CSS Functions

linear-gradient

CSS property · 7 supported, 2 partial, 6 unsupported across 15 clients

Client Support

Client	Category	Engine	Support
Gmail	webmail	Gmail Web	Supported
Gmail Android	mobile	Gmail Mobile	Partial
Gmail iOS	mobile	Gmail Mobile	Supported
Outlook 365	webmail	Outlook Web	Unsupported
Outlook (New)	desktop	Outlook Web	Unsupported
Outlook Classic	desktop	Microsoft Word	Unsupported
Outlook iOS	mobile	Outlook Mobile	Unsupported
Outlook Android	mobile	Outlook Mobile	Unsupported
Apple Mail	desktop	WebKit	Supported
Apple Mail iOS	mobile	WebKit	Supported
Yahoo Mail	webmail	Yahoo	Unsupported
Samsung Mail	mobile	Samsung	Partial
Thunderbird	desktop	Gecko	Supported
HEY Mail	webmail	WebKit	Supported
Superhuman	desktop	Blink	Supported

Client-by-client behaviour for linear-gradient

Fully supports linear-gradient (7): Gmail, Gmail iOS, Apple Mail, Apple Mail iOS, Thunderbird, HEY Mail, Superhuman.

Partial support (2): Gmail Android, Samsung Mail. Expect rendering quirks unique to each engine — partial support typically means a subset of values, an ignored shorthand, or sanitizer-specific rewrites.

No support (6): Outlook 365, Outlook (New), Outlook Classic, Outlook iOS, Outlook Android, Yahoo Mail. Plan fallbacks for these clients before relying on linear-gradient in production sends.

Fixes & Workarounds

Outlook 365

Unsupported

Add a solid background-color fallback before the gradient.

Before

<td style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

After

<!-- Always declare a solid background-color before the gradient.
     Clients that strip gradients will show the fallback color. -->
<td style="background-color: #667eea;
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

Add solid color fallback for gradient backgrounds

Outlook (New)

Unsupported

Add a solid background-color fallback before the gradient.

Before

<td style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

After

<!-- Always declare a solid background-color before the gradient.
     Clients that strip gradients will show the fallback color. -->
<td style="background-color: #667eea;
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

Add solid color fallback for gradient backgrounds

Outlook Classic

Unsupported

Add a solid background-color fallback before the gradient.

Before

<td style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

After

<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<v:rect xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" fill="true"
  stroke="false" style="width:600px;">
  <v:fill type="gradient" color="#667eea" color2="#764ba2"
    angle="135" />
  <v:textbox inset="0,0,0,0">
<![endif]-->
<td style="background-color: #667eea;
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
  </v:textbox>
</v:rect>
<![endif]-->

Use VML to render gradients in Outlook

Outlook iOS

Unsupported

Add a solid background-color fallback before the gradient.

Before

<td style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

After

<!-- Always declare a solid background-color before the gradient.
     Clients that strip gradients will show the fallback color. -->
<td style="background-color: #667eea;
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

Add solid color fallback for gradient backgrounds

Outlook Android

Unsupported

Add a solid background-color fallback before the gradient.

Before

<td style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

After

<!-- Always declare a solid background-color before the gradient.
     Clients that strip gradients will show the fallback color. -->
<td style="background-color: #667eea;
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

Add solid color fallback for gradient backgrounds

Yahoo Mail

Unsupported

Add a solid background-color fallback before the gradient.

Before

<td style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

After

<!-- Always declare a solid background-color before the gradient.
     Clients that strip gradients will show the fallback color. -->
<td style="background-color: #667eea;
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

Add solid color fallback for gradient backgrounds

Gmail Android

Partial

Add a solid background-color fallback before the gradient.

Before

<td style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

After

<!-- Always declare a solid background-color before the gradient.
     Clients that strip gradients will show the fallback color. -->
<td style="background-color: #667eea;
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

Add solid color fallback for gradient backgrounds

Samsung Mail

Partial

Add a solid background-color fallback before the gradient.

Before

<td style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

After

<!-- Always declare a solid background-color before the gradient.
     Clients that strip gradients will show the fallback color. -->
<td style="background-color: #667eea;
            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea, #764ba2);
            padding: 40px; color: #fff;">
  Content here
</td>

Add solid color fallback for gradient backgrounds

Production guidance for linear-gradient

linear-gradient is a CSS property. Across the email client matrix, 7 of 15 tracked clients support it fully, 2 only partially, and 6 not at all. The clients most likely to require a workaround for this feature are Outlook 365, Outlook (New), Outlook Classic. Each of them needs a tailored fallback — see the per-client examples above for the specific code fix Emailens recommends.

When in doubt, ship a baseline that renders without linear-gradient and treat it as progressive enhancement on clients where support is verified. Emailens automatically detects cross-client divergence on this feature when you preview an email, so you can see exactly which template paths break before a campaign goes out.

Related Features

calc clamp conic-gradient fit-content max min radial-gradient

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Support data last updated Apr 27, 2026 · synced from caniemail.com via @emailens/engine.