PPI vs DPI — What's the Difference?

Both abbreviate to "dots/pixels per inch," but they describe different things.

PPI — Pixels Per Inch

Used for screens and digital displays. It's how many device pixels fit in one inch of the panel. Higher PPI = sharper display.

DPI — Dots Per Inch

Used for printers and physical output. It's how many ink dots a printer lays down per inch. Higher DPI = finer print.

Why the confusion?

Software sometimes reports a "DPI" setting for screens (e.g. 96 DPI UI scaling), but that's a legacy misnomer — it's really about logical pixel density, not physical ink. When people ask for a "PPI calculator," they mean screen pixel density, not print resolution.

Calculate your screen's PPI

PPI Calculator

√(W² + H²) ÷ size | PPI ±0.1

Resolution Presets

Device Presets

Resolution width (px)

Resolution height (px)

Screen size

Use the diagonal printed on the box or spec sheet.

—

PPI

—

Retina estimate

—

Dot pitch

—

Total pixels

—

Megapixels

—

Aspect ratio

—

Min. distance

—

StandardHighUltra HighRetina

See the pixel density

—

Higher PPI packs more pixels into the same physical area, producing smaller pixels and finer detail.

Relative Pixel Size:—

Simulated Dot Pitch:—

PPI = √(W² + H²) ÷ diagonal