How to Add Strikethrough Text on Any Platform

You want to cross out a word for effect in a text message, an Instagram bio, or a chat app that doesn’t support Markdown formatting — the classic “old price new price” joke, or striking through a word to show a correction with the original still visible. Some platforms (Discord, some Markdown-aware editors) support strikethrough natively with ~~text~~ syntax, but plenty of others — plain text messages, most social media bios, comment fields — don’t interpret any formatting syntax at all, so typing tildes just shows literal tildes.

The trick that actually works everywhere is different: rather than relying on the platform to interpret formatting syntax, you use special Unicode characters that visually render as struck-through text as plain characters, which paste and display correctly anywhere plain text is supported.

What Unicode strikethrough text actually is

Unicode includes “combining characters” — special characters designed to overlay on top of the character before them — and one of these, the combining long stroke overlay, renders as a line through whatever letter it’s attached to. A strikethrough text generator inserts one of these combining characters after every letter in your input, producing a string that looks struck-through wherever it’s displayed, because the strikethrough is baked into the actual characters, not dependent on the receiving platform interpreting any formatting syntax.

This is fundamentally different from Markdown-style ~~text~~ formatting, which requires the platform to recognize and render the syntax — Unicode strikethrough works as plain text, so it displays identically whether pasted into a text message, a bio field, or a plain-text email.

Why people get stuck here

• Markdown syntax doesn’t work everywhere. ~~text~~ only renders as strikethrough on platforms that specifically support Markdown, and shows as literal tildes everywhere else.
• Not knowing the Unicode trick exists. Most people don’t know combining characters can produce cross-platform formatting without any special app support.
• Manually inserting combining characters is impractical. Even knowing the technique exists, typing the correct Unicode character after every letter by hand isn’t realistic.
• Confusing strikethrough with underline. Both use a similar combining-character technique but are visually and semantically different — crossing something out vs. underlining it for emphasis.

What a good strikethrough text generator looks like

Works as plain text everywhere

The whole value is universal compatibility — the output should paste and display correctly in any plain-text field, not just Markdown-aware ones.

Both strikethrough and underline options

Since both effects use the same combining-character technique, offering both covers a wider range of what people actually want to do with their text.

Instant conversion, no manual character insertion

Type or paste normal text and get the converted version immediately, without any manual Unicode lookup.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using Markdown ~~text~~ syntax on a platform that doesn’t render it, ending up with visible tildes instead of a strikethrough effect.
• Assuming Unicode strikethrough text is searchable or editable the same way as normal text — because it’s composed of combining characters, some platforms handle search, editing, or character counting differently for it.
• Overusing strikethrough for long passages, which can become harder to read than a shorter, more deliberate use of the effect.
• Confusing strikethrough (crossing out) with underline (emphasizing) when picking which effect to apply.

How to do it with Strikethrough Text Generator

Online Tool Store’s Strikethrough Text Generator converts text into strikethrough or underline using Unicode combining characters, so it pastes as plain text anywhere, entirely in your browser.

1. Open the Strikethrough Text Generator tool.
2. Type or paste the text you want to format.
3. Choose strikethrough or underline.
4. Copy the converted text and paste it anywhere plain text is accepted.

Frequently asked questions

Will this work in a text message or a social media bio?

Yes — because the effect is built from actual Unicode characters rather than formatting syntax a platform needs to interpret, it displays as plain text and renders correctly virtually anywhere.

Is this the same as Markdown’s strikethrough syntax?

No — Markdown syntax requires the receiving platform to recognize and render ~~text~~, and shows as literal tildes elsewhere. Unicode strikethrough text is the actual visual effect baked into the characters themselves, so it works without any platform support.

Does strikethrough text count differently for character limits?

It can — since each character is technically a base letter plus a combining character, some platforms may count it as more characters than the visible text length suggests, which is worth checking if you’re working against a strict limit like a social media bio.

Final thought

For formatting that needs to work regardless of what platform it lands on, Unicode strikethrough beats Markdown syntax every time — it’s the version that doesn’t depend on the receiving app supporting anything special.

Try the free Strikethrough Text Generator tool