CSS border-collapse property

CSS border-collapse property defines whether table borders are shared (as one single border) or collapsed.

When the cells are collapsed, the border-style’s value is "inset", it behaves like "groove", and "outset" behaves like "ridge". When cells are separated, the distance between cells is specified by the border-spacing property.

Initial Value	separate
Applies to	Table and inline-table elements.
Inherited	Yes.
Animatable	No.
Version	CSS2
DOM Syntax	object.style.borderCollapse = "collapse";

Syntax

border-collapse: separate | collapse | initial | inherit;

Example of the border-collapse property:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>The title of the document</title>
    <style>
      table {
        border-collapse: collapse;
      }
      table,
      th,
      td {
        border: 1px solid #cccccc;
      }
      thead {
        background-color: #1c87c9;
        color: #ffffff;
      }
      th {
        height: 50px;
        text-align: center;
      }
      td {
        padding: 3px 10px;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Border-collapse property example</h2>
    <p>Here the "collapse" value is set for the border-collapse property.</p>
    <table>
      <thead>
        <tr>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Result

In example below you can see that when you use "border-collapse: separate", the border-collapse property can set the space between the cells and when you use "border-collapse: collapse", the border-collapse property has no effect.

Example of the border-collapse property with the "separate" and "collapse" values:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>The title of the document</title>
    <style>
      table,
      td,
      th {
        border: 1px solid #ccc;
      }
      thead {
        background-color: #1c87c9;
        color: #ffffff;
      }
      th {
        height: 30px;
        text-align: center;
      }
      td {
        padding: 3px 10px;
      }
      #table1 {
        border-collapse: separate;
        border-spacing: 10px;
      }
      #table2 {
        border-collapse: collapse;
        border-spacing: 10px;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Border-collapse property example</h1>
    <h2>border-collapse: separate;</h2>
    <p>When using the "border-collapse: separate", the border-spacing property can be used to define the space between the cells.</p>
    <table id="table1">
      <thead>
        <tr>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>
    <h2>border-collapse: collapse;</h2>
    <p>When using the "border-collapse: collapse", the border-spacing property has no effect.</p>
    <table id="table2">
      <thead>
        <tr>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
          <th>Heading</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
          <td>Some text</td>
        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Values

Value	Description	Play it
separate	Each cell has its own borders, so it’s separated. This is the default value of this property.	Play it »
collapse	Cells share their borders.	Play it »
initial	Sets the property to its default value.	Play it »
inherit	Inherits the property from its parent element.