Canva Font Pairings: Free Combinations That Work
These Canva font pairings use fonts from Canva’s library that are also free on Google Fonts, so a design you make in Canva can match your website exactly. Each pair below opens full screen on a sample page, so you can see how it reads beyond a single graphic.
Why Canva Font Pairings Matter
Canva makes it easy to drop text onto a design, and just as easy to end up with three or four fonts that fight each other. A good pairing fixes that with two fonts that each have one job: one sets the headline and gives the design its personality, the other sets the supporting text and stays out of the way. The two should look clearly different, so the headline stands apart, while sharing enough in their proportions that the design still feels like one piece.
There is a second reason to choose pairs carefully. Most people who design in Canva also run a website, a shop or a newsletter, and their brand looks consistent only when the same fonts appear everywhere. Every pairing on this page uses fonts that live in Canva’s font library and are free on Google Fonts, so you can set them in Canva, on your site and in your email templates without buying a license.
The Best Canva Font Pairings
These seven combinations cover the styles people use Canva for most: social posts, presentations, flyers, menus and brand kits. Use the button under each one to see it full screen on a sample page.
Playfair Display and Lato
Playfair Display is a high-contrast serif by Claus Eggers Sørensen, with sharp, elegant letterforms that look best large. Lato, by Łukasz Dziedzic, is a warm, rounded sans that stays readable at small sizes. Together they give designs an editorial, slightly upmarket feel. Use Playfair Display in bold for headlines and Lato at regular weight for captions and body copy. This pairing suits fashion, beauty, events and lifestyle brands.
Montserrat and Lora
Montserrat is a wide geometric sans inspired by the signs of Buenos Aires, and Lora is a serif with gentle, calligraphic curves. The contrast between Montserrat’s hard geometry and Lora’s softness keeps headlines and text clearly separate. This is a dependable all-rounder for blogs, newsletters, course materials and presentations.
Bebas Neue and Montserrat
Bebas Neue is a tall, condensed all-caps display font that makes short headlines loud and compact. It only comes in one weight, so it needs a partner with more range, and Montserrat at regular weight works well beneath it. This pairing suits event posters, sale announcements, sports and fitness graphics, and YouTube thumbnails, where a few words need to land at a glance.
Raleway and Merriweather
Raleway is a slim, elegant sans with distinctive details, such as its wide capital W, and it looks refined in light and medium weights. Merriweather is a sturdy serif built for reading on screens. Raleway headlines over Merriweather text feel calm and polished, a good fit for wellness brands, real estate, interior design and professional services.
Poppins and Open Sans
Poppins is a geometric sans with round, friendly letters, and Open Sans is a neutral humanist sans that disappears into the text. An all-sans pairing like this looks modern and clean, which suits startups, apps, tech presentations and social graphics where clarity matters more than character.
Oswald and Lato
Oswald is a condensed sans based on the classic gothic poster typefaces, with more weights than Bebas Neue, so it can handle headlines and subheads in the same design. Lato softens it underneath. This pairing has a confident, practical feel that works for restaurants, trades, sports clubs and local businesses.
Libre Baskerville and Raleway
Libre Baskerville is a classic serif with a tall x-height, drawn by Pablo Impallari for reading on screens. Setting it as the headline font, with Raleway for supporting text, flips the usual serif body arrangement and gives designs a literary, trustworthy tone. It works well for book covers, wedding stationery, law firms and education.
Canva Font Pairings at a Glance
The seven pairings above, with the weights to use and the designs each one suits.
| Headline Font | Text Font | Feel | Good For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playfair Display 700 | Lato 400 | Editorial, upmarket | Fashion, beauty, events |
| Montserrat 700 | Lora 400 | Balanced, friendly | Blogs, newsletters, courses |
| Bebas Neue 400 | Montserrat 400 | Loud, compact | Posters, sales, thumbnails |
| Raleway 600 | Merriweather 400 | Calm, polished | Wellness, real estate, services |
| Poppins 600 | Open Sans 400 | Modern, clean | Startups, apps, tech decks |
| Oswald 700 | Lato 400 | Confident, practical | Restaurants, trades, sports |
| Libre Baskerville 700 | Raleway 400 | Literary, trusted | Books, weddings, law, education |
How to Use Font Pairings in Canva
Pick the pair before you start a design rather than swapping fonts at the end. In Canva’s text panel, set your headline in the first font and your body text in the second, then copy those text boxes into new designs instead of starting from Canva’s default text styles. If you use a Brand Kit, add both fonts to it and assign them to headings and body text, so every new design starts with the pair already in place.
Keep to two fonts in a design. A third font can work for a very small job, such as a handwritten signature or a price tag, but most designs look stronger with fewer fonts and more variation in size and weight. Make headlines at least twice the size of body text, and use bold, colour or capitals for emphasis inside a single font before reaching for a new one.
