padding-left

The padding-left CSS property sets the width of the padding area to the left of an element.

An element's padding area is the space between its content and its border.

Note: The padding property can be used to set paddings on all four sides of an element with a single declaration.

Syntax

/* <length> values */
padding-left: 0.5em;
padding-left: 0;
padding-left: 2cm;

/* <percentage> value */
padding-left: 10%;

/* Global values */
padding-left: inherit;
padding-left: initial;
padding-left: unset;

The padding-left property is specified as a single value chosen from the list below. Unlike margins, negative values are not allowed for padding.

Values

<length>: The size of the padding as a fixed value. Must be nonnegative.
<percentage>: The size of the padding as a percentage, relative to the width of the containing block. Must be nonnegative.

Formal definition

Initial value	`0`
Applies to	all elements, except `table-row-group`, `table-header-group`, `table-footer-group`, `table-row`, `table-column-group` and `table-column`. It also applies to `::first-letter` and `::first-line`.
Inherited	no
Percentages	refer to the width of the containing block
Computed value	the percentage as specified or the absolute length
Animation type	a length

Formal syntax

<length> | <percentage>

Examples

Setting left padding using pixels and percentages

.content { padding-left: 5%; }
.sidebox { padding-left: 10px; }

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Basic Box Model The definition of 'padding-left' in that specification.	Working Draft	No change.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'padding-left' in that specification.	Recommendation	No change.
CSS Level 1 The definition of 'padding-left' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`padding-left`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 4	Opera Full support 3.5	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support