Thai font · OFL
Kanit
คณิต
Information verified as of April 2026
How to install & use
- Windows — Download the .zip, unzip it, then right-click the .ttf/.otf file → “Install”.
- macOS — Double-click the .ttf/.otf file, then click “Install Font” in Font Book.
- Web — Embed from Google Fonts with a <link> tag or @import — grab the snippet on the specimen page.
Try Kanit
Type your own text to preview Kanit live. Adjust size and weight, then grab the embed code.
What Kanit is
Kanit is a loopless geometric Thai sans-serif from Cadson Demak, published on Google Fonts in 2015 and now one of the most-used modern Thai typefaces on the open web. It ships in nine weights from Thin to Black with matching italics, and covers Thai, Latin and Vietnamese.
Kanit belongs to the generation of loopless Thai fonts that removed the traditional circular head (หัว) from consonants in favour of open terminals, bringing Thai closer to contemporary Latin sans-serifs like Montserrat or Poppins. The result reads as distinctly modern without losing Thai character — the vertical strokes of ก, น and บ remain unmistakable even without loops.
Because it sits inside Google Fonts, Kanit shows up in Thai startup branding, fashion sites, property developer marketing, and cross-border e-commerce more than almost any other free Thai typeface. For a designer who wants “modern Thai” without paying a foundry licence, Kanit is usually the first name on the shortlist.
Character design and tone
Kanit uses a high x-height, open apertures, and the loopless consonant heads that define Cadson Demak’s geometric family, giving it a cleaner silhouette than looped faces like Sarabun at display sizes. Vertical stems are near-monolinear, and curves are built on circular and elliptical arcs rather than pen-drawn strokes.
Look at ก: the head is an open hook, not a loop, and the vertical descender is perfectly straight. ถ and ภ get the same treatment — a clean geometric opening where older faces would have a circle. Tone marks and vowel marks are drawn tall and light to avoid crowding at heavy weights, and Thai numerals share the geometric construction so 1, 2, 3 in Thai and Latin feel like one system.
The Latin companion is a clean geometric sans in the neighbourhood of Montserrat or Proxima Nova — same monolinear stroke, same circular o. It is deliberately less ornamented than the Thai so the two scripts align at cap height without the Latin pulling focus.
Weights and availability
Kanit ships in nine weights from Thin (100) to Black (900) plus matching italics, making it one of the most complete free Thai type systems available. Download it from Google Fonts or the Cadson Demak site.
For self-hosting, each weight in WOFF2 with the Thai + Latin subset is roughly 40-60KB. Subsetting to Thai-only drops that by about a third. On Google Fonts, the variable font version consolidates all weights into a single file of approximately 180KB.
Best use cases
Kanit performs best on display and mid-length text for modern, commercial, urban-feeling brands. Concrete briefs where it wins:
- Thai startup landing pages, SaaS marketing sites, fintech UI
- Fashion, beauty and lifestyle packaging where the brand wants a Western-adjacent feel
- Property developer signage and print collateral in Bangkok and Phuket
- Co-working spaces, coffee chains, and F&B brands targeting younger urban Thais
- Bilingual app interfaces where the Latin pair is Montserrat or Poppins
Where it struggles: formal government documents (Sarabun is the expected default), long-form reading at 9-10pt, and traditional Thai cultural contexts where looped Thai is still the respectful choice.
Pairings
Kanit pairs best with geometric Latin sans that match its high x-height and circular construction. Three pairings that work well:
- Poppins — shares the geometric skeleton and was designed by Indian Type Foundry in parallel to Kanit’s development, so the two feel like siblings
- Montserrat — similar tone with slightly narrower proportions, good for editorial headlines paired with Kanit body
- Manrope — a softer geometric sans that takes the edge off Kanit Black for long-form UI
See the full font pairings guide and the typography hub for more combinations.
Licensing
Kanit is released under the SIL Open Font License and can be used commercially, bundled in products, and modified provided the original copyright and OFL licence travel with the file. The canonical source is Cadson Demak; Google Fonts mirrors the same OFL-licensed file. No commercial licence purchase is required for any weight or style.
Frequently asked questions about Kanit
Is Kanit free for commercial use?
Yes — Kanit is free for both personal and commercial use under the SIL Open Font License (OFL). You can use it in client work, apps, products, and websites at no cost, and self-host or embed it from Google Fonts. The only OFL condition is that you don’t sell the font files on their own.
How many weights does Kanit have?
Kanit ships in 9 weights: Thin, ExtraLight, Light, Regular, Medium, SemiBold, Bold, ExtraBold, Black. Pick a heavier weight for display and headlines, and a Regular or lighter weight for body text and long-form reading.
Does Kanit support Latin and English characters?
Yes — Kanit includes a Latin character set alongside Thai, so it can set English and Thai in one typeface. That makes it a practical choice for bilingual branding, packaging, and UI.
Where can I download Kanit?
Download Kanit free from Google Fonts. You can install the desktop files, self-host the WOFF2 files, or embed it directly with a <link> tag or @import — grab the embed code from the live preview above.
What fonts are similar to Kanit?
The closest alternatives to Kanit are Prompt, Mitr, Bai Jamjuree. They share a similar style and use case, so they’re the first faces to compare if you need a different weight range, license, or price.
Who designed Kanit?
Kanit was designed by Cadson Demak at Cadson Demak, released in 2015. Full designer credit and the primary source are listed at the bottom of this page.
Information verified as of April 2026
Sources
- Kanit was designed by Cadson Demak and published on Google Fonts in 2015 under the SIL Open Font License.—Google Fonts specimen page for Kanit (accessed Apr 10, 2026)
- Kanit covers Thai, Latin, Vietnamese and a matching italic cut across nine weights.—Cadson Demak catalogue entry for Kanit (accessed Apr 10, 2026)