There are dozens of Canva fonts to use to create social media graphics, blog post graphics, even eBooks and resumes! But, which ones are the best fonts? Canva is a great tool for those who don’t have professional design software. One thing that can make a big difference in the design of your graphics is the fonts you choose. (Please note: some fonts mentioned are only available to Canva Pro users.) If you want more Canva tips, here’s a full playlist of Canva tutorials! Before I break down the different fonts that I recommend, it’s important to remember that fonts evoke certain feelings. I’m not going in-depth on this subject now, but here’s a quick recap:
- Serif fonts: classic, traditional
- Sans-serif: modern, casual
- Script: feminine, romantic
- Handwriting: friendly, casual
- Brush script: artsy, fun
Canva Font Usage
Best Heading Fonts (think: clean, bold fonts)
- Acherus Grotesque
- Aileron Heavy
- Alegreya Sans Bold
- Amaranth
- Amicale Semibold or Bold
- Arvo
- Asap Semibold
- Baloo
- Bebas Neue
- Bree Serif
- Cerebri
- Clear Sans
- Cooper Hewitt Heavy
- DejaVu Sans Bold
- Fira Sans Light
- Hammersmith One
- Laila Medium
- Lato Bold
- League Gothic
- League Spartan
- Lillita One
- Martel or Martel Sans
- Merriweather
- Montserrat Semibold
- Neue Einstellung Bold
- Nunito Bold or Black
- Open Sans Extra Bold
- Oswald
- Palanquin Dark Semibold
- Playfair Display
- Poppins
- Prompt
- Quiche
- Raleway Heavy
- Roboto
- Sean Slab
Body Text (legibility is important, size 12-14; can move up to SH or H)
- Acherus Grotesque
- Aileron Regular
- Alegreya Sans Regular
- Alike
- Amicale (Regular)
- Arimo
- Asap Regular
- Bodoni
- Cabin Regular
- Clear Sans Regular
- Droid Serif
- Fira Sans Light
- HK Grotesk Light
- Heebo Regular
- Lato
- Libra Sans
- Libre Baskerville
- Lora
- Merriweather
- Montserrat (Regular)
- Noto Sans
- Noto Serif
- Nunito
- Open Sans
- Roboto
- Vollkorn
Script (use for short headlines; 1-2 words)
- Allura
- Battery
- Benedict
- Caitlin
- Courgette
- Dancing Script
- Ghisella
- Great Vibes
- Grimpt Brush
- Holla
- Jenthill
- Kaushan Script
- Kingsman
- Lemon Tuesday
- Magenta
- Nickainley
- Parisienne
- Playlist Script
- Rebel
- Scandilover Script
- Vintage Moon
Combining fonts
It’s not just choosing the right fonts, but pairing the right fonts together, that will make or break your design. And, pairing fonts can be tricky — why does one serif font work with this heading, and not the other? You want your font choices to be contrasting in nature. If you’re using Oswald, you don’t want to use Archivo Narrow — both are narrow in nature. It also depends on your brand and your message — what will work for a toy store will not be the same as a western themed restaurant. Here are some strong font combinations for you to use on Canva.
