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Does CSS background-size Work in HTML Email?

Specifies the size of background images, supporting keywords like cover and contain.

Quick Answer

Does background-size work in HTML email?

The CSS background-size property is supported in Gmail, Outlook (Mac / Web), Apple Mail, Yahoo! Mail, and others. It is NOT supported in Outlook (Windows). Always include a safe fallback for unsupported clients.

Which Email Clients Support CSS background-size?

CSS support for background-size across email clients

Email ClientDesktopMobile / WebNotes
Gmail✓ Yes~ Partial
Outlook (Windows)✗ No?
Outlook (Mac / Web)✓ Yes✓ Yes
Apple Mail✓ Yes✓ Yes
Yahoo! Mail✓ Yes✓ Yes
Samsung Email?✓ Yes
Thunderbird✓ Yes?
ProtonMail✓ Yes✓ Yes
Fastmail✓ Yes?

Notes

  • #1 Partial. Not supported with non Google accounts. But it can be used in the `background` shorthand property instead.
  • #2 Partial. Does not support multiple values. The comma between two values is removed.
  • #3 Background images size can be used in VML with the `size` attribute. See [VML documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/vml/size-attribute--fill--vml).

Frequently Asked Questions

Related CSS Properties

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