CSS border-spacing

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The CSS border-spacing property allows you to specify the amount of space between borders of adjoining cell borders in tables.

By default, an HTML table uses the "separated borders model". This results in a kind of "double border" effect where there's space between the borders of each cell, as well as the edge of the table (if you also have a border on the table element).

You can use the border-spacing property to specify the amount of space between each cell border.

Syntax

Possible Values

length

Specifies the distance that separates adjoining cell borders in separated-borders mode.

If one length is provided, it sets both the horizontal and vertical spacing. If two lengths are provided, the first sets the horizontal spacing and the second the vertical spacing.

In addition, all CSS properties also accept the following CSS-wide keyword values as the sole component of their property value:

initial: Represents the value specified as the property's initial value.
inherit: Represents the computed value of the property on the element's parent.
unset: This value acts as either inherit or initial, depending on whether the property is inherited or not. In other words, it sets all properties to their parent value if they are inheritable or to their initial value if not inheritable.

General Information

Initial Value: 0
Applies To: Table-root boxes (tables or inline-table boxes) when border-collapse is separate.
Inherited?: Yes
Media: Visual
Animatable: Yes (see example)

Example Code

Official Specifications

CSS Table Module Level 3 (W3C Working Draft, 27 July 2023)
CSS Level 2.1 (W3C Recommendation 07 June 2011)

Browser Support

Browser support for CSS properties can vary, particularly for newer or experimental features. Check current browser compatibility before using a property in production, especially when supporting older browsers.

Initial Value

CSS properties have an initial value that applies when the property has not been explicitly set. The initial value is different from the value inherited from a parent element and may vary between properties.

Inheritance

Some CSS properties inherit their computed value from their parent element by default, while others do not. The inherit, initial, unset, and revert keywords can also be used to control how a property gets its value.

Vendor Prefixes

Most modern CSS properties use the standard, unprefixed syntax. Vendor-prefixed properties such as -webkit- are mainly relevant to older browser versions or specific features and should only be used when required by your browser support targets.