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Difference Between Div and Span | vs

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: September 25th, 2023

In HTML, the use of tags is a basic process to build a page. Tags are rudimentary HTML elements that are used to denote some meaning to the elements. But tags like

and doesn’t carry specific meaning. The main difference between div and span is that
tag is black line element whereas tag is in-line element.

Here, we will first discuss what is

tag along with the tag thereafter we will discuss the difference between div and span. Let us check the difference between div and span tags based on the various factors in the coming sections.

Difference Between Div and Span PDF

Difference Between Div and Span

Both the general HTML elements span and div serve to group together relevant elements of a web page for various purposes. Although there are a few similarities between the div tag and span tag, there exist a few differences between the div and span tag in HTML. The important differences between the two tags are shown in the table provided below.

Div vs Span
Div Span
This element of the tag is a block level. This element or tag is the in-line element.
These are used to create small divisions. Used in between lines and doesn’t create a separate section or division.
Align attribute is accepted by this tag. Does not accept align attribute.
They are used to highlight a section in the content. They are used to wrap a word or bunch of words and not the whole section.

What is Div?

The

tag is also known as the division element. It is a generic block-level element. These are the elements that start from a new line. They are widely used to divide the content on the page into different blocks. 

A basic example of a

tag is shown below.

class=overflow-table-container>







ofollow noopener noreferrer>GATE Civil Review

What is Span?

A span tag or element is also known as an in-line element. This is used in the small sections of the content on the page. They do not start a new line. They are used on texts, images, etc which will be present in the line.

A basic example of a tag is shown below.

style=font-weight: 400;>Civil engineering includes the planning, construction, designing and maintenance of roads, bridges, dams, canals, and buildings.

Key Differences Between Div and Span

The key differences between div and span tags in HTML are given below.

  • A div is a block-level element, and a span is an inline element.
  • Div tag works best if you affix it to a specific area of a website whereas a span tag is preferable to add CSS to a brief line break on a web page.
  • Div tag accepts the attribute align while span tag rejects the attribute align.
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