Printable Dot Grid Paper

Print free dot grid paper with 5 mm dots, the usual bullet journal spacing, or choose 4 mm, 7 mm, 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch or your own spacing. Pick the dot color and dot size (light, medium or bold), add a name line, and download a PDF for US Letter, A4 or A5. Everything is drawn in your browser, and you can put up to 10 pages in one PDF.

Dot grid paper to print (PDF)

This printable dot grid paper comes in four examples: 5 mm gray dots on Letter, 1/4 inch blue dots, 7 mm dots on A4 in landscape, and a bullet journal habit tracker drawn on the dots. Click a picture for the PDF, or use the generator above to choose another spacing, dot size or color.

What is dot grid paper?

Dot grid paper (also called dotted paper, dot paper or dot graph paper) has a small dot where each line of a grid would cross, and no lines between them. The dots are enough to keep writing straight and boxes square, but the page still looks almost blank, so drawings, lettering and diagrams stand out.

What is dot grid paper used for?

• Bullet journals and planners: draw your own monthly logs, habit trackers and weekly spreads. 5 mm dot grid is the usual bullet journal paper.
• Notes and to-do lists: write on every row of dots, or every second row for bigger handwriting.
• Hand lettering and calligraphy: the dots help you keep letters the same height and slant.
• Sketching and design: wireframes, app screens, floor plans and diagrams.
• Math and games: geometry drawings, and the classic dots and boxes game.

Dot grid sizes and how many dots fit on a page

*Counted from the PDFs this maker produces, with half-inch margins and no name line.

Dot grid paper example: a habit tracker

The filled example above shows a habit tracker drawn on a 5 mm grid. The name column is 9 dots wide, and each of the 7 day columns is 3 dots wide, so the whole table is 30 dots, or 15 cm (5.9 inches), across. There is a header row and 6 habit rows, each 2 dots tall, so the table is 14 dots, or 7 cm (2.8 inches), tall. A Letter page has 39 dots across, so there are 8 dots spare for a margin or a notes column. To draw it yourself:

1. Join the dots along the top and bottom of the table with a ruler.
2. Draw a vertical line after every third dot to make the day columns.
3. Draw a line under every second row of dots, so each habit has a box for each day.
4. Write the day letters in the header, and the habits in the first column.

Handwriting and lettering on dot grid paper

You do not need ruled lines to write straight on dot grid paper: you use the rows of dots as invisible lines. Your choice of rows sets the line spacing. At 5 mm, writing on every row is tighter than college ruled paper (7.1 mm), so many people write on every second row for notes. Here is how the choices compare:

For lettering, make capital letters 3 or 4 dots tall and lowercase letters 2 dots tall, and keep the gap between words to 2 dots. This keeps headings the same size from page to page.

Dots and boxes: a game for dot grid paper

Dot grid paper is the classic board for dots and boxes. Two players take turns to join two neighboring dots with a line. A player who completes the fourth side of a box writes their initial in it and takes another turn. When all the lines are drawn, the player with the most boxes wins. A grid with n dots on each side has (n − 1)² boxes and 2n(n − 1) lines in all:

Use 1/2 inch dots for young players, and 5 mm dots for a small game on a notebook page. The Wikipedia article on dots and boxes explains the strategy of chains and sacrifices.

Dot grid vs graph paper

Both follow the same grid. Graph paper draws every line, which is best when you need to count squares, plot graphs or keep columns of numbers straight. Dot grid paper shows only the crossing points, so it is better for journals, lettering and sketches where full lines would get in the way. If you mainly write in sentences, lined paper is simpler still.

How to use dot grid paper

1. Writing: treat each row of dots as a line. Skip a row between lines if your handwriting is large.
2. Boxes and tables: join dots with a ruler to draw trackers, calendars and tables of any size.
3. Headings: make letters 2 or 3 dots tall so they line up across the page.
4. Drawing: use the dots as guide points for straight lines, circles and perspective.

How to print dot grid paper

1. Pick the dot spacing, color and size above. Light gray dots are the least visible in the finished page.
2. Choose US Letter, A4 or A5. For a travel journal, choose A5, or print A4 and fold it in half.
3. Download the PDF and print at 100% or “Actual size” so the spacing stays exact. A dot grid paper printable like this one is drawn in your browser, so it prints sharp on any printer.
4. If the dots look faint on your printer, choose medium or bold dot size, or a darker color.

More printable paper

• Lined paper in college, wide and narrow ruled.
• Graph paper in quarter inch, 5 mm and 1 cm squares.
• Graph paper with x and y axis for coordinate planes.
• Printable paper maker for every paper type.