Free Title Case Converter - AP, APA, Chicago & MLA (2026)
Convert titles and headings to the correct title capitalization for AP, APA 7th, Chicago, and MLA style guides - instantly in your browser. No account, no tracking, no limits.
AP · APA · Chicago · MLA - accurate per style guide, free & instant.
Paste your title, select your style guide, and the correctly capitalized result appears immediately. Perfect for academics, journalists, editors, and students who need accurate headline capitalization every time.
Style Guide
Associated Press: lowercases articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of 3 letters or fewer.
Last updated: May 17 2026
Reviewed by the QuickTooly Team
3 Simple Steps
How to Use This Title Case Converter
Capitalize titles and headings correctly in seconds - no account or installation required.
- Paste or type your title into the input field above. The converter works with single titles or multiple lines at once.
- Select a style guide - AP, APA 7th, Chicago, or MLA - depending on your publication, journal, or assignment requirements.
- Copy the result with one click and paste it wherever you need it. The output updates instantly as you type.
Need to convert the entire text to a different case style? Try our Case Converter for uppercase, lowercase, sentence case, camelCase, and more.
Title Case Guide
Why Use a Style-Guide Title Case Converter?
- Per-style accuracy: AP, APA, Chicago, and MLA each have different capitalization rules - this tool applies each one correctly.
- Instant results: No button press needed. Your output updates as you type or switch style guide.
- Handles edge cases: Hyphenated words, words after colons, and prepositions of varying lengths are all treated per each style's rules.
- Private & secure: All conversion happens in your browser - no text is ever sent to a server.
- Copy to clipboard: One click to copy the result and paste it wherever you need it.
- 100% free: No sign-up, no limits, no paywalls.
AP vs APA vs Chicago vs MLA Title Case - What's the Difference?
Each major style guide has a distinct set of rules for which words to capitalize in a title. The differences are subtle but matter for academic submissions, journalism, and publishing. Understanding headline capitalization across styles helps you choose the right one for your work.
AP Style Title Case
The Associated Press Stylebook capitalizes all words except articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor), and prepositions of three letters or fewer (at, by, in, of, on, to, up, as, vs). The first and last word are always capitalized. AP is the standard for newspapers and news writing.
APA 7th Edition Title Case
The American Psychological Association capitalizes the first word, the first word after a colon or em dash, and any word of four or more letters. Short articles, prepositions, and conjunctions under four letters are lowercase - but a word like With (four letters) would be capitalized. APA is used in psychology, social science, and education.
Chicago Manual of Style Title Case
Chicago style capitalizes all "major" words: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions. It lowercases all prepositions regardless of length (including long ones like between and throughout), as well as articles and the seven coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet). First and last words are always capitalized. Chicago is widely used in books, humanities, and academic journals.
MLA Style Title Case
The Modern Language Association follows rules similar to Chicago but with a more targeted preposition list. MLA lowercases articles, coordinating conjunctions, and common prepositions such as at, by, for, from, in, into, of, on, onto, to, up, upon, with. It is the standard for literature, language arts, and humanities research papers.
Quick-Reference Comparison
Use this table to pick the right style at a glance and verify which words to capitalize.
| Style | Articles | Conjunctions | Prepositions | First & Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | lowercase | lowercase (coord.) | lowercase if ≤ 3 letters | always capitalized |
| APA 7th | lowercase | lowercase (< 4 letters) | lowercase if < 4 letters | always capitalized |
| Chicago | lowercase | lowercase (all 7) | all lowercase | always capitalized |
| MLA | lowercase | lowercase (coord.) | common ones lowercase | always capitalized |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is title case?
Title case is a capitalization style where the first letter of most words in a title or heading is capitalized. Which words get capitalized depends on the style guide - articles, prepositions, and conjunctions are often left lowercase unless they appear as the first or last word.
Which style guide should I use?
Use AP style for journalism and news writing, APA for psychology and social science papers, Chicago for books and humanities, and MLA for literature and language arts. When in doubt, check the submission guidelines of the journal, publisher, or course you're writing for.
Are prepositions always lowercase in title case?
It depends on the style. AP lowercases only short prepositions (three letters or fewer). APA capitalizes any word of four or more letters, so longer prepositions like Between or Throughout would be capitalized. Chicago and MLA lowercase all prepositions regardless of length - except when they appear as the first or last word of a title.
What happens to words after a colon?
APA 7th edition explicitly requires capitalizing the first word after a colon or em dash in a title. AP and Chicago also generally capitalize the first word after a colon when it introduces a subtitle. This converter applies that rule across all style guides.
How are hyphenated words handled?
Each part of a hyphenated compound is treated as an independent word for capitalization purposes. For example, state-of-the-art becomes State-of-the-Art in AP style because "of" and "the" are lowercase words, while "state" and "art" are not.
Is this title case converter free to use?
Yes - completely free, no registration required, and no limits on usage. All conversion runs locally in your browser, so your text is never sent to any server.
How is title case different from sentence case?
Sentence case capitalizes only the first word of the sentence and proper nouns - everything else stays lowercase. Title case capitalizes most words according to the style guide's specific rules. Sentence case is common in emails and UI labels; title case is used for book titles, article headlines, and academic paper headings.
Should I capitalize verbs like "is", "are", or "was"?
Yes - always. Verbs are major words and are capitalized in every major style guide, regardless of their length. Short verbs like Is, Are, Was, Be, and Do are frequently mistaken for articles or conjunctions, but they are never lowercased in title case.
What about acronyms and abbreviations in titles?
Acronyms and initialisms - such as NASA, SEO, HTML, or AI - retain their standard all-caps form in every style guide. Title case rules apply to regular words only; established abbreviations are left as-is.
Does title case apply to subtitles after a colon?
Yes. The first word of a subtitle following a colon is always capitalized across all major style guides. APA 7th edition is especially explicit about this rule, and it applies equally to em dashes used as subtitle separators.
Common Title Case Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced writers make these title capitalization errors. Here's what to watch for:
- Lowercasing short verbs: Words like is, are, was, and be look small but are always capitalized - they are verbs, not conjunctions.
- Lowercasing adjectives and adverbs: These are always major words and are capitalized in all style guides, regardless of length.
- Capitalizing all prepositions in Chicago/MLA: Long prepositions like between, throughout, and within stay lowercase in Chicago and MLA - only AP and APA have length thresholds.
- Missing the word after a colon: The first word of a subtitle introduced by a colon is always capitalized. Don't leave it lowercase.
- Treating hyphenated compounds as one word: Each element of a hyphenated word follows the style's capitalization rules independently - Well-Known in AP, but well-known in Chicago if both parts are minor words.