The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Fonts in Canva

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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

Inside This Post

Canva Font Usage

Best Heading Fonts (think: clean, bold fonts)

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

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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

Script, or handwriting fonts

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.

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