# Ebook cover sizes, store by store (2026)

Make one JPEG 1,600 pixels wide by 2,560 high, in RGB and under 5 MB. That is KDP’s recommended size, it clears the minimums at Apple Books and Google Play, and it stays inside Kobo’s suggested file size. Gumroad suggests a landscape image as a rule of thumb, but shows a tall cover at its own shape, and its square thumbnail is optional.

Last reviewed 30 October 2026. Web page: https://chapbook.ink/guides/ebook-cover-sizes/

## The rules, store by store

We read the KDP, Apple Books, Google Play, Draft2Digital and Gumroad rules on their own help pages on 30 October 2026, and Kobo’s on 29 October 2026. Stores change these pages without notice, so check yours before you upload.

| Store | Size | Formats | File size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon KDP | Recommends 2,560 high × 1,600 wide, and 2,500 high or more for high-definition screens. Requires at least 500 on the longest side and at most 10,000 on each side | JPEG preferred; PNG, non-animated GIF and TIFF accepted | At most 50 MB |
| Apple Books | At least 1,400 on the shortest side; no set size | PNG or JPEG, in RGB | Not stated for covers |
| Kobo Writing Life | Suggests the shape of its standard eReader screen, 1,448 × 1,072 | JPG or PNG | No larger than 5 MB suggested |
| Google Play Books | Minimum 640; maximum 7,200 in height and width | JPEG, PNG, TIFF or PDF | Under 2 GB per file |
| Draft2Digital | Gives 1600 × 2400 as its example and says “all we need is a tall rectangle”; it resizes for each store it sends to | “Most common image formats”; asks for JPEG in its example | Not stated for covers |
| Gumroad | Cover: 1,280 × 720 as a rule of thumb, and a tall cover is shown at its own shape. Optional thumbnail: at least 600 × 600, shown square | PNG, JPEG or GIF | Cover under 50 MB |

Barnes & Noble Press is not in the table because we could not read its rules on its own help pages when we checked, and other websites disagree about them. Look there before you upload to it.

## Why one size works for most of them

Most of these rules are floors, not fixed sizes. Apple Books and Google Play set a minimum, and 1,600 × 2,560 clears both. KDP’s recommended size is the tallest shape here, so it is the one to design at.

The shapes do differ. KDP’s recommended size is 1.6 times as high as it is wide, Kobo’s screen about 1.35 and Draft2Digital’s example 1.5. None of the required rules above forces a shape on a tall cover, so a 1,600 × 2,560 file is still accepted. How each store or device shows a different shape is up to them, which is why the type belongs well inside the edges.

## What pixels do not fix

A cover that meets every rule can still fail on the store page, where it appears at about the size of a thumbnail next to its competitors. Thin type, a long subtitle and a detailed background all vanish at that size. Judge the cover small, on a phone, beside the books it will sit next to.

A paperback is a different job. Its cover is one wrap of back, spine and front, sized by the page count and the paper, so use the [KDP spine and cover template calculator](/tools/kdp-spine-calculator/) instead of this table.

## Where Chapbook fits

The [free cover size checker](/tools/ebook-cover-size-checker/) tests an image against KDP, Apple Books, Kobo and Gumroad and crops or pads it to each one’s size, in your browser, with nothing uploaded. Chapbook’s own downloadable cover is a 1,600 × 2,560 JPEG. The title is set as real type, not drawn by the image model, so it stays spelled correctly. If its artwork was generated, KDP counts that as an [AI-generated image to declare](/guides/kdp-ai-disclosure/).

## What to do

1. **Design one tall master.** Work at 1,600 × 2,560 pixels, or larger at the same shape. It is much easier to scale a large file down for a store than to enlarge a small one without it going soft.
2. **Keep the type away from the edges.** The stores’ shapes differ, so your art may get resized or need a crop. Keep the title and author name well inside the frame, so a change of shape does not cut them off.
3. **Export a JPEG in RGB.** JPEG is accepted by all six stores on this page and is KDP’s preferred format. Use RGB: Apple Books asks for it and KDP recommends it. Stay under 5 MB for Kobo.
4. **Decide on Gumroad’s extras.** Your tall cover works on Gumroad as it is, shown at its own shape. Add a 1,280 × 720 landscape image if you want Gumroad’s rule of thumb, and a 600 pixel square if you want a thumbnail.
5. **Look at it at thumbnail size.** Shrink the cover to the width of your thumb on screen. If you can’t read the title there, make the title bigger before you change anything else.

## Made with Chapbook: The First Harvest

The First Harvest: A two-week workbook for a balcony vegetable garden, by Tomás Herrera. Workbook, 5,175 words, 20 pages. A sample generated from one brief and exported unedited; it is not a customer's book. Read every page: https://chapbook.ink/examples/garden/

The brief:

> A fourteen-day plan to start a vegetable garden in containers on a balcony, a windowsill or a doorstep. Promise: By day 14 you will have pots that drain, seed sown at the right depth, seedlings up and thinned, a second sowing made, and a watering habit that fits your week. Reader: Someone with no garden and no experience who has killed a houseplant and concluded they cannot grow anything. Voice: Second person, a patient neighbour leaning over the balcony rail; a short lesson, then a fill-in exercise; one fictional beginner followed through the fortnight; no invented statistics, no brands, no chemicals.

The outline the planner proposed:

1. How to Use This Workbook (572 words)
2. Week 1: Light, Pots and the First Sowing (2,081 words)
3. Week 2: Water, Thinning and What Goes Wrong (2,119 words)
4. The Last Page: Your Checklist and Your Harvest Log (373 words)

## Questions

### What size should an ebook cover be?

1,600 pixels wide by 2,560 high is the safest single size. It is KDP’s recommendation, checked on 30 October 2026, and it clears Apple Books’ and Google Play’s minimums.

### What cover size does Amazon KDP require?

KDP requires at least 500 pixels on the longest side, at most 10,000 on each side and at most 50 MB. It recommends 2,560 high by 1,600 wide, as of 30 October 2026.

### What cover size does Apple Books require?

Apple Books asks for a PNG or JPEG in RGB, at least 1,400 pixels on its shortest side. Its help page sets no exact size, as of 30 October 2026.

### What cover size does Google Play Books require?

Google Play Books lists a minimum resolution of 640 pixels and a maximum of 7,200 pixels in height and width, in JPEG, PNG, TIFF or PDF, on its help page as of 30 October 2026.

### Should an ebook cover be RGB or CMYK?

RGB. Apple Books asks for it, and KDP recommends it and converts CMYK files to RGB automatically, according to their help pages as of 30 October 2026.

### Is a paperback cover the same size as an ebook cover?

No. A paperback cover is one wrap of back, spine and front, and its width depends on the page count and paper, so it has no single size.

## Sources

- [Amazon KDP, “Cover Image Guidelines for Kindle eBooks”](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G6GTK3T3NUHKLEFX)
- [Apple Books Partner Support, “Prepare your book”](https://itunespartner.apple.com/books/support/9-prepare-book)
- [Kobo Writing Life, “Setting up a New eBook”](https://kobowritinglife.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058975732-Setting-up-a-New-eBook)
- [Google Play Books Partner Center Help, “Book file guidelines”](https://support.google.com/books/partner/answer/3424254?hl=en)
- [Draft2Digital, Knowledge Base](https://draft2digital.com/knowledge-base/)
- [Gumroad Help Center, “Adding cover and thumbnail images”](https://gumroad.com/help/article/60-adding-a-cover-image)