How to Format Text on YouTube: Bold, Italic and Strikethrough (2026)

Quick answer: YouTube has built-in text formatting. In video descriptions, comments, and community posts, wrap your text in single *asterisks* for bold, _underscores_ for italic, and -hyphens- for strikethrough. Type it exactly like that and YouTube styles it after you post. Video titles and channel names do not support this markup, so for those you paste Unicode styled text from a font generator instead.

Jump to: Native syntax · Where it works · Step by step · Titles and channel names · Accessibility catch · Description best practices · Comments · Mistakes · SEO · FAQ

Create content, post everywhere

Create captions, images, and videos with AI. Schedule to 9 platforms in seconds.

Start your free trial

Older guides tell you YouTube has no formatting and that your only option is copy-pasting fancy Unicode letters. That advice is out of date. YouTube added lightweight text markup to comments first, then rolled it out to video descriptions in 2022, and it is standard today. This guide covers the real native syntax, exactly where it works, and when the Unicode workaround is still worth using.

The Native YouTube Formatting Syntax

YouTube uses simple wrapper characters, similar to how messaging apps handle formatting. You do not click a button. You type a character before and after the words you want to style.

A few rules that trip people up:

• No live preview. YouTube does not show the styling while you type. It only renders after you publish the description, comment, or post. Do not assume it failed because the editor still shows asterisks.
• Keep punctuation outside the markers. Write _Thanks_! rather than _Thanks!_. If the closing marker sits directly against a punctuation mark, YouTube may not apply the style.
• No spaces next to the markers. *bold* works; * bold * does not.
• Strikethrough skips plain numbers. Because a hyphen also reads as a minus sign, -50- will not strike through. Add a letter or wrap a phrase, for example -was $50-.
• A channel owner can disable comment formatting. If your styled comment shows raw asterisks on someone else's video, they have turned the feature off.

Where Native Formatting Works

The *asterisk*, _underscore_, and -hyphen- markup works in some YouTube fields and not others. This is the part most guides get wrong.

If you type *My Best Video* into a title field, YouTube shows the asterisks literally. That is the one place the old Unicode trick still earns its keep, covered below.

To format a full description quickly with correct markup, our YouTube Description Formatter keeps your timestamps and chapters intact while you style headers and key lines.

How to Bold, Italicize, and Strike Through Text

The process is the same everywhere native markup is supported.

Step 1: Open the description, comment box, or community post editor.

Step 2: Type your text and wrap the part you want to style.

Bold:          *Check out my new tutorial*
Italic:        _Check out my new tutorial_
Strikethrough: -Old price, read on-
Bold + italic: *_Do not miss this_*

Step 3: Post or save. The styling renders in the published view, not the editor.

Step 4: Open the video or post to confirm it looks right on both desktop and mobile. The same markup renders identically across the web and the YouTube app.

When to Use Each Style

Use bold for:

• Section headers in descriptions (TIMESTAMPS, RESOURCES, ABOUT)
• The single most important line of a comment
• Key takeaways or a clear call to action

Use italic for:

• Book, movie, or product titles
• Quotes and testimonials
• Subtle emphasis on one or two words

Use strikethrough for:

• Price drops (-was $99- now $49)
• Playful corrections or before and after edits
• Marking outdated info without deleting it

Avoid formatting:

• Entire paragraphs (hard to read)
• Hashtags (formatting can stop them working)
• URLs (styling can break the link)

Formatting Titles and Channel Names With Unicode

Because native markup does not reach titles, channel names, or playlist titles, the only way to get styled text there is Unicode. These are real characters from the mathematical alphanumeric range that happen to look bold or italic, so you copy the finished characters and paste them in.

Step 1: Open a Unicode text generator such as our Text Formatting Generator.

Step 2: Type your text and pick a style (bold, italic, monospace, and so on).

Step 3: Copy the styled output.

Step 4: Paste it into the title or channel field.

Regular:   Check out my new tutorial!
Bold:      𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹!
Italic:    𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭!
Monospace: 𝙲𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚞𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕!