Canva’s own font combinations, the preset headline and text blocks in the text panel, are a fast starting point. Treat them as suggestions, though: many use decorative fonts that look good in a single graphic but are hard to read in longer text or on a website.
Using the Same Fonts on Your Website
Every font on this page is free on Google Fonts, which means you can load the same pair on your website. Open any pairing in the preview, choose Use These Fonts, and copy the embed code and CSS into your site. A WordPress theme, Shopify store or Squarespace site can usually take Google Fonts directly from its typography settings, too.
Matching your site to your Canva designs makes social posts, ads and landing pages feel like one brand. It also saves time later: when a pairing already works on your site, you never have to guess which fonts to use for the next graphic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about choosing font pairings in Canva.
What Are the Best Font Pairings in Canva?
Playfair Display with Lato and Montserrat with Lora are two of the most reliable. Both mix a serif and a sans, both use fonts that are free in Canva, and both stay readable from a social post to a full page of text.
How Many Fonts Should I Use in a Canva Design?
Two: one for headlines and one for everything else. Use size, weight and colour to create more levels of emphasis before adding a third font.
Are Canva Fonts Free to Use on My Website?
The fonts on this page are, because they are open source and available on Google Fonts. Some fonts in Canva are licensed only for use inside Canva, so check a font’s license before you load it on a website.
Can I Upload My Own Fonts to Canva?
Canva lets paid plans upload font files to a Brand Kit. Free plans are limited to the fonts in Canva’s library, which already includes every pairing on this page.
Use These Fonts
On WordPress? Most themes, including GeneratePress, have a Typography setting where you can pick these two fonts by name instead.
How to Divide Perennials in Fall
Dividing crowded clumps every few years keeps hostas, daylilies and asters blooming. Here is when to do it, what you need, and how to replant.
- Best time
- 4 to 6 weeks before the ground freezes
- Tools
- Spade, garden fork, sharp knife
- Time needed
- About 20 minutes per clump
Most perennials slow down after a few years in the same spot. The center of the clump gets woody and crowded, the roots compete for water, and you see fewer flowers each summer. Dividing the plant fixes all three problems at once, and it gives you free plants for the rest of the garden.
Fall is the easier season for most gardeners. The soil is still warm, so new roots keep growing, while the cool air means the leaves lose less water. Plants divided in late September usually settle in well before winter, and you will notice the difference in next year’s bloom.
When to Divide
As a rule, divide spring and early summer bloomers in fall, and late bloomers like asters in spring. Give each division at least a month of root growth before the ground freezes. In zone 5, that usually means finishing by early October.
Signs a Clump Needs Dividing
- The center has died out, leaving a ring of growth.
- Flowers are fewer and smaller than last year.
- The plant has spread past its spot in the bed.
Divide in fall when the soil is still warm and the air is cool. The roots keep growing for weeks after the leaves stop.Tom Reyes, head gardener
| Plant | Divide every | Best season |
|---|---|---|
| Hosta | 3 to 4 years | Spring or early fall |
| Daylily | 3 to 5 years | Late summer |
| Bearded iris | 3 to 4 years | July to August |
| Aster | 2 to 3 years | Spring |
| Peony | Rarely needed | Late September |
How to Divide a Perennial
- Water the plant well the day before so the root ball holds together.
- Cut back the leaves to about 6 inches to make the clump easier to handle.
- Dig around the clump, 6 inches out from the stems, and lift it with a fork.
- Split it with a spade or knife so each piece has three to five growing points.
- Replant at the same depth, water deeply, and add 2 inches of mulch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I divide perennials while they are blooming?
You can, but the plant puts its energy into flowers instead of roots. Wait until blooms fade, or cut the flowers off when you divide.
How small can a division be?
Each piece needs healthy roots and at least one growing point. Smaller pieces take a season or two longer to fill out.
Keep Reading
Grow a Garden That Comes Back Every Year
Plant profiles, zone lists and copyable garden plans for home gardeners who want color without the constant work.
Start With Your Light
See all listsLatest Guides
All guidesThe Monday Garden Letter
One short email a week with what to plant, cut back and divide right now in your zone.
Plan Your Beds Before You Buy a Single Plant
Drag plants onto a bed drawn to scale, see what blooms each month, and get a shopping list sorted by nursery.
No credit card. Works on any device.
Beds Drawn to Scale
Set the length and width, and every plant takes up its real mature spread.
A Bloom Calendar
See which weeks the bed has color and fill the gaps before spring.
One Shopping List
Quantities, spacing and sizes, grouped by where you plan to buy.
I planned my whole front border in an evening and bought exactly what fit. Nothing died in a corner this year.
Dana K., zone 6bSimple Pricing
Questions
Does it know my growing zone?
Enter your ZIP code once and every plant shows whether it grows in your zone.
Can I print my plan?
Yes. Gardener and Designer plans export a printable layout with a plant key.
What happens if I cancel?
Your beds stay saved on the free plan, and you can export them any time.