements or backdrops extending beyond the card’s completed edges. A bleed card design is printed slightly enlarged and then trimmed down to size, creating the impression that the printing “bleeds” down the card’s edge rather than having white borders.

Use the following tips while producing your business card design file:

To be cut down to the finished size after printing, make the document page size equal to the card size plus the bleed area, or 3.75″ wide x 2.25″ high. If you’re not going to include bleeds, the bleed area isn’t essential; thus, leave the page size at 3.5 x 2 inches.
Swap the page width and height if you’re constructing a vertical card with an extended size, so you don’t have to rotate the card to view the design the way you want.
The typical card size in the metric system is 8.9 × 5.1 cm (centimeters) or 88.9 x 50.8 mm (millimeters).

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the size of an average business card?

The average business card in the United States is 3.5 by 2 inches in size, which is comparable to most credit cards. It is equivalent to 88.9 x 50.8 millimeters in the metric system. In the United Kingdom and much of Europe, the typical size of a card is 3.3 x 2.1 inches (or 85 x 55 millimeters).

2. What is the Illustrator size of a business card?

A business card in Illustrator is 2 inches by 3.5 inches, the usual card size in the United States. The orientation option displays items in landscape mode, while portrait mode is as effective.

3. What is the appropriate size for a business card in Photoshop?

The standard card size is 3.5″ x 2″, but you don’t have to stick to these measurements. If you believe a different size would be better suited to your requirements. Alternative measures for micro-business cards include 1″ x 3,” 2.25″ x 2.25″ for square-shaped cards, and 23.25″ by 4″ for folding cards. You may surprise your new contact with one of these unusual sizes and create a lasting impression.

4. What is the ideal margin size for a business card?

The safety margins for a conventional card are roughly 1/8″ from the cutting edge, so keep any text or logos inside a 3.34″ by 1.84″ space. A standard-sized business card template can assist you in creating a design layout for printing.

5. What is the business card bleed size?

The bleed is 1/8th inch. Keep all vital information within the bleed zone to avoid clipping it off after printing. Your completed artwork will be 3.75″ x 2.25″ with bleed.

Conclusion

It becomes simpler to recall the specifics of a business card size with time, from the bleed to the margins. If you start with a template, you’ll never have to wonder if you will generate your design correctly. Before you begin, we strongly advise you to read our guide on choosing the right card size before buying one. Feel free to leave us a question in the section below!

Picture in this post is by Conscious Design on Unsplash