How to Add Horizontal & Vertical Space Between Elements in Tailwind CSS ?
Last Updated :
23 Jul, 2025
Tailwind CSS simplifies web design with its utility-first approach. Creating websites that look good is important in web development. Tailwind CSS is a tool that helps make this easier. One important thing to learn is how to put space between elements.
Below are the approaches to Add Horizontal & Vertical Space Between Elements in Tailwind CSS:
Adding Space Using Margin Utility Classes
We can add horizontal and vertical spacing between elements using Margin Classes in CSS. Margin utility classes in Tailwind CSS allow you to add space around an element. They provide options for adding margin on all sides or specific sides. and replace {size} with a numeric value to specify the desired margin size in the syntax.
Syntax:
<div class="m-{size}"></div>
Example: Illustration of Adding Space Using Margin Utility Classes.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,
initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Tailwind CSS Space Between Elements</title>
<script src=
"https://cdn.tailwindcss.com"></script>
</head>
<body class="p-6">
<!-- Adding Horizontal Space -->
<div class="flex">
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-blue-500
flex justify-center
items-center mr-6">
<span>element1</span></div>
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-red-500
flex justify-center
items-center mr-6">
<span>element2</span></div>
</div>
<!-- Adding Vertical Space -->
<div class="flex justify-center
items-center mt-6">
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-blue-500
flex justify-center
items-center mb-6">
<span>element4</span></div>
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-red-500
flex justify-center
items-center mb-6">
<span>element5</span></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Output:

Adding Space Using Padding Utility Classes
We use padding utility classes in Tailwind CSS to make space inside elements. These classes let us choose where to add padding, either all around or just on certain sides. and Replace {size} with a numeric value to specify the desired padding size in the syntax.
Syntax:
<div class="p-{size}"></div>
Example: Illustration of Adding Spaces using Padding Utility Classes.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,
initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Tailwind CSS Space Between Elements</title>
<script src=
"https://cdn.tailwindcss.com">
</script>
</head>
<body class="p-6">
<!-- Adding Horizontal Space -->
<div class="flex justify-between
items-center">
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-blue-500
flex justify-center
items-center px-4">
<span>element1</span></div>
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-red-500
flex justify-center
items-center px-4">
<span>element2</span></div>
</div>
<!-- Adding Vertical Space -->
<div class="flex justify-center
items-center mt-6">
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-blue-500
flex justify-center
items-center py-4">
<span>element4</span></div>
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-red-500
flex justify-center
items-center py-4">
<span>element5</span></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Output:

Adding Space Using Flexbox Utility Classes
We use flexbox utility classes in Tailwind CSS to easily arrange elements with precise spacing. With flexbox properties, we can control both horizontal and vertical spacing between elements effectively.
Syntax:
<div class="flex justify-{value} items-{value}"></div>
Parameters:
- flex: Sets display to flex for flexbox layout.
- justify-{value}: Options like start, end, or center align items horizontally.
- items-{value}: Options like start, end, or center align items vertically.
Example: Illustration of Adding Space Using Flexbox Utility Classes.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,
initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Tailwind CSS Space Between Elements</title>
<script src=
"https://cdn.tailwindcss.com">
</script>
</head>
<body class="p-6">
<!-- Adding Horizontal Space -->
<div class="flex space-x-6">
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-blue-500
flex justify-center
items-center">
<span>element1</span></div>
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-red-500
flex justify-center
items-center">
<span>element2</span></div>
</div>
<!-- Adding Vertical Space -->
<div class="flex justify-center
items-center mt-6 ">
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-blue-500
flex justify-center
items-center">
<span>element4</span></div>
<div class="w-24 h-24 bg-red-500
flex justify-center
items-center">
<span>element5</span>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Output:

Similar Reads
CSS Tutorial CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It is a stylesheet language used to style and enhance website presentation. CSS is one of the three main components of a webpage, along with HTML and JavaScript.HTML adds Structure to a web page.JavaScript adds logic to it and CSS makes it visually appealing or
7 min read
CSS Introduction CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a language designed to simplify the process of making web pages presentable.It allows you to apply styles to HTML documents by prescribing colors, fonts, spacing, and positioning.The main advantages are the separation of content (in HTML) and styling (in CSS) and the
4 min read
CSS Syntax CSS is written as a rule set, which consists of a selector and a declaration block. The basic syntax of CSS is as follows:The selector is a targeted HTML element or elements to which we have to apply styling.The Declaration Block or " { } " is a block in which we write our CSS.HTML<html> <h
2 min read
CSS Selectors CSS Selectors are used to target HTML elements on your pages, allowing you to apply styles based on their ID, class, type attributes, and more. There are mainly 5 types of selectors.Basic CSS Selectors: These are used to target elements by tag, .class, or # ID for fundamental styling needs.Combinato
7 min read
CSS Comments CSS comments are used to add notes or explanations to your code, helping you and others understand it better. They start with /* and end with */ and can be used for both single-line and multi-line comments. Note: Comments are ignored by browsers, so they wonât affect how your webpage looks or works.
2 min read
CSS Colors CSS colors are used to set the color of different parts of a webpage, like text, background, and borders. This helps make the page look more attractive and easier to read. You can define colors using names, hex codes, RGB values, and more.You can try different formats of colors here- #content-iframe
5 min read
CSS Borders Borders in CSS are used to create a visible outline around an element. They can be customized in terms ofWidth: The thickness of the border.Style: The appearance of the border (solid, dashed, dotted, etc.).Color: The color of the border.You can try different types of borders here- #custom-iframe{ he
5 min read
CSS Margins CSS margins are used to create space around an element, separating it from neighboring elements and the edges of the webpage. They control the layout by adjusting the distance between elements, providing better organization and readability.Syntax:body { margin: value;}HTML<html> <head>
4 min read
CSS Height and Width Height and Width in CSS are used to set the height and width of boxes. Their values can be set using length, percentage, or auto.Width and HeightThe width and height properties in CSS are used to define the dimensions of an element. The values can be set in various units, such as pixels (px), centim
4 min read
CSS Outline CSS outline is a property used to draw a line around an element's border. It does not affect the layout, unlike borders. It's often used to highlight elements, providing a visual emphasis without altering the dimensions of the element.Syntaxselector{ outline: outline-width outline-type outline-color
4 min read