Wallet Size Photo Dimensions: Inches, cm and Pixels

Quick answer: a wallet size photo is usually 2.5 × 3.5 inches (6.4 × 8.9 cm), the size most photo labs sell. Some stores, Walgreens among them, print a smaller 2 × 3 inch wallet (5.1 × 7.6 cm). For a sharp print, prepare the file at 750 × 1050 pixels for 2.5 × 3.5, or 600 × 900 pixels for 2 × 3.

You order "wallets" for a school photo, a graduation card or a keepsake for a grandparent, and the prints come back cropped through someone's forehead. That happens because a phone photo has a different shape from a wallet print, and the store trims whatever doesn't fit. Below are the exact sizes, which one your store uses, and how to crop and resize the photo yourself first with our free Image Resizer, so nothing important gets cut.

Both wallet sizes at a glance

300 DPI (dots per inch) is the usual target for photo prints. A file with fewer pixels still prints, just softer. Much below 150 DPI (375 × 525 px for the standard size), faces start to look soft.

Which wallet size does your store print?

There is no single official wallet size, which is why two answers keep coming up. Professional labs such as Mpix, Nations Photo Lab and Printique sell 2.5 × 3.5 inch wallets. Walgreens' photo service lists a 2 × 3 inch wallet set of four. Other stores change their options over time, so check the size on the order screen before you upload. It is usually printed right next to the word "wallet".

If you're printing at home or the store doesn't say, pick 2.5 × 3.5. It's the size most photo labs sell.

Will a wallet photo fit in a wallet?

Not always, and this surprises a lot of people. Wallet card slots are made for bank cards, which are 85.6 × 54 mm (about 3.37 × 2.13 inches) under the ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard.

• A 2 × 3 inch print is smaller than a card, so it slides into a card slot with room to spare.

• A 2.5 × 3.5 inch print is bigger than a card on both sides. It needs a wallet with a photo window, or it gets trimmed with scissors.

If the photo is for an actual wallet and not a frame or a card, the smaller 2 × 3 size is the practical choice.

Why phone photos get cropped in wallet prints

Most phone cameras shoot in a 3:4 shape (for example 3024 × 4032 pixels on an iPhone held upright). A standard wallet is 5:7 and the small wallet is 2:3, so both are slightly taller and narrower than your photo. To fill the print, the store cuts a strip off the sides, or off the top and bottom of a landscape shot. Group photos lose the people on the edges; close-up portraits lose the top of the head.

You can't avoid the crop, but you can choose where it happens. Do it yourself before ordering.

How to make a wallet size photo from a phone picture

1. Crop to the right shape. Open the photo in your phone's Photos or Gallery editor and pick a fixed crop ratio: 5:7 for a 2.5 × 3.5 wallet, or 2:3 for a 2 × 3 wallet. Some editors list them sideways as 7:5 and 3:2, so turn the frame to portrait. Leave a little space above the head.

2. Resize to print pixels. Open the Image Resizer and add the cropped photo. The width and height boxes fill in with your photo's size. Keep Maintain aspect ratio switched on and type a width of 750 (standard wallet) or 600 (small wallet). The height should come out at about 1050 or 900. The photo is resized in your browser and never uploaded.

3. Download and order. Upload the resized file to your print service and choose the matching wallet size. Because the shapes now match, the store has nothing left to trim.

Worked example: one photo, start to finish

We ran these steps on a full-length portrait photo, 6343 × 8457 pixels (2.3 MB), with the same 3:4 shape as a phone photo. We cropped a 5:7 head-and-shoulders area (2345 × 3283 px, 1.0 MB), then resized it in the live Image Resizer at its default 80% quality.

• Result: 750 × 1050 pixels and 71.8 KB, down from 1.0 MB (93% smaller). That's exactly 300 DPI at 2.5 × 3.5 inches.

• Check the height: with the aspect lock on, typing 750 for this photo filled in 1050 by itself. If the height doesn't come out near 1050 (or 900 for a small wallet), the photo isn't cropped to the right shape yet, so go back to step 1.

One catch: the Image Resizer changes pixel size, but it doesn't crop. If you skip step 1 and type 750 × 1050 with the aspect lock off, the photo gets squashed instead of trimmed. Always crop first.

Printing wallet photos on a 4x6 sheet

A 4 × 6 inch print is the standard size at almost every photo counter, and the small wallet fits it exactly. Four 2 × 3 inch photos fill a 4 × 6 sheet in a 2 × 2 grid with no waste. At 300 DPI that sheet is 1200 × 1800 pixels.

• 2 × 3 wallets on a 4 × 6: 4 per sheet.

• 2.5 × 3.5 wallets on a 4 × 6: only 2 fit (turned sideways), with strips left over.

• 2.5 × 3.5 wallets on a 5 × 7: 4 per sheet, which is why many labs print standard wallets on 5 × 7 paper.

To lay out a sheet yourself, insert the resized photo four times into a Word, Google Docs or Canva page sized 4 × 6 inches, and set each picture to 2 × 3 inches. Order it as a normal 4 × 6 print and cut along the edges.

Wallet size vs passport size

A wallet photo and a passport photo aren't interchangeable. A US passport photo is 2 × 2 inches (other countries use sizes such as 35 × 45 mm) and has strict rules on background, head size and expression. A wallet print is a keepsake with no rules at all. If you need an ID photo, see our passport photo size guide instead.

FAQ

What size is a wallet size photo in cm?

The standard wallet size is 6.35 × 8.89 cm (about 6.4 × 8.9 cm). The smaller wallet sold by some pharmacies is 5.08 × 7.62 cm.

How many pixels do I need for a wallet photo?

At 300 DPI, 750 × 1050 pixels for 2.5 × 3.5 inches, and 600 × 900 pixels for 2 × 3 inches. Higher is fine; much lower prints soft.

Is 4x6 a wallet size?

No. 4 × 6 inches is a standard photo print, nearly three times the area of a 2.5 × 3.5 wallet. It's the sheet that four small 2 × 3 wallets are often printed on.

How many wallet photos fit on a 4x6?

Four 2 × 3 inch wallets, or two 2.5 × 3.5 inch wallets.

Do I need to change the DPI setting in the file?

Usually not. Print services size the photo by its pixels and the print size you choose, so the DPI number saved inside the file is ignored. What matters is having enough pixels, listed in the table above.

Ready to make one? Crop your photo to 5:7 or 2:3, then set the print size in the free Image Resizer. It works in your browser, with no upload and no sign-up.