Standard poster sizes in inches, cm and pixels

The standard poster sizes are 11 x 17 inches (small), 18 x 24 inches (medium) and 24 x 36 inches (large), with 27 x 40 inches for movie posters and the A-series sizes across most of the world. No single official size exists, but printers everywhere work from these ballpark dimensions.

Sizes shift slightly from country to country, so each one below carries inches, centimeters and pixels. Pick the size first, design at it, and the poster prints without blur, cropping or stretching.

Poster size chart: every standard size at a glance

Each poster size width and height is listed in inches, centimeters and pixels. Pixel sizes are print figures at 300 pixels per inch, matching the poster size guide.

Small, medium and large poster sizes

These three poster dimensions cover most posters in North America. The right one depends on where the poster hangs and how far away people stand.

Large poster size: 24 x 36 inches (61 x 91 cm)

The large poster is the most standard poster size, and the normal poster size most people picture on a wall. Posters in a mall, at a festival or at a tradeshow are usually this size, which printers also call Architectural D. Viewers read it from a distance, so it rewards bold visuals, large text and a simple layout.

Medium poster size: 18 x 24 inches (46 x 61 cm)

The medium poster, also called Architectural C, suits a smaller advertisement or a minimalist design. It is common for event promotion, retail displays and indoor ads. People view it from a few feet away, so watch the amount of text: a busy layout is harder to read and loses its impact.

Small poster size: 11 x 17 inches (28 x 43 cm)

Small posters get a message across without taking up much room, on bulletin boards, community boards and indoor notices. The size is the same sheet as US Tabloid paper, so print providers widely support it. Keep text legible up close.

Frame sizes 11 x 14, 12 x 18 and 16 x 20 inches suit framed art, and 12 x 18 shares the shape of 24 x 36.

A4 and the A-series poster sizes

Outside North America, posters follow the ISO 216 A-series. A0 is the largest, and each smaller size is the previous one cut in half along its longest side, so a design keeps its proportions from A4 up to A0.

A4 poster size: 8.3 x 11.7 inches (21 x 29.7 cm)

A4 is the smallest poster size before something becomes a flyer. It is everyday printer paper in most countries, which makes it a smart pick for a short run printed at home. Keep the text minimal and large. For print at 300 DPI, A4 is 2480 x 3508 pixels.

Letter and A4 are not the same size

US and Canadian printer paper is Letter, 8.5 x 11 inches (21.6 x 27.9 cm), known as short bond in the Philippines. Letter is slightly wider and shorter than A4, so a file built for one gets cropped or padded on the other.

A3, A2, A1 and A0

A3 suits charts and small posters, A2 informational posters and signage, A1 large displays read from mid-range, and A0 is the largest standard A-series poster.

Movie poster sizes: one-sheet and bus stop

The one-sheet, 27 x 40 inches (686 x 1016 mm), is the official movie poster size for theatrical promotion. A movie poster bought as decoration, rather than an original, is usually closer to the medium or large size above.

Bus stop posters (subway posters in some cities) are large outdoor prints designed at 14100 x 20700 pixels, with slight variations between display frames. People see them quickly, often from moving traffic, so they need very large text and high contrast. The Create Photorealistic Poster Mockups for Urban Ads workflow places your artwork in seven photorealistic street mockups before you print.

How do you measure poster size?

Poster sizes are written as width x height. A 24 x 36 inch poster is 24 inches wide and 36 inches tall, the common portrait format. A landscape poster size flips the numbers: 36 x 24 inches. Pixel sizes follow the same order.

To measure a printed poster:

• Measure the paper edge to edge, not the frame or mat.
• Leave room for bleed: a 1/8 inch margin past each edge is the usual print-shop request, which turns an 18 x 24 inch file into 18.25 x 24.25 inches.
• Match the aspect ratio: 18 x 24 is 3:4, while 24 x 36 and 12 x 18 are 2:3, and every A size shares one ratio of about 1:1.41.

Digital posters follow screen sizes instead. The standard mobile poster size is 1080 x 1920 pixels, a 9:16 ratio that fills a phone screen.

What is the best poster size?

The best poster size depends on what the poster has to do. More information calls for a larger size, while a short message works on a medium or small poster with big, bold text. Placement decides the typical poster size for each job:

• Bulletin board: 11 x 17 inches or A3.
• Event or retail display: 18 x 24 inches or A2.
• Storefront, venue or bedroom wall: 24 x 36 inches or A1.
• Theater promotion: the 27 x 40 inch one-sheet.

Ask the printer which print size, file size and file format they need before you send the poster.

How to make a poster at the right size with AI

To design one, open the online poster maker and start from a ready-made workflow in the Flow templates library, a photo of yours or a written prompt. AI models build the design, and every step stays editable on the Picsart Flow canvas.

Step 1. Pick a starting point

Choose a poster template from the Flow library, or begin on an empty canvas. Then add the photo or logo the poster is built around.

Step 2. Put the words in

Enter the headline, the date and the call to action as workflow inputs, or include them in your prompt. The AI model places that text directly in the artwork.

Step 3. Set the ratio and run the workflow

Select a model and the aspect ratio that fits your print size from the chart, then start the run.

Step 4. Print or post it

Save the finished file for printing, or post it directly to Instagram or another social app.

Changes after the first run stay on the canvas. Inpaint rewrites a single headline or date while the rest of the poster stays put, and Outpaint's aspect chips lock an existing design to a new ratio. For a big print, enlarge the finished design to two or four times its size first, so lines stay crisp on the wall. The Create a Summery Iced Coffee Poster Ad workflow matches an 18 x 24 inch print. Every generation draws on the AI credits included with a Picsart subscription.