How it works
- Type the words you want in bold. Short is better: a hook, a heading or one key number.
- Compare the bold styles and their counts on X.
- Copy the one you like and paste it into your post next to your plain text.
Which bold style to choose
- Bold (sans-serif) is the cleanest, and usually the easiest to read on a small screen.
- Bold (serif) has small strokes at the ends of the letters, closer to a printed book.
- Bold italic slants the letters as well, in a sans-serif and a serif version.
- Bold script and bold fraktur are decorative. They suit a name or a one-word heading more than a sentence.
Bold numbers
Only bold (sans-serif) and bold (serif) have bold digits. In bold italic (sans-serif), bold italic (serif), bold script and bold fraktur, numbers stay normal, so a price or a date will not match the bold letters around it.
Use bold for a hook, not a whole post
Bold works as a signpost: the first line of a post, a short heading or the one number that matters. A whole post in bold is harder to read and loses the contrast that made it stand out. To show a correction rather than emphasis, cross the old words out instead.
Every bold letter is a separate symbol, so screen readers may read it letter by letter. Keep names, links, hashtags and contact details in plain text.
Bold words inside a longer post
To bold a few words inside a draft, the LinkedIn text formatter lets you select them and press Bold, and it shows the 3,000 character limit and a feed preview. The Instagram text formatter does the same for captions and bios.
More text styles
Frequently asked questions
How do I make text bold where there is no bold button?
Type your text above, copy the bold style you like and paste it in. The letters are Unicode characters that look bold, so they stay bold after pasting.
Is this the same as real bold?
No. Real bold is formatting applied to normal letters, while these are different characters. Search, spell check and screen readers may treat them differently from normal words.
Which bold styles have bold numbers?
Only bold (sans-serif) and bold (serif). Bold italic (sans-serif), bold italic (serif), bold script and bold fraktur keep normal digits.
Can I bold just one word in a sentence?
Yes. Convert only that word here and paste it into your sentence, or use the LinkedIn text formatter, which bolds the words you select.
Why does bold text count double on X?
X counts most bold letters as 2 characters each, because they sit outside its basic character ranges. Check the count on X under each style before you post.