CSS property · 11 real installs 14 Oct 2026 · data last changed 10 Nov 2026
align-items in email clients
Works in 13 of 21. Not supported in Gmail, Gmail Android, Gmail iOS and 5 more.
Your reader in Outlook Classic sees the email without align-items, even if it looks right where you tested it.
caniemail (MIT) via @emailens/engine 0.18.22
What to do instead in Outlook Classic
Always provide a table-based fallback for any flex layout. Use align-items only where the audience is known to skew toward modern WebKit-based clients. Inside <!--[if mso]> conditionals, supply a table layout with valign attributes for vertical alignment.
There is no drop-in fix for align-items in Outlook Classic. Design so the email still reads without it.
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align-items on 11 real installs
One Emailens probe, screenshotted on each install on 14 October 2026, next to our live preview of the same client. Where align-items is supported you should see: small box centred against tall one.
caniemail: align-items is not supported in Outlook Classic.
caniemail: align-items is not supported in Yahoo Mail.
caniemail: align-items works in Outlook 365.
This Outlook.com install drops the <style> in the head, so only inline styles apply.
caniemail: align-items works in Apple Mail.
caniemail: align-items works in Apple Mail iOS.
Also captured, not counted as evidence (4)
- Outlook for Microsoft 365 · not mapped to an engine client yet Real screenshot
- Outlook 2019 for Mac (legacy app) · not counted as Outlook for Mac Real screenshot
This is the legacy Outlook for Mac app. The new Outlook for Mac, which the table describes, drops gradients, grid sizing functions, var() and more.
- Gmail (web) · not counted as Gmail Real screenshot
This Gmail install does not apply Gmail's sanitiser, so it shows more than real Gmail does.
- Windows Mail · not mapped to an engine client yet Real screenshot
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All 21 clients, problems first
| Client | Support |
|---|---|
| Gmail | Not supported |
| Gmail Android | Not supported |
| Gmail iOS | Not supported |
| Outlook Classic | Not supported |
| Yahoo Mail | Not supported |
| Yahoo Mail Android | Not supported |
| Yahoo Mail iOS | Not supported |
| AOL Mail | Not supported |
Works in 13: Outlook 365, Outlook (New), Outlook iOS and 10 more. Show all
| Client | Support |
|---|---|
| Outlook 365 | Works |
| Outlook (New) | Works |
| Outlook iOS | Works |
| Outlook Android | Works |
| Outlook for Mac | Works |
| Apple Mail | Works |
| Apple Mail iOS | Works |
| Samsung Mail | Works |
| Thunderbird | Works |
| HEY Mail | Works |
| Proton Mail | Works |
| Fastmail | Works |
| Superhuman | Works |
How align-items behaves
align-items controls cross-axis alignment of flex items. Because flexbox itself is largely unsupported in email, Outlook ignores it, Gmail strips it, align-items has equally narrow practical usefulness. Modern Apple Mail and Superhuman support it, making it a niche progressive-enhancement tool.
- Outlook Classic ignores all flexbox properties including align-items.
- Gmail's sanitizer strips display: flex, neutralizing any align-items declaration.
- Apple Mail and Superhuman honor align-items reliably when display: flex is also present.
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