CSS Grid vs Flexbox: When to Use Which

Both CSS Grid and Flexbox are powerful layout systems. The question is not which is better but which fits your specific layout problem.

Flexbox: One-Dimensional Layouts

Flexbox excels at distributing space along a single axis. Use it for navigation bars, card rows, centering content, and aligning items within a container. It handles wrapping gracefully and is perfect when items have varying sizes.

Grid: Two-Dimensional Layouts

CSS Grid shines when you need control over both rows and columns simultaneously. Page layouts, image galleries, dashboard panels, and form layouts are all Grid territory. The grid-template-areas property makes complex layouts readable.

The Decision Framework

Ask yourself: am I laying out items in a line or on a grid? If items flow in one direction and you just need spacing and alignment, use Flexbox. If you are placing items in a specific row-and-column structure, use Grid.

They Work Together

The best layouts combine both. Use Grid for the overall page structure and Flexbox for component-level alignment inside each grid cell. A dashboard might use Grid for the panel layout and Flexbox inside each panel to align its header, content, and footer.

Performance Considerations

Both are hardware-accelerated in modern browsers. Performance differences are negligible for typical layouts. Choose based on readability and maintainability, not speed. The layout your team can understand and modify is the right one.