Columns

Bootstrap 5 Columns

Learn how to modify columns with multiple alignment, ordering, and and offsetting with the flexbox grid system. Also, see how to use column classes to manage widths of non-grid elements.

Note: Be sure to read the Grid page first before diving into how to modify and customize your grid columns.

How it works

  • Columns build on the grid’s flexbox architecture. Flexbox means we have options for changing individual columns and modifying groups of columns at the row level. You choose how columns grow, shrink, or otherwise change.

  • When building grid layouts, all content goes in columns. The hierarchy of Bootstrap’s grid goes from container to row to column to your content. On rare occasions, you may combine content and column, but be aware there can be unintended consequences.

  • Bootstrap includes predefined classes for creating fast, responsive layouts. With six breakpoints and a dozen columns at each grid tier, we have dozens of classes already built for you to create your desired layouts. This can be disabled via Sass if you wish.

Alignment

Use flexbox alignment utilities to align columns vertically and horizontally.

Vertical alignment

Flexbox utilities for vertical alignment.

One of three columns
One of three columns
One of three columns
One of three columns
One of three columns
One of three columns
One of three columns
One of three columns
One of three columns
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            <div class="d-flex align-items-start bg-light mb-3" style="height: 100px;">
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
            </div>
            <div class="d-flex align-items-center bg-light mb-3" style="height: 100px;">
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
            </div>
            <div class="d-flex align-items-end bg-light mb-3" style="height: 100px;">
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
              <div class="col">One of three columns</div>
            </div>
One of three columns
One of three columns
One of three columns
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            <div class="row">
              <div class="col align-self-start">
                One of three columns
              </div>
              <div class="col align-self-center">
                One of three columns
              </div>
              <div class="col align-self-end">
                One of three columns
              </div>
            </div>

Horizontal alignment

Flexbox utilities for horizontal alignment.

One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
One of two columns
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            <div class="row justify-content-start">
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
            </div>
            <div class="row justify-content-center">
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
            </div>
            <div class="row justify-content-end">
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
            </div>
            <div class="row justify-content-around">
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
            </div>
            <div class="row justify-content-between">
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
            </div>
            <div class="row justify-content-evenly">
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
              <div class="col-4">
                One of two columns
              </div>
            </div>

Column wrapping

If more than 12 columns are placed within a single row, each group of extra columns will be wrapped to a new row as a single entity.

.col-9
.col-4
Since 9 + 4 = 13 > 12, this 4-column-wide div gets wrapped onto a new line as one contiguous unit.
.col-6
Subsequent columns continue along the new line.
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            <div class="row">
              <div class="col-9">.col-9</div>
              <div class="col-4">.col-4<br>Since 9 + 4 = 13 &gt; 12, this 4-column-wide div gets wrapped onto a new line as one contiguous unit.</div>
              <div class="col-6">.col-6<br>Subsequent columns continue along the new line.</div>
            </div>

Column breaks

Breaking columns to a new line in flexbox requires a little trick: add an element with width: 100% wherever you want to wrap your columns to a new line.This is usually accomplished with multiple .rows, but not every implementation method can accommodate this.

.col-6 .col-sm-3
.col-6 .col-sm-3
.col-6 .col-sm-3
.col-6 .col-sm-3
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            <div class="row">
              <div class="col-6 col-sm-3">.col-6 .col-sm-3</div>
              <div class="col-6 col-sm-3">.col-6 .col-sm-3</div>

              <!-- Force next columns to break to new line -->
              <div class="w-100"></div>

              <div class="col-6 col-sm-3">.col-6 .col-sm-3</div>
              <div class="col-6 col-sm-3">.col-6 .col-sm-3</div>
            </div>

You can also apply this break at specific breakpoints using our responsive display utilities.

.col-6 .col-sm-3
.col-6 .col-sm-3
.col-6 .col-sm-3
.col-6 .col-sm-3
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            <div class="row">
              <div class="col-6 col-sm-4">.col-6 .col-sm-4</div>
              <div class="col-6 col-sm-4">.col-6 .col-sm-4</div>

              <!-- Force next columns to break to new line at md breakpoint and up -->
              <div class="w-100 d-none d-md-block"></div>

              <div class="col-6 col-sm-4">.col-6 .col-sm-4</div>
              <div class="col-6 col-sm-4">.col-6 .col-sm-4</div>
            </div>

Reordering

Order classes

Use .order- classes to control the visual order of your content. These classes are responsive, so you can set the order by breakpoint (e.g., .order-1.order-md-2). Includes support for 1 through 5 across all six grid tiers.

First in DOM, no order applied
Second in DOM, with a larger order
Third in DOM, with an order of 1
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            <div class="row">
              <div class="col">
                First in DOM, no order applied
              </div>
              <div class="col order-5">
                Second in DOM, with a larger order
              </div>
              <div class="col order-1">
                Third in DOM, with an order of 1
              </div>
            </div>

There are also responsive .order-first and .order-last classes that change the order of an element by applying order: -1 and order: 6, respectively. These classes can also be intermixed with the numbered .order-* classes as needed.

