Design · 5 min read
Flexbox vs CSS Grid: Which Should You Use?
Flexbox and Grid are both modern CSS layout systems, and the question of which to use comes up constantly. The short answer: Flexbox is one-dimensional, Grid is two-dimensional — and most real pages use both.
This guide explains the distinction in practical terms so you can pick the right one without guessing.
Try it yourself with the related tool.
Try the layout playground →Advertisement
One dimension vs two
Flexbox lays items out along a single axis — a row or a column. You control how they are distributed along that line and aligned across it. Grid works in two dimensions at once: you define rows and columns, and place items into that structure.
So the real question is: are you arranging things along one line, or into a grid of rows and columns?
When Flexbox is right
Reach for Flexbox for navigation bars, button groups, toolbars, a row of tags, centring one element, or any case where you want items to sit in a line and share the available space. It is content-driven: items size themselves and the layout adapts around them.
When Grid is right
Use Grid for page-level structure — a sidebar plus main content, a card gallery, a dashboard, or any layout where things must line up in both directions. Grid is layout-driven: you define the structure first and place content into it. repeat(auto-fit, minmax(240px, 1fr)) gives you a responsive card grid with no media queries at all.
Use them together
This is not an either/or choice. The common pattern is Grid for the overall page skeleton and Flexbox inside each region — a Grid defines the card gallery, and each card uses Flexbox to stack its title, text, and button. Learning where each one is strongest matters far more than picking a favourite.