Best Arabic Fonts for App UI: Free Families Compared

Choosing an Arabic typeface for an interface is harder than choosing a Latin one. Arabic has dots and marks above and below the line, no capitals, and very different proportions next to Latin text. This guide compares the free families product teams use most and the settings that make them work. For layout rules beyond type, see our Arabic-first RTL design guide.

Which free Arabic fonts work best for app UI?

All of the families below are on Google Fonts and published under the SIL Open Font License, which allows embedding in apps and websites. Weight details come from their Google Fonts listings, as summarized by Recast UX.

System fonts are also a valid choice: iOS ships SF Arabic and stock Android ships Noto Naskh Arabic. They load instantly and feel native, so use a custom family only when the brand needs it.

How should you size and space Arabic UI text?

• Size: Arabic usually needs to be about 1–2px larger than the Latin equivalent to look the same size. Apple’s right-to-left guidance suggests about 2 points when Arabic sits next to uppercase Latin text.

• Line height: around 1.6–1.8 for body text so dots and marks have room; headings can be tighter.

• Weight: use Regular (400) or heavier for small text. Thin weights disappear first on low-resolution screens and in bright light.

• No letter-spacing, italics or justification on Arabic text.

• Clipping: fixed-height buttons and tight line heights can cut off marks above and below letters. Test with your tallest real words.

Sources: Waleed Soliman, Arabic typography for UI and Venvider, Arabic web fonts.

How do you pair an Arabic font with a Latin font?

• Prefer families designed together, such as IBM Plex Sans with IBM Plex Sans Arabic or Noto Sans with Noto Sans Arabic.

• Match visual weight: regular Arabic and regular Latin should look equally dark. Sometimes the Latin needs to go one weight lighter.

• Assign the Arabic family through the lang attribute and put it first in the font stack for Arabic text, so glyphs never fall back to a random system font.

• Decide on Western (123) or Arabic-Indic (١٢٣) digits early. Unicode locale data defaults to Arabic-Indic digits for ar-SA and Western digits for ar-AE, so set it explicitly.

Which Arabic font should you choose?

• SaaS and dashboards: IBM Plex Sans Arabic or Noto Sans Arabic.

• Dense mobile layouts: Cairo or Noto Sans Arabic’s condensed widths.

• Consumer apps that want warmth: Tajawal, Almarai or Readex Pro.

• Distinctive brands: a commercial Arabic family, but check that the license covers both app embedding and web use.

Arabic UI fonts FAQ

What is the most readable Arabic font for mobile apps?

Readability depends on size, weight and spacing more than the family. IBM Plex Sans Arabic, Readex Pro and Almarai are all reported to read well at small sizes. Test your shortlist with real copy on an average Android phone.

Can I use Google Fonts Arabic fonts in a commercial app?

The families in this guide use the SIL Open Font License, which allows commercial use and embedding. Always confirm the license file of the exact version you ship.

Should Arabic text be bigger than English?

Usually yes, by about 1–2px or 10%, because Arabic letters look smaller at the same font size.

Building a bilingual product for the GCC? Our product design team designs Arabic-first interfaces, and UI typography tactics covers the type details that apply in any script.