5 squares per inch graph paper (5×5)
Five-squares-per-inch paper divides each inch into fifths, so every square is 0.2 inch. Because the bold lines fall every five squares, decimal values such as 0.2, 0.4 and 1.6 land exactly on a line.
Print at 100% / Actual size so the squares measure exactly. Printing help
What it looks like up close
Ready-made PDF downloads
Prefer a file you can save and print later? These use the default settings shown above.
How many squares per page
Each square is 0.2 in (5.08 mm). With the default margin, a sheet holds:
| Paper | Portrait (across × down) | Landscape (across × down) |
|---|---|---|
| US Letter | 40 × 52 | 52 × 40 |
| A4 | 38 × 55 | 55 × 38 |
| US Legal | 40 × 67 | 67 × 40 |
| Tabloid 11×17 | 52 × 82 | 82 × 52 |
| A3 | 55 × 80 | 80 × 55 |
Example: a cooling curve
The bold lines every five squares make the scale easy to read: each bold vertical line is five minutes, and each bold horizontal line marks 40 °C. Because 0.2 inch squares are small, the curve can be drawn smoothly through the points rather than as a series of straight segments.
5×5 versus 4×4: which one do you need?
Quad ruled 4×4 paper is easier to write in because its squares are larger. 5×5 paper is better for measurements and data: tenths and fifths are easy to read, and you can fit 40 × 52 squares on a Letter sheet instead of 32 × 42.
Engineering and surveying students traditionally use 5 squares per inch, which is why engineering computation paper has the same grid. Science teachers like it for plotting lab results because one square can be 0.1 or 0.2 units without awkward fractions.
Plotting data on a five-to-the-inch grid
Choose a scale so that your largest value uses most of the axis. For example, with 50 squares on the long side, a temperature range of 0–100 °C works at 2 °C per square, and each bold line marks 10 °C. Label the bold lines only; the minor lines carry the in-between values.
For more detail, use 10 squares per inch; for younger students who need room to write, use 1/4 inch paper.
Print settings
Print at 100% (Actual size). On A4 the generator still uses inch squares, so the grid is the same as on Letter but with a slightly different number of squares. If you want a metric grid, choose millimetres in the generator or use 5 mm graph paper.
How to plot data on 5×5 paper
- Find the largest and smallest values for each axis.
- Count the squares available and choose a scale of 1, 2 or 5 units per square that uses most of the grid.
- Draw both axes along bold lines, leaving room for labels.
- Label every bold line with its value, and write the quantity and unit on each axis.
- Plot each point and draw a smooth curve or best-fit line.
Five-to-the-inch in surveying and drafting
Field books used by surveyors traditionally have a 5 × 5 per inch grid on the right-hand page, where sketches of a site are drawn while measurements are written on the left. Draftsmen used the same ruling for preliminary sketches because a scale of 1 inch = 10 feet or 1 inch = 50 feet divides cleanly into fifths.
If you need both a coarse and a fine guide, print 5×5 paper with the bold interval set to 5; every inch then reads like a ruler divided into fifths.
Compare with nearby sizes
Squares per page with 1/4 inch margins, portrait. All sizes are compared on the home page.
| Grid | Square (in) | Square (mm) | US Letter | A4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/8 inch | 0.125 | 3.18 | 64 × 84 | 62 × 89 |
| 5 mm | 0.197 | 5 | 40 × 53 | 39 × 56 |
| 5 per inch | 0.2 | 5.08 | 40 × 52 | 38 × 55 |
| 1/4 inch | 0.25 | 6.35 | 32 × 42 | 31 × 44 |
| 1 cm | 0.394 | 10 | 20 × 26 | 19 × 28 |
Questions
What size is each square on 5×5 graph paper?
0.2 inch, which is 5.08 mm. It is very close to 5 mm paper, but the two grids drift apart by about 1.6 mm over 20 squares.
Is engineering paper the same as 5×5 graph paper?
The grid is the same, five squares per inch. Engineering paper is usually printed in green with a header for name, date and page number.
How many squares are on a Letter page?
With 1/4 inch margins: 40 squares across and 52 down.
Can I print 5×5 graph paper in green?
Yes. Choose a green line color, or use the engineering paper page, which already uses a green 5×5 grid.
How many squares are on A4 at 5 per inch?
With 1/4 inch margins, 38 squares across and 55 down.