How to Vertically Center a Container in Bootstrap

How to vertically center a container in Bootstrap?

The Flexible box way

Vertical alignment is now very simple by the use of Flexible box layout. Nowadays, this method is supported in a wide range of web browsers except Internet Explorer 8 & 9. Therefore we'd need to use some hacks/polyfills or different approaches for IE8/9.

In the following I'll show you how to do that in only 3 lines of text (regardless of old flexbox syntax).

Note: it's better to use an additional class instead of altering .jumbotron to achieve the vertical alignment. I'd use vertical-center class name for instance.

Example Here (A Mirror on jsbin).

<div class="jumbotron vertical-center"> <!-- 
                      ^--- Added class  -->
  <div class="container">
    ...
  </div>
</div>

.vertical-center {
  min-height: 100%;  /* Fallback for browsers do NOT support vh unit */
  min-height: 100vh; /* These two lines are counted as one :-)       */

  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
}

Important notes (Considered in the demo):

1. A percentage values of height or min-height properties is relative to the height of the parent element, therefore you should specify the height of the parent explicitly.

2. Vendor prefixed / old flexbox syntax omitted in the posted snippet due to brevity, but exist in the online example.

3. In some of old web browsers such as Firefox 9 ^{(in which I've tested)}, the flex container - .vertical-center in this case - won't take the available space inside the parent, therefore we need to specify the width property like: width: 100%.

4. Also in some of web browsers as mentioned above, the flex item - .container in this case - may not appear at the center horizontally. It seems the applied left/right margin of auto doesn't have any effect on the flex item.
   
   Therefore we need to align it by box-pack / justify-content.

For further details and/or vertical alignment of columns, you could refer to the topic below:

• vertical-align with Bootstrap 3

The traditional way for legacy web browsers

This is the old answer I wrote at the time I answered this question. This method has been discussed here and it's supposed to work in Internet Explorer 8 and 9 as well. I'll explain it in short:

In inline flow, an inline level element can be aligned vertically to the middle by vertical-align: middle declaration. Spec from W3C:

middle

Align the vertical midpoint of the box with the baseline of the parent box plus half the x-height of the parent.

In cases that the parent - .vertical-center element in this case - has an explicit height, by any chance if we could have a child element having the exact same height of the parent, we would be able to move the baseline of the parent to the midpoint of the full-height child and surprisingly make our desired in-flow child - the .container - aligned to the center vertically.

Getting all together

That being said, we could create a full-height element within the .vertical-center by ::before or ::after pseudo elements and also change the default display type of it and the other child, the .container to inline-block.

Then use vertical-align: middle; to align the inline elements vertically.

Here you go:

<div class="jumbotron vertical-center">
  <div class="container">
    ...
  </div>
</div>

.vertical-center {
  height:100%;
  width:100%;

  text-align: center;  /* align the inline(-block) elements horizontally */
  font: 0/0 a;         /* remove the gap between inline(-block) elements */
}

.vertical-center:before {    /* create a full-height inline block pseudo=element */
  content: " ";
  display: inline-block;
  vertical-align: middle;    /* vertical alignment of the inline element */
  height: 100%;
}

.vertical-center > .container {
  max-width: 100%;

  display: inline-block;
  vertical-align: middle;  /* vertical alignment of the inline element */
                           /* reset the font property */
  font: 16px/1 "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
}

WORKING DEMO.

Also, to prevent unexpected issues in extra small screens, you can reset the height of the pseudo-element to auto or 0 or change its display type to none if needed so:

@media (max-width: 768px) {
  .vertical-center:before {
    height: auto;
    /* Or */
    display: none;
  }
}

UPDATED DEMO

And one more thing:

If there are footer/header sections around the container, it's better to position that elements properly (relative, absolute? up to you.) and add a higher z-index value (for assurance) to keep them always on the top of the others.

Vertical Align Center in Bootstrap 4

Important! Vertical center is relative to the height of the parent

If the parent of the element you're trying to center has no defined
height, none of the vertical centering solutions will work!

Now, onto vertical centering...

Bootstrap 5 (Updated 2021)

Bootstrap 5 is still flexbox based so vertical centering works the same way as Bootstrap 4. For example, align-items-center, justify-content-center or auto margins can used on the flexbox parent (row or d-flex).

• use align-items-center on a flexbox row parent (row or d-flex)
• use justify-content-center on a flexbox column parent (d-flex flex-column)
• use my-auto on a flexbox parent

Vertical Center in Bootstrap 5

Bootstrap 4

You can use the new flexbox & size utilities to make the container full-height and display: flex. These options don't require extra CSS (except that the height of the container (ie:html,body) must be 100%).

