Figtree Font: History, Pairings and How to Use It

Figtree is a free geometric sans serif designed by Erik Kennedy and released on Google Fonts in 2022. It runs from Light 300 to Black 900 with matching italics and is available as a variable font. It is known for a clean, friendly look that makes it a good free stand-in for Proxima Nova and Avenir.

Where Figtree Came From

Figtree was designed by Erik Kennedy, a UI designer who founded the Learn UI Design course and writes articles on interface design. He made it as a clean and friendly geometric sans serif for websites and mobile apps. It was added to Google Fonts in July 2022, and the italic styles followed in November 2022 to complete the family.

It is released under the SIL Open Font License, so anyone can use it on websites, in apps and in print without paying. Figtree supports more than 280 languages that use the Latin alphabet.

What Figtree Looks Like

Figtree is built from simple geometric shapes: round bowls, a steady stroke with almost no contrast between thick and thin, and a slightly wide build. That gives it the familiar look of geometric sans fonts like Proxima Nova and Avenir, but with a softer and more casual mood.

At text sizes it reads as light and crisp, so paragraphs look open and calm. In capitals it keeps some punch, which makes it well suited to buttons and short labels. The heavier weights become noticeably friendlier, so Figtree headings in bold or black feel warm rather than stern.

Weights and Styles

Figtree comes in seven weights, from Light 300 to Black 900, each with a true italic. It is a variable font with one weight axis, so you can pick any value between 300 and 900 instead of only the named steps. There is no Thin or ExtraLight, so if you need very light display text, choose another font.

For most sites, 400 works for body text, 500 or 600 for labels and buttons, and 700 for headings. Try Figtree at 700 for headings and 400 for text. Black 900 is worth trying for large, short headlines on a friendly brand.

Where Figtree Works Best

Figtree was made for screens, and it is at home in web apps, product sites, dashboards and mobile interfaces. Its friendly tone suits startups, service businesses, online courses, health and wellness sites and personal portfolios. It also works for resumes that want to look current without looking cold. For formal settings like law firms or literary journals, it is better used as body or interface text under a serif heading.

Fonts That Pair Well with Figtree

Figtree is friendly but quiet, so it pairs best with a heading font that adds character. A soft, expressive serif like Fraunces gives warmth and contrast, while a sturdy text serif makes a calm, readable page. You can also use Figtree alone and let weight changes do the work. These pages show it in a pairing or suggest partners:

• Fraunces and Figtree, warm serif headings over a friendly body
• Source Serif 4, a calm serif for long articles
• Newsreader, an editorial serif with a news feel
• DM Serif Display and DM Sans, a similar mix of display serif and geometric sans

Figtree as a Proxima Nova and Avenir Alternative

Proxima Nova and Avenir are paid geometric sans fonts that are common on websites and in branding. Figtree shares their round, even shapes and wide proportions, so it gives a similar clean and approachable look for free. Its strokes are a little sturdier and its mood a little more casual than Proxima Nova, which helps it hold up in small interface text.

For the other free options, see the Proxima Nova alternatives and the Avenir alternatives.

How to Use Figtree on Your Site

Load Figtree from Google Fonts with the CSS in the Use This Font panel, then set it as the font for the whole page. List system-ui and sans-serif after it, so text still looks clean while the font loads. Request only the weights you need, such as 400 and 700, to keep the download small. If you use several weights, loading the variable font as a single file can be the lighter option.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers about Figtree.

Is Figtree Free for Commercial Use?

Yes. Figtree is released under the SIL Open Font License, so you can use it on commercial websites, in apps, in logos and in print without paying or asking permission.

Does Figtree Have Italics?

Yes. True italics were added in November 2022, and they cover the full range from Light 300 to Black 900.

What Is the Best Font to Pair with Figtree?

Fraunces is a strong choice for warm, characterful headings over Figtree text. For a quieter look, try a text serif such as Source Serif 4, or use Figtree for both headings and body at different weights.