CSS property · 11 real installs 14 Oct 2026 · data last changed 10 Nov 2026
text-align in email clients
Works in 13 of 21. Partial in Gmail Android, Outlook Classic, Outlook Android and 5 more.
Your reader in Outlook Classic may not see text-align the way you wrote it, even if it looks right where you tested it.
caniemail (MIT) via @emailens/engine 0.18.22
What to do instead in Outlook Classic
Combine the legacy align="center" or align="right" HTML attribute with CSS text-align for maximum compatibility. Always set text-align on the immediate parent of the inline content, not several levels up.
- Partial. Flow-relative values
startandendare not supported. - Partial. Doesn't support the
match-parentvalue.
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text-align 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 text-align is supported you should see: text centred.
caniemail: text-align is partly supported in Outlook Classic.
- Outlook 2019 (Windows) · counted as Outlook Classic Real screenshot
- Outlook 2016 (Windows) · counted as Outlook Classic Real screenshot
- Outlook 2007 (Windows) · counted as Outlook Classic Real screenshot
Partial. Flow-relative values start and end are not supported.
caniemail: text-align is partly supported in Yahoo Mail.
Partial. Flow-relative values start and end are not supported.
caniemail: text-align works in Outlook 365.
This Outlook.com install drops the <style> in the head, so only inline styles apply.
caniemail: text-align works in Apple Mail.
caniemail: text-align 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 Android | Partial See caveat 2 |
| Outlook Classic | Partial See caveat 3 |
| Outlook Android | Partial See caveat 4 |
| Yahoo Mail | Partial See caveat 3 |
| Yahoo Mail Android | Partial See caveat 3 |
| Yahoo Mail iOS | Partial See caveat 3 |
| Samsung Mail | Partial See caveat 2 |
| AOL Mail | Partial See caveat 3 |
Works in 13: Gmail, Gmail iOS, Outlook 365 and 10 more. Show all
| Client | Support |
|---|---|
| Gmail | Works See caveat 1 |
| Gmail iOS | Works |
| Outlook 365 | Works See caveat 1 |
| Outlook (New) | Works See caveat 1 |
| Outlook iOS | Works |
| Outlook for Mac | Works |
| Apple Mail | Works |
| Apple Mail iOS | Works |
| Thunderbird | Works |
| HEY Mail | Works |
| Proton Mail | Works |
| Fastmail | Works |
| Superhuman | Works |
Caveats (4)
- 1. Gmail, Outlook 365, Outlook (New): Support of the
match-parentvalue depends on browser support. - 2. Gmail Android, Samsung Mail: Partial. Doesn't support the
match-parentvalue. Supports the vendor prefixed value-webkit-match-parent. - 3. Outlook Classic, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Mail Android, Yahoo Mail iOS, AOL Mail: Partial. Flow-relative values
startandendare not supported. Partial. Doesn't support thematch-parentvalue. - 4. Outlook Android: Partial. Doesn't support the
match-parentvalue.
Caveats as recorded by caniemail (MIT), one entry per wording.
How text-align behaves
text-align controls horizontal alignment of inline content within a block-level container and is supported across every modern email client. Most rendering inconsistencies come from inheritance, clients sometimes reset text-align at table boundaries, requiring explicit declarations on each cell.
- Some clients reset text-align at the <table> boundary, so set it on the inner <td> rather than the wrapping table.
- Outlook Classic occasionally inherits a parent <td>'s align attribute over CSS text-align, which can cause unexpected re-alignment.
- text-align: justify can produce uneven word spacing on small screens, avoid in mobile-first email.
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