Option 1 align-self-center on flexbox child

<div class="container d-flex h-100">
    <div class="row justify-content-center align-self-center">
     I'm vertically centered
    </div>
</div>

https://codeply.com/go/fFqaDe5Oey

Option 2 align-items-center on flexbox parent (.row is display:flex; flex-direction:row)

<div class="container h-100">
    <div class="row align-items-center h-100">
        <div class="col-6 mx-auto">
            <div class="jumbotron">
                I'm vertically centered
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

https://codeply.com/go/BumdFnmLuk

Option 3 justify-content-center on flexbox parent (.card is display:flex;flex-direction:column)

<div class="container h-100">
    <div class="row align-items-center h-100">
        <div class="col-6 mx-auto">
            <div class="card h-100 border-primary justify-content-center">
                <div>
                    ...card content...
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

https://codeply.com/go/3gySSEe7nd

More on Bootstrap 4 Vertical Centering

Now that Bootstrap 4 offers flexbox and other utilities, there are many approaches to vertical
alignment. http://www.codeply.com/go/WG15ZWC4lf

1 - Vertical Center Using Auto Margins:

Another way to vertically center is to use my-auto. This will center the element within it's container. For example, h-100 makes the row full height, and my-auto will vertically center the col-sm-12 column.

<div class="row h-100">
    <div class="col-sm-12 my-auto">
        <div class="card card-block w-25">Card</div>
    </div>
</div>

Vertical Center Using Auto Margins Demo

my-auto represents margins on the vertical y-axis and is equivalent to:

margin-top: auto;
margin-bottom: auto;

2 - Vertical Center with Flexbox:

Since Bootstrap 4 .row is now display:flex you can simply use align-self-center on any column to vertically center it...

       <div class="row">
           <div class="col-6 align-self-center">
                <div class="card card-block">
                 Center
                </div>
           </div>
           <div class="col-6">
                <div class="card card-inverse card-danger">
                    Taller
                </div>
          </div>
    </div>

or, use align-items-center on the entire .row to vertically center align all col-* in the row...

       <div class="row align-items-center">
           <div class="col-6">
                <div class="card card-block">
                 Center
                </div>
           </div>
           <div class="col-6">
                <div class="card card-inverse card-danger">
                    Taller
                </div>
          </div>
    </div>

Vertical Center Different Height Columns Demo

See this Q/A to center, but maintain equal height

3 - Vertical Center Using Display Utils:

Bootstrap 4 has display utils that can be used for display:table, display:table-cell, display:inline, etc.. These can be used with the vertical alignment utils to align inline, inline-block or table cell elements.

<div class="row h-50">
    <div class="col-sm-12 h-100 d-table">
        <div class="card card-block d-table-cell align-middle">
            I am centered vertically
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

Vertical Center Using Display Utils Demo

More examples

Vertical center image in <div>

Vertical center .row in .container

Vertical center and bottom in <div>

Vertical center child inside parent

Vertical center full screen jumbotron

Important! Did I mention height?

Remember vertical centering is relative to the height of the parent element. If you want to center on the entire page, in most cases, this should be your CSS...

body,html {
  height: 100%;
}

Or use min-height: 100vh (min-vh-100 in Bootstrap 4.1+) on the parent/container. If you want to center a child element inside the parent. The parent must have a defined height.

Also see:

Vertical alignment in bootstrap 4

Bootstrap Center Vertical and Horizontal Alignment

How to center div vertically in Bootstrap 4?

If you want to vertically center those elements set the height and width of html and body to 100%. Setting width & height to 100% makes an element take on the height of it's parent.

Next, set all the child elements accordingly. In bootstrap width: 100% is w-100 and height:100% is h-100. Also, bootstrap uses a 12 column layout so change your class from col-md-4 to col-md-6

Note: you could add w-100 and h-100 to html and body in your code for the same effect.

<style>
    html,body{
      width:100%;
      margin:0;
        height:100%;
    }
</style>

<div class="container w-100 h-100">
    <div class="row align-items-center h-100">
      <div class="col-md-6">
        <h1 class="alert alert-primary">Vertical</h1>
      </div>
      <div class="col-md-6">
        <h1 class="alert alert-success">Vertical</h1>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>

Bootstrap Center Vertical and Horizontal Alignment

Bootstrap 5 (Updated 2021)

Bootstrap 5 is still flexbox based so vertical centering works the same way as it did in Bootstrap 4. For example, align-items-center (flex-direction: row) and justify-content-center (flex-direction: column) can used on the flexbox parent (row or d-flex).

