Maths-book squared paper that measures true with a ruler. It starts as A4 with 5 mm squares; change the square size to 1 cm, 7 mm, or anything else. The sheet is drawn as vector geometry in your browser and sized in real millimetres, with no watermarks or sign-ups, and nothing is uploaded. Print it or save it as a PDF from the same dialog.
How this generator works
The sheet you see is an SVG drawn in physical units, so every coordinate is a real millimetre. When you change the square size, the page computes how many whole squares fit inside the printable area (the sheet minus your margin) and centres the grid, so you never get sliced partial squares along the edges. The readout reports the geometry it produced: sheet size, true spacing in millimetres and inches, and the exact column-by-row count, which is 38×55 at the defaults and 19×27 with 1 cm squares.
The defaults match the British school sheet. A4 is selected, the squares start at 5 mm, and the margin is a round metric 10 mm. The graph paper generator starts from US Letter with a 12.7 mm margin, which is half an inch. Those defaults are the only real difference between the two pages, since both drive the same engine.
When you print, leave the dialog's scale at 100% or "Actual size". "Fit to page" rescales the sheet, and 5 mm squares then arrive at 4.7 mm. This page sets the print size to match your chosen sheet exactly and keeps the grid inside the margin, which clears the mechanical dead zone of essentially every consumer printer, so nothing needs rescaling; the methodology page shows how to check the result with a ruler. Line weights below about 0.2 mm print unevenly on consumer printers, which is why the default is 0.3 mm. Borderless printing depends on the printer, so the margin stops at 5 mm.
Frequently asked questions
What size are the squares on squared paper?
5 mm is the standard for school maths books across the UK and most of Europe, and it is the default here. 1 cm squares are common in primary school and for graph work where the numbers need room: set the square size to 10. Some exercise books use 7 mm, and 2 mm appears in technical and engineering work. Each of those is a single entry in the Square size box, and the readout shows the resulting column-by-row count before you print (27×39 for 7 mm squares on A4).
Is squared paper the same as graph paper?
Yes, the grid is the same; the words and the conventions differ. "Squared paper" is the usual term in British and Irish schools, where it means A4 with 5 mm or 1 cm squares. "Graph paper" is the more common term in the United States, where the default sheet is US Letter and the classic ruling is quad-ruled at a quarter inch. This page defaults to A4 with 5 mm squares and a metric margin; the graph paper page defaults to Letter. Either page can produce either sheet: switch this page to US Letter and 5 mm squares come out 39×51. Pick the page whose defaults you want.
Will the squares really measure 5 mm when printed?
Yes, as long as the print dialog's scale is 100% (sometimes labelled "Actual size"). "Fit to page" shrinks the sheet to clear the printer's margins. The grid is generated in true millimetre units and kept inside a safe margin so nothing is clipped. Put a ruler across the first printout and count ten squares: at 5 mm they span exactly 5 cm.
How do I get an A4 squared paper PDF?
A4 is already selected. Press Print and choose "Save as PDF" as the destination in the dialog. Your browser makes the PDF itself, on your device. This site does not create, store, or watermark a file on any server, and there is no account, no email, and no download queue.
Why are the lines light grey by default?
Light grey stays behind pencil and ink, so the grid guides the work on top of it without competing, and it uses far less toner over hundreds of sheets. For more contrast, pick blue, green, or red in the Line colour menu, or raise the line weight if your printer runs faint.
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