Paper Crafts Printables

Free Printable Rulers

In Actual Size

By
Stacy Fisher
Stacy Fisher, Writer
Stacy Fisher

Stacy Fisher is an expert on crafting, sewing, and frugal finds, sharing her knowledge of hands-on DIY creations, finding freebies, and budgeting. Stacy was a guest on "The Dr. Oz Show" and featured in Woman's World Magazine. She has nearly two decades of writing and editing experience.

Learn more about The Spruce Crafts' Editorial Process
Updated on 11/27/23
Illustration of desktop with different supplies

Illustration: The Spruce / Catherine Song

Printable rulers are available in just about every form imaginable, including in actual size to measure feet, centimeters, inches, and metric measurements. There are your standard rulers but also protractors, growth charts, and French and hip curve rulers.

Rulers you can print are also convenient because they're more flexible than their plastic, wood, or metal counterparts; you can bend them to measure just about anything.

These are helpful if you're teaching your child or students about units of measurements, and with them being paper, they can even decorate them to make the activity a bit more fun.

These ruler downloads are actual size, so you'll want to take care to keep them that way when you print. When printing a paper ruler, make sure you don't have the shrink to fit option turned on, and page scaling should be set to none. It will print the ruler at actual size with accurate units.

If you're looking for a sturdier printout, use cardstock instead of printer paper.

  • 01 of 10

    Printable Paper Rulers

    A printable ruler for A4 paper

    Vendian Systems

    Vendian Systems should be the first place you go when looking for a free printable ruler because they have a whopping 20 of them in every type of measurement you'll ever need.

    Their printable rulers are available in foot, metric, centimeter/inch, narrow, yard, meter, large-print, single-unit, color square, and number-free in different lengths and styles. There are also a number of free rulers that are great for teaching kids about measurement.

    You also have a lot of options on how many rulers you can print per page. There are options for 1, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, and 21. The printable rulers at Vendian's can be downloaded as a .PDF or .PS (PostScript) file.

    Printable Paper Rulers from Vendian Systems

  • 02 of 10

    Printable Rulers

    A metallic style printable ruler

    Printable Ruler

    The printable rulers here are a little more fashionable with either a metallic or transparent look, which are both available to print on Letter or A4 paper.

    There are measuring tape rulers, centimeter rulers, inches rulers to varying scales, whole and quarter-inch rulers, protractors, and more. The cutting lines around the ruler make it easy to cut out the printable ruler neatly and accurately.

    Click on the image of the ruler you'd like to print and it will open as a PDF file. After you print, you can follow the directions on Printable-Ruler.net (on the right side of the page) on how to test your ruler to make sure it is accurate.

    Online Printable Rulers from Printable-Ruler.net

  • 03 of 10

    Free Printable Rulers

    Two rulers with inches and centimeters

    MathATube

    You can print paper rulers here in inches, centimeters, or a combination of the two. You can even print a few of these rules on a single page, which is convenient if you're looking for more than one printable ruler.

    Printable Rulers from MathATube

  • 04 of 10

    Free Printable Rulers

    A 12 inch printable ruler with 1/16 inch marks

    PrintableRulers.net

    You can download some more free printable rulers in the PDF format from PrintableRulers.net. There are currently over 100 rulers available for download here.

    The PrintableRulers.net homepage shows the 15 most popular rulers on their site. Some of these printable rules include a meterstick, 15-cm mm ruler, yardstick, square, and a 12-inch by 1/10 inch ruler.

    There are also some engineering rulers, business card rulers, and measuring tape.

    Free Printable Rulers from PrintableRulers.net

    Continue to 5 of 10 below
  • 05 of 10

    Grow Your Own Clothes' French Curve and Hip Curve Rulers

    Two printable French curve rulers

    Grow Your Own Clothes

    If you're creating or modifying clothes, these free printable rulers are just what you need. There are five free rulers here that include the Imperial French curve, Imperial hip cure, metric French curves, and metric hip curve.

    Free, Printable French Curve and Hip Curve Rulers from Grow Your Own Clothes

  • 06 of 10

    Printable Color Coded Rulers

    A color-coded printable ruler

    Teachers Pay Teachers

    Teachers Pay Teachers has a free, printable ruler that's color-coded by the inch and has each quarter-inch marked for easy reading. This ruler prints off four per page and is a great way to teach young children how to read a ruler. 

    Printable Color Coded Rulers from Teachers Pay Teachers

  • 07 of 10

    Printable Growth Chart Ruler

    A large growth chart ruler

     The Fink Family Farm

    Here's a giant printable ruler that's meant to be used as a growth chart. It measures by inches and feet, making it easy to mark how tall your child is.

    You'll print the ruler on 6 different pages and then tape the pages together to make the growth chart.

    Free, Printable Growth Chart Ruler from The Fink Family Farm

  • 08 of 10

    Free Printable Rulers and Protractor

    A printable centimter ruler, inch ruler, and protractor

    TeacherVision

    In just a single page you can get two printable rulers (one in inch, one in centimeter) and a printable protractor from TeacherVision.

    Although this printable is meant for students it can work for anyone who's looking for a good printable paper ruler. Like the others in this list, this free printable ruler downloads as a PDF file. You'll need to sign up for a free account at TeacherVision to download these rulers.

    Printable Rulers and Protractor from TeacherVision

    Continue to 9 of 10 below
  • 09 of 10

    Printable Tape Measure

    A measuring tape printable ruler

    Inch Calculator

    This printable tape measure is 60 inches long and can replace a tape measure. The measurements are 1/16", making it a great choice if you need a precise measurement. This is a perfect ruler to have if you need to measure around an object or even a person. It's completely flexible, making it very easy to use. You'll just need to print out the tape measure and glue the ends together to form the tape measure. If you print it on a heavier paper it will be stiffer but if you print it on a lightweight paper, it will be more flexible. It's a PDF download, making it easy to use right away or save for later.

    Printable Tape Measure from Inch Calculator

  • 10 of 10

    Pupillary Distance Ruler

    A pupillary distance ruler

    EyeBuyDirect

    You may be looking for a different ruler instead of just one for basic measurement. Here's a pupillary distance (PD) ruler that measures between the centers of each pupil in millimeters (mm.) This ruler is eyes to make prescription eyeglasses that fit your face perfectly.

    You'll want to print the page without scaling, at 100%, and then double-check that it did indeed print correctly. You can also double-check it by comparing the ruler to the size of a credit card. Just follow the directions on the website to measure your PD using the free ruler.

    Pupillary Distance Ruler from EyeBuyDirect