What Font Does TikTok Use? (Captions, App & Text Tool)

TikTok uses TikTok Sans, a typeface it commissioned for itself, introduced in May 2023 and released as a free open-source font in July 2025 under the SIL Open Font License. You can download it from Google Fonts or TikTok's GitHub and use it commercially at no cost. It's also the TikTok caption font: auto-generated captions and subtitles render in TikTok Sans. Before TikTok Sans, the app used Proxima Nova — which is still what you get when you pick "Classic" in TikTok's in-app text tool.

The Short Answer

If someone tells you TikTok uses Proxima Nova, they aren't wrong — they're describing the app as it was before 2023, and the text tool's default as it still is today.

The TikTok Caption Font

TikTok has two kinds of on-screen text, and they use different fonts:

• Auto captions and subtitles — the captions TikTok generates from your audio render in TikTok Sans.
• Text you type yourself — the text tool defaults to Classic, which is Proxima Nova Semibold. The other styles (Typewriter, Handwriting, Neon, Serif and so on) are separate fonts.

To match TikTok's captions in another editor, install TikTok Sans (it's free, see below). To match the Classic text look, use Proxima Nova or its free stand-in, Montserrat.

TikTok Sans

TikTok Sans became the platform's typeface in May 2023, replacing Proxima Nova across the interface and branding. It was built for the problems TikTok actually has: legibility at small sizes on a phone, and support for a lot of languages.

In July 2025 TikTok released it publicly under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. That's the same license Google Fonts uses, and it means you can download it, install it, use it in commercial work, and ship it in products at no cost. Two restrictions worth knowing: you can't sell the font file itself as a standalone product, and if you modify it you can't keep calling it "TikTok Sans" without written permission.

The technical details, if you care: it's a variable font with Weight, Width, Slant, and Optical Size axes, and it covers over 460 languages across Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic.

That last part is the reason it exists. Proxima Nova is a good typeface but its language coverage isn't built for a platform operating in dozens of scripts at once.

Where to Download It

Three official sources, all free:

• Google Fonts — easiest, and it's already available to any tool that pulls from Google Fonts
• TikTok's GitHub at github.com/tiktok/TikTokSans — the source repository, with releases
• Fontsource — if you're pulling it into a web project via npm

To install on a Mac: download the .ttf or .otf, double-click it, click Install Font. Restart your editing app so it picks up the new font. It then appears in Final Cut Pro, Premiere, Canva, Keynote, and anything else that reads system fonts.

For getting it into CapCut specifically, see how to add fonts to CapCut and TikTok fonts in CapCut.

Proxima Nova and the "Classic" Option

Open TikTok's text tool and the default style is labelled Classic. Classic isn't a TikTok-specific design — it's Proxima Nova Semibold under a friendlier name.

Proxima Nova is a commercial typeface by Mark Simonson. It's the font that defined TikTok's look from launch through 2023, which is why "the old TikTok font" and "Proxima Nova" mean the same thing to people who were making videos in 2020.

You cannot download Proxima Nova for free. If you want the Classic look without buying it, Montserrat is the standard free substitute and gets very close.

Which One Should You Actually Use?

Depends what you're doing.

Matching TikTok's branding or interface: TikTok Sans. It's the real thing and it's free now.

Matching the look of in-app text overlays: Proxima Nova, or Montserrat as the free stand-in.

Making captions that perform: neither question matters as much as you'd think. Weight, size, and placement do most of the work — a heavy weight with a contrasting outline at the right size beats a "correct" typeface set badly, every time. We ranked the fonts that actually hold up in a feed in best caption fonts for TikTok, and the size numbers are in best caption size for TikTok.

There's also a case against using TikTok Sans for captions at all: it reads as part of the app's furniture. Native-looking text is invisible text. Sometimes that's what you want. Often it isn't.

Frequently Asked Questions

What font does TikTok use? TikTok Sans, the platform's own typeface, used across the app interface and branding since May 2023. Before that, TikTok used Proxima Nova.

Is TikTok Sans free? Yes. TikTok open-sourced it in July 2025 under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. It's free for personal and commercial use, available on Google Fonts and TikTok's GitHub.

What font does TikTok use for captions? Auto-generated captions render in TikTok Sans. Text you add manually with the text tool defaults to Classic, which is Proxima Nova.

What is the TikTok font called? TikTok Sans. The in-app text tool's default style is labelled Classic, which is Proxima Nova rather than TikTok Sans.

Does TikTok still use Proxima Nova? Only in the text tool's Classic style. The app interface and branding moved to TikTok Sans in May 2023.

Where can I download TikTok Sans? Google Fonts, TikTok's GitHub repository at github.com/tiktok/TikTokSans, or Fontsource for web projects. All free.

What's the closest free font to Proxima Nova? Montserrat. It's on Google Fonts, free for commercial use, and close enough that most viewers won't distinguish them at caption size.

Can I use TikTok Sans commercially? Yes. The SIL Open Font License permits commercial use. You can't sell the font file on its own, and modified versions can't use the TikTok Sans name.

Bottom Line

TikTok Sans is free, official, and a two-minute install. If you want your text to look like it came from TikTok, that's the answer and it costs nothing.

If you're captioning talking-head video and don't want to style text by hand on every clip, BlitzCut applies your caption style automatically on Mac and iPhone and supports custom fonts including TikTok Sans. 3-day trial.

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Related:

• Best Caption Fonts for TikTok
• TikTok Fonts in CapCut
• How to Add Fonts to CapCut
• What Font Does Instagram Use?
• Best Caption Size for TikTok in 2026

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Sources: TikTok Sans official site · TikTok for Developers: TikTok Sans open source · tiktok/TikTokSans on GitHub