Centering examples in Bootstrap 5

Vertical center (don't forget the parent must have a defined height!):

• my-auto for centering inside flex (.d-flex) elements
• my-auto can be used to center columns (.col-) inside row
• align-items-center to center columns (col-*) inside row

Horizontal center:

• text-center to center display:inline elements & column content
• mx-auto for centering inside flex elements
• mx-auto can be used to center columns (.col-) inside row
• justify-content-center to center columns (col-*) inside row

Bootstrap 4.3+ (Update 2019)

There's no need for extra CSS. What's already included in Bootstrap will work. Make sure the container(s) of the form are full height. Bootstrap 4 now has a h-100 class for 100% height...

Vertical center:

<div class="container h-100">
  <div class="row h-100 justify-content-center align-items-center">
    <form class="col-12">
      <div class="form-group">
        <label for="formGroupExampleInput">Example label</label>
        <input type="text" class="form-control" id="formGroupExampleInput" placeholder="Example input">
      </div>
      <div class="form-group">
        <label for="formGroupExampleInput2">Another label</label>
        <input type="text" class="form-control" id="formGroupExampleInput2" placeholder="Another input">
      </div>
    </form>   
  </div>
</div>

https://codeply.com/go/raCutAGHre

the height of the container with the item(s) to center should be 100%
(or whatever the desired height is relative to the centered item)

Note: When using height:100% (percentage height) on any element, the element takes in the height of it's container. In modern browsers vh units height:100vh; can be used instead of % to get the desired height.

Therefore, you can set html, body {height: 100%}, or use the new min-vh-100 class on container instead of h-100.

Horizontal center:

• text-center to center display:inline elements & column content
• mx-auto for centering inside flex elements
• offset-* or mx-auto can be used to center columns (.col-)
• justify-content-center to center columns (col-*) inside row

Vertical Align Center in Bootstrap

Bootstrap 4 full-screen centered form

Bootstrap 4 center input group

Bootstrap 4 horizontal + vertical center full screen

How to center vertically content in bootstrap 4

You can try this with .align-items-center.

<head>
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.0.0-beta2/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" integrity="sha384-BmbxuPwQa2lc/FVzBcNJ7UAyJxM6wuqIj61tLrc4wSX0szH/Ev+nYRRuWlolflfl" crossorigin="anonymous">
</head>
<div class="container">
    <div class="content">
        <div class="row align-items-center">
            <div class="col-6">
                <h1 class="about-title">Wil je in contact komen met betrouwbare verhuisbedrijven?</h1>
                <p class="about-para">Ontdek binnen een paar minuten welke verhuisbedrijven passen bij jouw verhuizing.
                </p>
            </div>
            <div class="col-5 align-middle">
                <div class="input-group">
                    <div class="form-outline">
                        <input id="search-focus" placeholder="Je postcode" type="search" class="form-control">
                    </div>
                    <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary">
                                Ontvang offertes
                            </button>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <!-- Bootstrap core CSS -->
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.1.3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" integrity="sha384-1BmE4kWBq78iYhFldvKuhfTAU6auU8tT94WrHftjDbrCEXSU1oBoqyl2QvZ6jIW3" crossorigin="anonymous">
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="d-flex flex-column min-vh-100 min-vw-100">
      <div>This div is not centered.</div>
      <div class="d-flex flex-grow-1 justify-content-center align-items-center">
        <div>This div is centered.</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

<html lang="en">
    <head>
        <!-- Required meta tags -->
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">

        <!-- Bootstrap CSS -->
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-ggOyR0iXCbMQv3Xipma34MD+dH/1fQ784/j6cY/iJTQUOhcWr7x9JvoRxT2MZw1T" crossorigin="anonymous">

        <title>Mapa Gravida</title>
        <style>
            html, body {
                height: 100%;
            }
               
        </style>
    </head>
    <body>
        <div class="d-flex container-fluid h-100 align-items-center justify-content-center">
           <div >
            <div class="row  align-items-center"> 
            <p>O seu email foi enviado com sucesso, deseja criar outro mapa?</p>
            </div>
            <div class="row justify-content-center align-items-center"> 
                <button type="button" class="btn btn-dark mr-3" onclick="redirectToCardioMap()">Mapa Cardio</button>
                <button type="button" class="btn btn-dark" onclick="redirectToPregnantMap()">Mapa Gravida</button>
            </div>
           </div>
        </div>
</body>
</html>