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Billboard letter height calculator
How tall your letters must be to read at a distance.
Letter height for an easy read
50 in
1 inch for every 10 feet of distance.
Smallest letters still readable
20 in
About 1 inch for every 25 feet.
Time a driver can read it
6.2 seconds
At 55 mph a car covers 81 feet a second.
How it works
- 01A common sign-industry rule: 1 inch of letter height for every 10 feet of distance. That gives the best read.
- 02Some guides stretch it to 25 to 30 feet per inch. That is the farthest a letter can still be read.
- 03Read time = viewing distance ÷ speed. At 55 mph a driver covers about 81 feet each second.
- 04Keep billboard copy short. Many guides say seven words or fewer.
Questions people ask
How big should billboard letters be?
A common rule is 1 inch of height per 10 feet of distance. Letters seen from 500 feet should be about 50 inches tall.
How many words should a billboard have?
As few as you can. Many guides say seven words or fewer, because drivers have only a few seconds.
Does Gabie check this?
Gabie Studio’s artwork review flags text under an inch tall at full size and copy over eight words.
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