The size chart
Newspaper ad sizes, drawn to scale
Every size is columns times inches. See the shapes once and rate cards stop being mysterious.
A standard US broadsheet page is 6 columns wide and 21 inches deep: 126 column inches. Every ad size is a slice of that grid. A half page is 63 column inches, a quarter 31.5, an eighth 15.75, and the little 2x2 is 4. Multiply any size by a per-inch rate and you have its price.
Buying craft, not a published rate: the 6x21 broadsheet convention; the WSJ 2026 card’s full page divides to exactly 126 column inches, confirming the grid on the published record.
Standard broadsheet: 6 columns x 21 inches deep
| Size | Typical dimensions | Col. inches | WSJ Western Ed., color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full page | 6 col x 21 in | 126 | $44,418.78 |
| Half page | 6 col x 10.5 in (or 3 x 21) | 63 | $22,209.39 |
| Quarter page | 3 col x 10.5 in | 31.5 | $11,104.70 |
| Eighth page | 3 col x 5.25 in | 15.75 | $5,552.35 |
| 2x2 | 2 col x 2 in | 4 | $1,410.12 |
Source: WSJ 2026 General Advertising Rate Card, Issue #92, effective Jan 1 2026, retrieved Jul 31, 2026. Price column is arithmetic on the card's Western Edition per-inch open rate; metro and local papers quote their own per-inch rates for the same grid.
Broadsheet vs tabloid
A tabloid (the New York Post format) is roughly half a broadsheet: about 5 columns wide and 11 to 14 inches deep depending on the paper. A tabloid “full page” is therefore closer to a broadsheet half page in raw space, which matters when comparing quotes across formats: always compare column inches, never page fractions. Each paper’s spec sheet (see file specs) states its exact column widths and page depth.
Choosing
Which size a first campaign should buy
Start at the quarter page if the budget allows: big enough for a headline, an offer, and a coupon, small enough to repeat. Repetition beats size for a local service business, so a quarter page four times outworks a full page once for the same rough spend (price both in the estimator). Drop to small units when the goal is steady presence, and rise to the full page only for moments a statement is the point.