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In print, the difference between flyers and leaflets is simple: a flyer is one flat sheet, printed on one or both sides, and a leaflet is a sheet folded into pages. Pick a flyer when you have one message and one thing you want people to do. Pick a folded leaflet when you have a menu, a price list or a range of services that needs sections. In everyday chat people swap the two words freely, so when you order, look at the product, not the name.
Start with your words, not the format #
The quickest way to choose is to write the content first. Then try it on two sides of A5 (148 × 210 mm) with a sensible amount of white space.
- It fits and breathes: print a flyer. It is quicker to make and cheaper per copy.
- You are trimming sections or shrinking the text to squeeze it in: go for a folded leaflet. The panels give each topic its own space and the reader a natural order.
A crammed flyer gets glanced at and binned. A leaflet with one line on each panel feels empty. Let the words decide.
The difference between flyers and leaflets in practice #
| Flat flyer | Folded leaflet | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A single sheet, one side or both | A sheet folded into 4 to 16 pages |
| Typical finished sizes | A7 up to A3, DL and three squares | Folds down to sizes such as A5, DL or 148 × 105 mm |
| Paper | 130gsm right up to 450gsm card | 130, 170 or 250gsm gloss or silk, or 120gsm uncoated |
| Working days to dispatch | 3 Standard, 2 Express | 5 Standard, 3 Express |
| Does best at | One offer, one event, one reminder | Menus, price lists, service guides, programmes |
Flyers: one sheet, one job #
Our flyers come in A7 (74 × 105 mm), A6 (105 × 148 mm), DL (99 × 210 mm), A5, A4 (210 × 297 mm), A3 and three squares: 105, 148 and 210 mm. The weight you pick changes how the flyer is treated:
- 130gsm: light and economical, right for big door drops that get read once.
- 170gsm: a firmer feel in the hand, good for handouts at events and on counters.
- 250gsm: close to a postcard; stays flat on a counter and through a letterbox.
- 350gsm or 450gsm silk card: for vouchers, loyalty offers and menus that get passed around.
Gloss makes photos punchier; silk is smoother with less glare, so it is easier to read under shop lights. More on weights in which gsm paper.
Flyers with a twist
Need a menu card that gets sticky fingers all day? Laminated flyers put a film of matt, gloss or soft touch over both faces of 350gsm or 450gsm card, and a damp cloth brings them back. Want people to write on it? Uncoated flyers have no coating to fight a biro, in smooth white, natural, textured, cotton, hemp blend or woven bamboo stocks. Recycled flyers, rounded corner flyers and metallic foil flyers are in the range too.
Folded leaflets: how each fold reads #
Folded leaflets are printed flat and folded for you. The fold is not just a way to shrink the sheet; it sets the order in which someone reads your content.
- Half fold, 4 pages: opens like a greetings card. Landscape A4 gives you A5 pages, landscape A3 gives A4 pages. Short menus and programmes sit well here.
- Roll fold, 6 pages: each panel wraps inside the next and the finished piece is roughly DL, 100 × 210 mm. Readers unroll it one panel at a time, which is exactly how you want a price list or takeaway menu read.
- Z fold, 6 pages: a zigzag that closes to 99 × 210 mm and springs fully open with one tug. Great for maps, timelines and instructions in steps.
- Gate fold, 6 pages: the two outside flaps close towards each other like doors, ending up 148 × 210 mm or 210 × 297 mm. Made for a big reveal on the inside spread.
- Cross fold, 8 pages: halved one way, then halved the other, finishing at 148 × 105 mm.
- Double parallel and combined folds: as many as 16 pages, for fuller guides and programmes.
Set the artwork up as the flat sheet with each panel in the right position; the product page shows where every panel lands once folded.
Thick card and wipe-clean leaflets
Fold thick card cold and the print splits along the spine in an ugly white line. The fix is a crease pressed in before folding. Creased leaflets arrive with that line already pressed in but left open, on 170 or 250gsm paper or 300 or 350gsm card, so the folding is yours and the finish stays clean. Laminated folded leaflets, A4 or A3 sheets of 250gsm or 350gsm with matt or gloss film both sides, are the takeaway menu that survives life next to the phone.
Which one for which job #
- Local door drop: A5 or DL flyer on 130gsm or 170gsm. One message, lowest cost per copy.
- Opening day or event: A5 or A6 flyer on 170gsm or 250gsm. Date, place and offer on one side.
- Takeaway menu: roll fold or half fold leaflet, or a laminated one if it lives by the phone.
- Price list or service range: roll fold or Z fold at DL, which slips into a DL envelope and a leaflet rack.
- Reception or counter pile: 250gsm to 350gsm card flyer, or a folded leaflet.
- Exhibition handout: a light A5 flyer that visitors will actually carry round; see the exhibition stand checklist.
Artwork, delivery and recycling #
Whichever side of the difference between flyers and leaflets you land on, most of these can be designed in the free online designer, where you check the layout on screen before ordering. Uploading your own file? Add 3 mm of bleed on every edge (an A5 flyer becomes a 154 × 216 mm page, see print bleed) and a person will check it for free. Or hand it to the paid artwork service, which includes 1 design and 2 rounds of changes.
UK mainland delivery is £7.95, free on orders of £100 or more after discounts. Unlaminated paper flyers and leaflets can usually go in household paper recycling; laminated ones are harder, and Recycle Now shows what your council takes. Browse everything in flyers and leaflets, and if the difference between flyers and leaflets still has you stuck for a big run or an unusual fold, ask for a quote.