PDF Page Size Converter
To change a PDF's paper size, add it, choose A4, US Letter, Legal, A3 or A5, and pick Scale to fit or Keep content size. Scale to fit shrinks and centres the content without cropping — 94.1% from A4 to Letter — and text stays sharp and selectable. Pages already that size are left alone. Nothing is uploaded.
Updated
How to use the PDF Page Size Converter
- 1Add a PDF — its current page sizes are listed.
- 2Choose the paper size you need.
- 3Choose Scale to fit, or Keep content size to change only the paper around the content.
- 4Convert, check the page sizes read back from the saved file, and download.
How it works
A4 (210 × 297 mm) is used almost everywhere outside North America; US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) is used in the United States and Canada. They are close but not the same shape — A4 is narrower and taller — so printing one on the other either crops the edges or shrinks the page with uneven margins, depending on the printer.
In Scale to fit mode each page's content is scaled by the largest factor that fits the new paper without cropping, then centred. From A4 to Letter that factor is 94.1%, leaving a little extra space at the sides; from Letter to A4 it is 97.3%, with extra space at the top and bottom.
Because the page's own drawing instructions are scaled rather than the page being turned into a picture, text stays sharp and selectable. Landscape pages stay landscape, pages already at the chosen size are left alone, and link and form-field areas are moved to match the scaled content.
Keep content size changes only the paper: the content is centred at its original size, which adds margin when the new paper is larger and cuts off the edges when it is smaller.
The formula
- new width, new height
- the target paper, in points (1 pt = 1/72 in)
- old width, old height
- the current page, in points
A4 is 595.28 × 841.89 pt and Letter is 612 × 792 pt, so A4 to Letter scales by min(612 ÷ 595.28, 792 ÷ 841.89) = 94.1%.
Worked example
A US Letter report that has to print on A4
- Add the PDF; its pages are listed as US Letter portrait.
- Choose A4 and Scale to fit.
- Press Convert to A4.
Result: Every page becomes 595.28 × 841.89 pt. The content is scaled to 97.3% and centred, leaving about 13 mm of extra space above and below it.
Tips and common mistakes
- Convert a document to the local paper size before sending it to be printed abroad, rather than relying on each printer's own “fit to page” setting, which varies from machine to machine.
- Use Scale to fit when content runs close to the edges. Keep content size is only safe when the pages already have generous margins.
- Flatten or remove comments first if they matter. Links and form fields move with the content, but highlights and freehand drawings may no longer line up.
- Check the list of page sizes read back from the saved file before you send it on.