The guide
Strikethrough Text Generator โ Create Crossed-Out Fonts Online
A strikethrough text generator adds a line through every letter using Unicode combining marks, so the crossed-out look stays when you paste it into apps that have no strikethrough button. Instagram captions, TikTok bios, X posts and YouTube comments all keep it.
Each letter gets an invisible mark right after it. The mark U+0336 draws a horizontal stroke over the letter before it, so "sale" becomes sฬถaฬถlฬถeฬถ: four letters and four marks, eight characters in total.
Which line style should you pick?
| Style | Looks like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | sฬถaฬถlฬถeฬถ | Old prices, edits, jokes |
| Slash | sฬธaฬธlฬธeฬธ | A stronger "no" or "cancelled" |
| Tilde | sฬดaฬดlฬดeฬด | A playful, wobbly cross-out |
| Cross-eyed | sฬทฬธaฬทฬธlฬทฬธeฬทฬธ | Glitchy aesthetic names and bios |
Built-in options
Which apps already have strikethrough built in?
Several chat apps do, and their built-in version is better there. It's lighter on characters, and screen readers handle it properly.
- Discord and Reddit: wrap the words in two tildes, like ~~text~~.
- WhatsApp and Slack: use one tilde each side, like ~text~.
- Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook posts and YouTube: no strikethrough option, so the Unicode version is the only way.
Copywriting
The Visual Value of Strikethrough Typography in E-commerce and Social Media Copywriting
A crossed-out price makes the new one feel like a saving before anyone does the maths. "$ฬถ4ฬถ9ฬถ โ $29" reads faster than "now $20 off", which is why shop pages and sale posts use it so often.
On social media it works for a different reason: it shows a change of mind. A caption like "I'm nฬถoฬถtฬถ obsessed with this coffee" tells the joke in one glance, and the struck word is the punchline.
Instagram sale post
Summer tee $ฬถ4ฬถ9ฬถ โ ๐ก๐ผ๐ $๐ฎ๐ต
Use the Was / Now card: first line struck, second line bold.
Bio update
Dฬถeฬถsฬถiฬถgฬถnฬถeฬถrฬถ Founder ยท Lahore
Strike the old role, keep the new one plain so it's searchable.
One rule for shops: only cross out a price you actually charged. In the EU, a "was" price must be the lowest price you charged in the previous 30 days, and many other countries have similar rules on fake discounts.
On your own website, use the HTML <del> tag rather than Unicode. It looks cleaner, and search engines and screen readers read the price correctly.
Problems
What goes wrong with crossed-out text?
- Gaps between words. Spaces aren't struck by default, so the line breaks at every space. Pick Unbroken Strike for one continuous line.
- Double length. Every struck letter is two characters, so a 150-character Instagram bio fits about 75 struck letters.
- Search. sฬถaฬถlฬถeฬถ doesn't match a search for "sale". Never strike a word you want people to find.
- Marketplace titles. Amazon, eBay and Etsy limit special characters in listing titles, so check their rules before using struck text there.
Want messier, glitchy lines?
The Zalgo tool stacks marks above and below each letter, with a strength slider.