Gmail vs Outlook 365: CSS Support Differences
Gmail renders with Gmail Web; Outlook 365 renders with Outlook Web. Both clients break features the other renders, on 27% of the 300 features verified in both. There is no "stricter" client here to build against, so the safe set is the 136-feature intersection.
Support data derived from caniemail.com (MIT) - last synced Nov 10, 2026 - engine data v0.18.22
136
work in both
the safe intersection
13
only in Gmail
breaks in Outlook 365
26
only in Outlook 365
breaks in Gmail
41
partial on one side
renders, with caveats
Works in Gmail, breaks in Outlook 365
Each of these needs a fallback if the send reaches both.
Works in Outlook 365, breaks in Gmail
Partial on one side
These render in both, but one client applies caveats the other does not. They fail quietly, which makes them the expensive ones.
- <base>
- <body>
- <form>
- <marquee>
- <style>
- <ul>
- @media
- !important
- gap
- html5-semantics
- list-style
- margin
- overflow
- position
- pseudo-class-active
- pseudo-class-default
- rgb
- rgba
- text-indent
- text-justify
- unit-initial
- word-break
- ::after
- ::before
- ::first-letter
- ::first-line
- ::placeholder
- :attribute-selector
- :checked
- :first-child
- :first-of-type
- :focus
- :focus-visible
- :hover
- :last-child
- :last-of-type
- :link
- :only-child
- :only-of-type
- :target
- :visited
A further 84 features render in neither client. Not a difference between them, but the other half of the answer to what you can actually use, so the four counts above deliberately do not sum to 300.
Where the divergence sits
Two pairs with the same headline number can be different problems. For these two it concentrates in CSS Properties.
- CSS Properties 31
- Pseudo-Classes & Selectors 17
- HTML Elements 12
- CSS Functions 6
- CSS At-Rules 5
- Pseudo-Elements 5
8 of these already have a fix
Each links to a copy-paste snippet that keeps the feature working in Outlook 365 without dropping it in Gmail.
Check your own HTML against both
Paste your email
Questions
- How different are Gmail and Outlook 365?
- They disagree on 80 of the 300 features verified in both clients, or 27%. 136 features render in both and are the safe intersection to build on.
- What works in Gmail but not Outlook 365?
- 13 features, including <button type="submit">, <input type="submit">, [aria-live], amp4email, bimi and 8 more. Each needs a fallback if the send reaches both clients.
- Which engines are these two clients using?
- Gmail renders with Gmail Web; Outlook 365 renders with Outlook Web. Where two clients share an engine the divergence is usually configuration, and where they do not it is the engine itself.
- Is this measured in the real clients?
- No. These are documented support levels derived from caniemail.com (MIT-licensed), carried in @emailens/engine data version 0.18.22 and last synced Nov 10, 2026. That sync date is not a test date: caniemail's own per-feature tests run from Feb 28, 2019 to Sep 16, 2026. Anything described as a transform is applied per those documented rules rather than captured from a real client.
Test your email in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail
Preview rendering, catch CSS issues, and see what Outlook does to your VML. Free, no account. All 21 clients with one.
Check your email, freeNo signup · Five clients free, Outlook Classic included · All 21 with an account