A5, A4 or US Letter? How to Choose the Right Planner Size for Your Tablet

You've found the planner you want. Then comes a question that seems small but makes a real difference to how it feels every day: which size?

With paper, size means how big the book is. With digital, it's more subtle, because your screen stays the same size. What changes is how the page fits that screen, and how much room each layout gives your handwriting.

Here's how to choose.

First, a quick bit of background

• A5 (148 × 210 mm): the classic notebook size, popular in the UK, Europe and much of the world.
• A4 (210 × 297 mm): the standard document size outside North America.
• US Letter (8.5 × 11 in): the standard document size in the United States and Canada.

A5 and A4 share exactly the same proportions, as A5 is simply half of A4. US Letter is slightly shorter and wider.

How each one looks on a tablet

When you open a planner in GoodNotes or Notability, the page scales to fit your screen. So an A5 page and an A4 page will look the same shape. The difference is in the design each size allows.

A5 layouts tend to be simpler and more focused, with fewer, larger writing spaces per page. On screen, that often means bigger boxes and less zooming. Great for quick, daily planning and for smaller tablets.

A4 layouts have room for more on each page: extra columns, notes sections, trackers side by side. Ideal if you like to see a whole week or month in rich detail, and if you're using a larger tablet.

US Letter layouts are similar in capacity to A4, but the wider, shorter shape sits closer to the proportions of many tablet screens held upright, so you may see a little less empty border around the page.

Choose by your device

• Smaller tablet (for example, an iPad mini): A5 usually feels most comfortable. Bigger writing spaces mean less zooming on a smaller screen.
• Standard or Air-sized tablet: any size works well. Choose by how much detail you want on each page.
• Large tablet (for example, a 12.9 or 13-inch iPad Pro): A4 or US Letter makes the most of the extra space.

Choose by how you write

• Larger handwriting? A5 gives you more generous spaces at normal zoom.
• Small, neat handwriting? A4 or US Letter lets you fit more onto each page.
• Love to zoom in and write? Any size works. Choose the layout you like best.

Choose by whether you'll print

Some people like to print the occasional page, such as a monthly overview for the fridge. If you might, choose the paper size your printer uses: US Letter in North America, A4 almost everywhere else.

The good news: you don't have to guess

Every Arwign planner comes in all three sizes, A4, A5 and US Letter, included with your purchase. Each size is laid out and hyperlinked individually, not just stretched, so every version works properly.

Open them all, try each one for a day or two, and keep the one that feels right in your hand.

Your next step

Pick up your tablet and notice how you naturally write on it: big and loose, or small and neat? That's most of your answer.

Then find your planner in the Arwign collection. Whichever size suits you, it's already included.