17 guides
Frame Sizes: Every Standard Size, Measured
Seventeen size guides covering every frame you can buy off a shelf — what each one holds, what it holds once you add a mat, and the print sizes that will fight it.
Standard picture frame sizes explained
Every standard picture frame size in inches and centimetres, which print each one fits, and how matting changes the frame size you need to buy.
Frame size chart
A printable frame size chart pairing every common frame with its photo, poster and art print size in both inches and centimetres.
The 11x14 frame, measured properly
What an 11x14 frame actually holds, the mat openings that turn it into an 8x10 or 8.5x11 display, and how to buy one that fits.
Poster frame sizes and what they fit
Standard poster frame sizes from 11x17 to 27x40, the odd sizes posters actually ship in, and how to frame a poster without trimming it.
Diploma and graduation frames
Diploma frame sizes by school, how to measure a certificate before you buy, double-diploma layouts, and why diploma frames cost what they do.
The 12x18 frame
12x18 is a true 2:3 frame size, which makes it perfect for DSLR photos and awkward for everything else. Here is what fits and what does not.
The 20x30 frame
A 20x30 frame fits a 2:3 enlargement edge to edge. Here are the mat options, weight limits and hanging hardware a frame that size needs.
5x7 picture frames
The 5x7 frame is the desk and shelf standard. Here is what fits it, the mat that drops a 4x6 inside, and how to group them well.
The 8x10 frame
How big an 8x10 frame really is on the wall, the 5x7 and 4x6 mat openings that fit it, and when to size up to a matted 11x14 instead.
The 18x24 frame
18x24 is the small poster standard and a 3:4 art size. Mat options, moulding width, glazing choice and hanging hardware for an 18x24 frame.
The 16x20 frame
16x20 is the most useful mid-size frame there is: it takes an 11x14 mat, a 12x16 print or a full-bleed 16x20 canvas. Here are the numbers.
The 8.5x11 frame
8.5x11 frames hold letter paper, certificates and awards. Why they are rarer than 8x10, and the mat that makes an 11x14 frame do the job better.
The 24x36 frame
24x36 is the default large poster size. Weight, glazing, moulding width and the hanging hardware a frame that big genuinely needs.
27x40 movie poster frames
27x40 is the modern one-sheet. Why real posters measure 27x40 or 27x41, how to frame both, and the hardware a frame this big needs.
Metric frame sizes and their inch equivalents
A-series and centimetre frame sizes converted to inches, with the nearest US frame for each — and where the conversion quietly fails.
Mini and small picture frames
Wallet, 2x3, 3x5 and 4x6 frames — what each holds, where they work, and how to group small frames without making a mess of a shelf.
Large picture frames
Past about 24x36 a frame stops being decor and starts being engineering. Glazing, moulding, weight limits and hanging for big frames.