The same Unicode characters work across platforms, so you can reuse them on other profiles. Try our Snapchat Font Generator for platform-specific styling.

The Accessibility Catch With Unicode Fonts

Unicode "fancy fonts" have a real cost that native markup does not, so use them sparingly and never for whole titles.

• Screen readers struggle with them. A bold Unicode "B" is not the letter B to assistive tech. Many screen readers skip these characters entirely or read them out one confusing symbol at a time, so a visually impaired viewer may hear nothing useful.
• Search and autofill ignore them. These characters are not indexed the way normal letters are. A title made of Unicode pseudo-bold can hurt how your video is found and how it autocompletes.
• Some devices show blank boxes. On older systems, unsupported glyphs render as empty rectangles.

The takeaway: use native *markup* wherever it is supported, and reserve Unicode for a light touch, a single styled word in a title at most, never an entire field.

YouTube Description Formatting Best Practices

A well-structured description keeps viewers reading and makes timestamps and links easy to scan. Use native bold for the headers.

Here is what the markup looks like in a real description before YouTube renders it:

Are you making these 3 YouTube mistakes? This video shows the
*exact fixes* that took me from 100 to 100K subscribers.

You will learn:
- How to optimize titles for clicks _and_ search
- The thumbnail psychology that still works in 2026
- Why your first 30 seconds decide retention

*TIMESTAMPS*
0:00 - Introduction
2:15 - Title optimization
5:30 - Thumbnail strategy
8:45 - The hook
12:00 - Bonus tips

*RESOURCES*
Free title generator: https://example.com
My camera gear: https://example.com

#YouTubeGrowth #VideoMarketing #ContentCreator

Chapters need at least three timestamps, the first starting at 0:00, each at least 10 seconds long, to activate YouTube's chapter markers. Bold headers do not affect chapters either way, so you can safely style the section title.

Formatting YouTube Comments

Comments support the same markup, and a little styling helps a comment stand out in a busy thread.

*This changed how I plan every video.* Thank you for
breaking it down so clearly.

I had been doing this _completely wrong_ for years. Game changer.

Keep it to one styled phrase per comment. A wall of bold reads as shouting, and reviewers often report it as spam. Remember the owner can disable comment formatting, in which case your markers show as plain characters.

Common Formatting Mistakes to Avoid

Does Text Formatting Affect YouTube SEO?

Short answer: not directly, but it supports the signals that do matter.

YouTube's ranking system cares about watch time, retention, click-through rate, and engagement, not whether your description has bold headers. What formatting does is make descriptions and comments easier to scan, which can lift the engagement those systems measure:

• Readable descriptions get read further, and clear timestamps encourage viewers to jump in and keep watching.
• Scannable comments earn more replies and likes.
• Clean structure helps on mobile, where most YouTube viewing happens.

One caution that ties back to accessibility: do not chase SEO with Unicode fancy fonts in titles. Search does not index those glyphs well, so you can lose visibility rather than gain it. Native bold in the description is the safe choice. If you are also tightening up the rest of your channel, see our guide on the best times to post on YouTube.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tools and Resources

Format your YouTube content faster:

Formatting tools:

• YouTube Description Formatter - Bold and italic descriptions with timestamp and chapter support
• Text Formatting Generator - Unicode bold, italic, strikethrough, and monospace for titles
• Snapchat Font Generator - Styled fonts you can reuse across platforms

Related guides:

• What Is a YouTube Channel? - The basics of setting up and running a channel
• YouTube Upload Limits - File size, length, and daily caps explained
• Best Times to Post on YouTube - Timing to maximize views

Wrapping Up

You do not need a third-party tool to format YouTube text anymore. In descriptions, comments, and community posts, *asterisks* make text bold, _underscores_ make it italic, and -hyphens- strike it through. Save the Unicode font trick for the few places native markup cannot reach, such as titles, and keep it light so you do not break accessibility or search. Style your next description's headers and timestamps, check how it looks on mobile, and move on.