Aileron Heavy
Aleo Light, Alike, Arvo, Bodoni FLF, Droid Serif, IM Fell, Libre Baskerville, Lora, Merriweather, Playfair Display, PT Serif, Quattrocento, Sanchez, Vollkorn
Amaranth
Aileron Thin, Arimo, Bodoni FLF, Cooper Hewitt, Economica, Forum, Gidole, Helveticish, Lato, Luthier, Montserrat Light, Nunito Light, Old Standard, Open Sans Light, PT Sans, Raleway, Rosario
Cooper Hewitt Heavy
Alike, Antic, Archivo Narrow, Arimo, Droid Serif, Economica, Gidole, Kollektif, Lato, Lora, Montserrat Light, Nunito Light, Open Sans Light, PT Serif, Quattrocento, Raleway, Source Serif Pro, Tenor Sans
Hammersmith One
Aileron Thin, Antic, Economica, Gidole, Lato, Montserrat Hairline, Nunito Light, Open Sans, PT Sans, Raleway
League Gothic
Alike, Arvo, Droid Serif, Granaina, Libre Baskerville, Old Standard, PT Serif, Quattrocento, Vollkorn
Lillita One
Aileron Thin or Regular, Archivo Narrow, Arimo, Arvo, Cooper Hewitt, Economica, Exo, Gidole, Kollektif, Luthier, Montserrat Light, Nunito Light, Open Sans Light, PT Sans, Roboto, Signika
Open Sans Extra Bold
Aileron Regular, Aleo, Antic, Archivo Narrow, Arialle, Arvo, Bodoni FLF, Cooper Hewitt, Droid Serif, Economica, Gidole, Helveticish, Lato, Luthier, Montserrat Light, Nunito Light, Open Sans, PT Serif, Quattrocento, Raleway, Roboto Condensed, Source Serif Pro
Oswald
Aileron Thin, Aleo Light, Alike, Cooper Hewitt, Forum, Gidole, Helveticish, Montserrat Light, Old Standard, Open Sans, PT Serif, Quattrocento, Source Sans Pro
Raleway Heavy
Aileron Thin, Aleo Light, Antic, Archivo Narrow, Arvo, Cooper Hewitt, Droid Serif, Gidole, Kollektif, Lato, Lustria, Montserrat Light, Nunito Light, Open Sans Light, PT Serif, Quattrocento, Raleway, Sanchez, Source Serif Pro, Vollkorn
Fonts to Avoid
You probably noticed there are some fonts on Canva that were not mentioned in this post. The other fonts that have been left out so far fall into two categories: use sparingly, and only for certain situations; and do not use, ever. These fonts are on this list because they are illegible, overused, or just plain ugly. Here are the fonts I would avoid using: Note: This entire blog post is meant for BUSINESS owners. If you’re designing something for fun, one of the fonts below might be a good fit for you, even if I’m saying it’s not good for a business.
Decorative fonts
- Abang
- Akron Shades NBP
- Allerta Stencil
- Anonymous Pro
- Any of the “Small Caps” fonts
- Apple Juice
- Aseina
- Badger
- Bicubik
- Black Ops One
- Bowl Shadow
- Butcherman Caps
- Cabin Sketch
- Camo Dirt
- Canda Tawa Cute
- Casa Stencil
- Cody Star
- Crushed
- Creepster
- Dagerotypos
- Efour Digital Pro
- Emily’s Candy
- Farmer Market
- Finger Paint
- Forma
- GeoMath
- Germania One
- Ghisella Two
- Glass Antiqua
- Graduate
- Hitchcut
- Hellprint
- Janmeid
- Limelight
- LJ Studios MB
- Londrina
- Maldina Block
- Megrim
- Monoton
- OpenDyslexic
- Pirou
- Ribeye
- Rye
- Sabang Island
- Sifonn Outline
- Special Elite
- Sunday
- UnifrakturMaguntia
- VT323
Script, or handwriting fonts
- Abys
- Architect’s Daughter
- Beach Resort
- Berkshire Swash
- Blowing
- Bristol
- Bryndan Write
- Carlitos
- Chewy
- Coming Soon
- Crafty Girls
- Dr. Sugiyama
- Gochi Hand
- Hanging
- Jelly Cream
- Knewave
- Lobster
- Mr. Dafoe
- Niconne
- Over the Rainbow
- Princess Sofia
- Rosita
- Schoolbell
- Shadows into Light
- Sniglet
- Special Elite
- Sunday
- Vampiro One
- Xplor
- Waterlily
- Yellowtail
Using the right fonts at the right time is one way to level up the look of your graphics. Just remember:
- You always want to maintain legibility, because if no one can read your stuff, you’ve just wasted your time designing.
- Use brand appropriate fonts. If you have a style guide, adhere to it. If you don’t have one, create one. Choose fonts that reflect your brand personality.