First in DOM, ordered last
Second in DOM, unordered
Third in DOM, ordered first
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            <div class="row">
              <div class="col order-last">
                First in DOM, ordered last
              </div>
              <div class="col">
                Second in DOM, unordered
              </div>
              <div class="col order-first">
                Third in DOM, ordered first
              </div>
            </div>

Offsetting columns

Grid columns can be offset in two ways: using responsive .offset-grid classes and margin utilities. Grid classes are sized to fit columns while margins are more useful for quick layouts where the offset width is variable.

Offset classes

Move columns to the right using .offset-md-*classes. These classes increase the left margin of a column by *columns. For example, .offset-md-4moves .col-md-4over four columns.

.col-md-4
.col-md-4 .offset-md-4
.col-md-3 .offset-md-3
.col-md-3 .offset-md-3
.col-md-6 .offset-md-3
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                <div class="row">
                  <div class="col-md-4">.col-md-4</div>
                  <div class="col-md-4 offset-md-4">.col-md-4 .offset-md-4</div>
                </div>
                <div class="row">
                  <div class="col-md-3 offset-md-3">.col-md-3 .offset-md-3</div>
                  <div class="col-md-3 offset-md-3">.col-md-3 .offset-md-3</div>
                </div>
                <div class="row">
                  <div class="col-md-6 offset-md-3">.col-md-6 .offset-md-3</div>
                </div>

In addition to cleaning the columns at the responsive breakpoints, you may need to reset offsets. See this in action in the grid example.

.col-sm-5 .col-md-6
.col-sm-5 .offset-sm-2 .col-md-6 .offset-md-0
.col-sm-6 .col-md-5 .col-lg-6
.col-sm-6 .col-md-5 .offset-md-2 .col-lg-6 .offset-lg-0
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                <div class="row">
                  <div class="col-sm-5 col-md-6">.col-sm-5 .col-md-6</div>
                  <div class="col-sm-5 offset-sm-2 col-md-6 offset-md-0">.col-sm-5 .offset-sm-2 .col-md-6 .offset-md-0</div>
                </div>
                <div class="row">
                  <div class="col-sm-6 col-md-5 col-lg-6">.col-sm-6 .col-md-5 .col-lg-6</div>
                  <div class="col-sm-6 col-md-5 offset-md-2 col-lg-6 offset-lg-0">.col-sm-6 .col-md-5 .offset-md-2 .col-lg-6 .offset-lg-0</div>
                </div>

Margin utilities

With the move to flexbox, you can use margin utilities such as .me-auto to force sibling columns away from each other.

.col-md-4
.col-md-4 .ms-auto
.col-md-3 .ms-md-auto
.col-md-3 .ms-md-auto
.col-auto .me-auto
.col-auto
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                <div class="row">
                  <div class="col-md-4">.col-md-4</div>
                  <div class="col-md-4 ms-auto">.col-md-4 .ms-auto</div>
                </div>
                <div class="row">
                  <div class="col-md-3 ms-md-auto">.col-md-3 .ms-md-auto</div>
                  <div class="col-md-3 ms-md-auto">.col-md-3 .ms-md-auto</div>
                </div>
                <div class="row">
                  <div class="col-auto me-auto">.col-auto .me-auto</div>
                  <div class="col-auto">.col-auto</div>
                </div>

Standalone column classes

The .col-* classes can also be used outside a .row to give an element a specific width. Whenever column classes are used as non direct children of a row, the paddings are omitted.

.col-3: width of 25%
.col-sm-9: width of 75% above sm breakpoint
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          <div class="col-3 p-3 border">
            .col-3: width of 25%
          </div>
          <div class="col-sm-9 p-3 border">
            .col-sm-9: width of 75% above sm breakpoint
          </div>

The classes can be used together with utilities to create responsive floated images. Make sure to wrap the content in a .clearfix wrapper to clear the float if the text is shorter.

Placeholder Responsive floated image

Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris paddenstoel nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Id nullam tellus relem amet commodo telemque olemit. Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Cras justo odio, dapibus ac facilisis in, egestas eget quam.

Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lantaarnpaal quam venenatis vestibulum. Donec sed odio dui. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Nullam quis risus eget urna salsa tequila vel eu leo. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus.

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          <div class="clearfix">
            <img src="..." class="col-md-6 float-md-end mb-3 ms-md-3" alt="...">

            <p>
              Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris paddenstoel nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
            </p>

            <p>
              Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Id nullam tellus relem amet commodo telemque olemit. Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Cras justo odio, dapibus ac facilisis in, egestas eget quam.
            </p>

            <p>
              Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lantaarnpaal quam venenatis vestibulum. Donec sed odio dui. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Nullam quis risus eget urna salsa tequila vel eu leo. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus.
            </p>
          </div>