Compare all style guides
One title. Nine style guides. See exactly how APA, Chicago, AP, MLA, and more would capitalize your title — all at once.
How style guides differ
APA treats every word of four letters or more as a major word, so "Between", "Through", "Without" and "With" are capitalized. Only articles and prepositions or conjunctions of three letters or fewer stay lowercase.
Chicago lowercases only short prepositions (≤4 letters like "at", "by", "for", "in", "of", "on", "to"). Longer prepositions like "About", "Above", and "Between" are capitalized.
AP and NY Times capitalize words of 4 or more letters — a simple, consistent rule that is easy to apply across deadline-driven journalism.
MLA lowercases prepositions of any length — the one style here that does. Where APA gives "Writing About the World", MLA gives "Writing about the World".
Bluebook follows a conservative approach similar to Chicago — it is used for legal citations and law review articles.
AMA capitalizes every word without exception — articles, prepositions, and conjunctions all get an uppercase first letter. Used in medicine and health sciences.
Wikipedia and Email both use sentence case — only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. All other words stay lowercase.
Why Comparing Styles Matters
Many writers work across multiple publication formats. A researcher might write journal articles following APA title capitalization rules, contribute to a book under Chicago guidelines, and maintain a blog where AP or sentence case is more appropriate. Rather than memorizing each set of rules separately, the comparison view lets you enter one title and immediately see every outcome.
The differences between styles are often subtle but visible. "How to Write About the World" comes out the same in Chicago, APA, and AP — "About" is five letters, so every one of those styles capitalizes it — but MLA gives "How to Write about the World", because MLA is the only style here that lowercases prepositions of any length. AMA produces "How To Write About The World." Seeing these side by side makes the differences concrete.
Compare Specific Style Pairs
For a deeper look at two specific styles:
- APA vs Chicago title capitalization — the two most common academic styles compared rule by rule.
- APA vs MLA title capitalization — two styles that look similar but handle prepositions differently.
- Chicago vs MLA title capitalization — the key distinction is how each handles prepositions by length.
- APA vs AP title capitalization — academic style vs journalistic style compared directly.
To use a specific style with full word-level explanations, visit the title capitalizer and select your preferred style guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about comparing title capitalization styles.
Comparing title capitalization styles means seeing the same title formatted according to multiple style guide rules at the same time. Because APA, Chicago, AP, MLA, and other guides have different rules for prepositions, conjunctions, and articles, the same title can look noticeably different depending on which standard is applied.
Each organization developed its own editorial standards for different audiences. APA capitalizes every word of 4+ letters. Chicago lowercases short prepositions (≤4 letters). AP capitalizes words of 4+ letters, matching APA. MLA lowercases all prepositions regardless of length. AMA capitalizes every word. These differences reflect each guide's purpose and readership.
AP style is the most widely used in digital media, journalism, and content marketing. Chicago is most common in book publishing and academic humanities. APA dominates social science and psychology research. The best choice depends on your publication's field.
It depends on the subject. APA is standard for psychology, education, and social sciences. MLA is used for English literature, language studies, and most humanities courses. Chicago is common in history. Check your instructor's syllabus or style sheet — the requirement is always specified.
AP (Associated Press) style is the standard for newspapers, wire services, digital news, and most journalism. NY Times follows its own house style, which is close to AP. If you are writing for a specific outlet, follow that publication's stated style guide.
Chicago Manual of Style is the standard for most book publishing, including fiction, nonfiction, and academic press. Publishers, editors, and literary agents expect Chicago unless the book is a scholarly work in a field with its own style guide (e.g., APA for a psychology textbook).
Yes. Enter any title in the tool above and the comparison table shows all 9 style results simultaneously — APA, Chicago, AP, MLA, Bluebook, AMA, NY Times, Wikipedia, and Email. Each row has a copy button so you can grab any result instantly.
They agree on long prepositions and split on short ones. Both capitalize "About," "Between," and "Through." The difference sits at the 4-letter mark: Chicago lowercases prepositions of four or fewer letters, so "with," "from," and "into" stay down, while APA capitalizes any word of four letters or more — "Living With Uncertainty" in APA is "Living with Uncertainty" in Chicago.
Despite the confusingly similar names, the two rules land in the same place. AP capitalizes all words of four or more letters, including prepositions like "From," "With," and "Into" — and APA §6.17 counts "all words of four letters or more" as major words, so it capitalizes exactly the same set. In practice, AP and APA title case produce identical output.
MLA lowercases all prepositions regardless of length — the rule that sets it apart from every other style here, APA included. Chicago lowercases only short prepositions (≤4 letters) and capitalizes longer ones like "About" and "Between." Chicago is the closest style to MLA: the two agree on every preposition of four letters or fewer. Both capitalize the first and last word and major principal words.
Because each style guide defines its own thresholds. A word like "from" (4 letters) is lowercase in Chicago (≤4 letters rule) but capitalized in AP (≥4 letters rule). A word like "with" is lowercase in MLA (all prepositions lowercase) but capitalized in APA and AP (four letters or more). Use the comparison table to see exactly which styles differ for your specific title.
Yes. Each style row in the comparison table has a Copy button on the right side. Click it to copy that style's formatted title directly to your clipboard.
Yes. Seeing all styles side by side makes it easy to spot which words change and why. It is especially useful when you work across multiple publication types — academic papers in APA, blog posts in AP, and book proposals in Chicago — since the differences become immediately visible.