Google Fonts is the safest place to get free Arabic fonts: 58 of its 1,959 families include the Arabic subset and all 58 are open source, with Rubik, Cairo, Tajawal, Almarai and IBM Plex Sans Arabic the most used when I checked. 1001 Fonts lists 279 Arabic fonts and FontSpace has an Arabic category too, but there the licence is set font by font, and many are decorative or themed, so test them first.
Searching for Arabic fonts throws up two very different things. Some are fonts that contain the Arabic script, so you can type a real sentence in Arabic. Others are fonts with an Arabic-inspired look, or symbol fonts, sitting in a category called Arabic. If you're designing for Arabic-speaking customers, translating a menu or building a bilingual website, you need the first kind.
Google Fonts: 58 families that include Arabic
Google Fonts publishes its font list as public data, and when I checked on 30 October 2026 it listed 1,959 families. 58 of them include the Arabic subset: 29 sans serif, 15 serif, 13 display and 1 handwriting. Every one of the 58 carries the open source flag, and the most popular ones all sit in the OFL folder of the google/fonts repository, meaning they're under the SIL Open Font License.
| Family | Category in the metadata | Popularity rank among all families | Designers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rubik | Sans Serif | 11 | Hubert and Fischer, Meir Sadan |
| Cairo | Sans Serif | 42 | Mohamed Gaber, Accademia di Belle Arti di Urbino |
| Tajawal | Sans Serif | 57 | Boutros Fonts, Mourad Boutros |
| Almarai | Sans Serif | 82 | Boutros Fonts, Mourad Boutros |
| IBM Plex Sans Arabic | Sans Serif | 86 | Mike Abbink, Bold Monday |
| Lalezar | Sans Serif | 102 | Borna Izadpanah |
| Noto Kufi Arabic | Sans Serif | 104 | |
| Noto Sans Arabic | Sans Serif | 123 | |
| El Messiri | Sans Serif | 166 | Mohamed Gaber, Jovanny Lemonad |
| Amiri | Serif | 167 | Khaled Hosny, Sebastian Kosch |
| Noto Naskh Arabic | Serif | 190 |
Readex Pro, Changa, Vazirmatn and Mada round out the most used Arabic-subset families. Rubik has 14 styles, which makes it a flexible pick if you need many weights.
Picking by style: naskh, kufi or sans
These are the categories in Google's own data, not design rules, but they're a helpful way to narrow the list. For longer reading, look at the naskh-style serif families such as Noto Naskh Arabic and Amiri. For headings, Noto Kufi Arabic gives you the kufi style. For websites, apps and interfaces, the sans serif families lead the list: Cairo, Tajawal, Almarai, IBM Plex Sans Arabic and Noto Sans Arabic. The 13 display families, such as Rakkas, Lemonada and Jomhuria, are for posters and short headlines, and the single handwriting family is Playpen Sans Arabic.
One observation from the data: Vazirmatn and Noto Nastaliq Urdu appear in the Arabic subset list too. Persian and Urdu share the script, so a family built mainly for one of those languages can still show up when you filter for Arabic.
What the open font licence lets you do
The OFL FAQ answers the questions most business owners have. You can use OFL fonts in a book or other print, to create logos and graphics, or even to manufacture objects based on the letter shapes. You stay the owner of what you make, and no acknowledgement is required, though font authors may appreciate a mention. You can embed them in a document such as a PDF, and you can use them as webfonts on your site.
The limits are about the font file, not your design. You can't sell the font by itself. And if you host the fonts for other people to download, FAQ 1.8 says you have to make the full font package available, so it's usually simpler to point people to the original source.
1001 Fonts and FontSpace: check the letters and the licence
1001 Fonts showed 279 Arabic fonts when I checked, even though its page heading says 250+. FontSpace has an Arabic category too. Its first page on 30 October 2026 was full of fonts that may not do what you need: an icons font, several Ramadhan-themed decorative fonts and one named Persian. Some of these are symbol or display fonts rather than fonts you'd set a paragraph in.
The licence works differently on these sites. FontSpace's own terms say they cover the website, not the individual fonts, and tell you to look for each designer's licence or contact the designer. So on 1001 Fonts and FontSpace, check every font's licence before you use it for a client or a product.
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Testing an Arabic font before you commit
- Type a real sentence in the preview box, not just the font's name, so you can see the actual letters.
- Type any numbers and punctuation you'll need, such as prices on a menu or dates on a flyer.
- Check the licence: OFL for Google Fonts families, or the designer's own licence on 1001 Fonts and FontSpace.
- Set a heading and a paragraph and look at both on your phone, because a display font that looks great large can lose its detail small.
- Ask a native reader to look at the finished design before it goes to print.
For fonts in other scripts and styles, see my guide to free fonts for commercial use. If you're translating a design you've already made, my guide to translating a design in Canva shows how, and if nothing fits, you could try making your own font.
My recommendation
I'd start with Google Fonts for anything with your business name on it, because all 58 Arabic-subset families are open source and the licence is the same every time. Cairo, Tajawal or IBM Plex Sans Arabic are easy picks for a website, and Noto Naskh Arabic or Amiri for longer text. I'd browse 1001 Fonts or FontSpace only if you want a decorative look, and I'd type a real sentence and read the licence first. Skip any font that only shows its own name in the preview.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I get free Arabic fonts?
Google Fonts has 58 families with the Arabic subset, all open source, including Rubik, Cairo, Tajawal, Almarai and IBM Plex Sans Arabic. 1001 Fonts lists 279 Arabic fonts, with licences set per font.
Are Google Fonts Arabic fonts free for commercial use?
Yes. All 58 Arabic-subset families are flagged open source, and the popular ones are under the SIL Open Font License, which allows logos, print and websites without extra permission.
Can I use an Arabic font in a logo?
With an OFL font, yes. The OFL FAQ says you can use the fonts to create logos and other graphics, and you remain the owner of the artwork.
Why do some Arabic fonts not show Arabic letters?
Some fonts in Arabic categories are icon, symbol or themed decorative fonts rather than fonts with the full script. Type a real sentence in the preview before you download.
What's a good free Arabic font for a website?
Sans serif families such as Cairo, Tajawal, Almarai, IBM Plex Sans Arabic and Noto Sans Arabic are among the most used Arabic-subset families on Google Fonts.
