<span>
HTML element · 14 supported, 0 partial, 0 unsupported across 15 clients
The <span> element is a generic inline container and is supported in every email client. It is most useful for applying inline styles (color, font-size, font-weight) to a portion of text without breaking the surrounding flow. Some clients strip <span> styling under aggressive sanitization, so critical inline styling should also be applied on a wrapping <font> or <strong> tag where appropriate.
Client Support
| Client | Category | Engine | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | webmail | Gmail Web | Supported |
| Gmail Android | mobile | Gmail Mobile | Supported |
| Gmail iOS | mobile | Gmail Mobile | Supported |
| Outlook 365 | webmail | Outlook Web | Supported |
| Outlook (New) | desktop | Outlook Web | Supported |
| Outlook Classic | desktop | Microsoft Word | Supported |
| Outlook iOS | mobile | Outlook Mobile | Supported |
| Outlook Android | mobile | Outlook Mobile | Supported |
| Apple Mail | desktop | WebKit | Supported |
| Apple Mail iOS | mobile | WebKit | Supported |
| Yahoo Mail | webmail | Yahoo | Supported |
| Samsung Mail | mobile | Samsung | Supported |
| Thunderbird | desktop | Gecko | Supported |
| HEY Mail | webmail | WebKit | Supported |
| Superhuman | desktop | Blink | Unknown |
Client-by-client behaviour for <span>
Fully supports <span> (14): Gmail, Gmail Android, Gmail iOS, Outlook 365, Outlook (New), Outlook Classic, Outlook iOS, Outlook Android, Apple Mail, Apple Mail iOS, Yahoo Mail, Samsung Mail, Thunderbird, HEY Mail.
Behaviour unverified in: Superhuman.
When to use <span> in email
- Applying brand color to the first word of a headline.
- Inline-styling product names, prices, or dates within paragraph text.
- Wrapping auto-detected phone numbers with explicit anchor styling to defeat client auto-linking.
Rendering behaviour and edge cases
- Spans inherit display: inline by default and cannot accept block-level styles like width or padding-top reliably.
- Outlook on Windows respects span inline styles but occasionally drops them when the span sits at the start of a list item.
- Gmail rewrites class attributes on spans, so class-based styling from <style> blocks is fragile.
Recommended fallback strategy
Apply inline styles directly on <span> elements for color or font tweaks. For block-level effects, wrap spans in a <td> or <div> instead. Combine <span style="..."> with the deprecated <font> tag for double coverage on color in legacy Outlook.
Related Features
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Try Emailens FreeSupport data last updated Apr 27, 2026 · synced from caniemail.com via @emailens/engine.