Reddit uses IBM Plex Sans, a grotesque sans-serif font designed by Mike Abbink at IBM in collaboration with Bold Monday, an independent Dutch type foundry.
Reddit adopted IBM Plex Sans during its 2018 platform redesign, replacing the browser-default Verdana that had defined the site’s look since its early years.
What Type of Font Is IBM Plex Sans?
IBM Plex Sans is a grotesque sans-serif typeface. Its design draws from Franklin Gothic, borrowing features like angled terminals and a double-storey lowercase “g.”
Unlike geometric or humanist sans-serifs, it lands somewhere in between: structured but not cold. That balance is exactly what makes it work well for a platform like Reddit, where you’re reading everything from two-sentence replies to multi-thousand-word threads.
Key typographic characteristics:
- x-height: Tall, which improves readability at small sizes on screens
- Stroke contrast: Low, consistent with grotesque classification
- Weight range: Thin through Bold, with true italics across all weights
- Language support: Over 100 languages including Cyrillic, Arabic, Devanagari, and CJK scripts
The broad language coverage matters more than people realize. Reddit is a global platform. A font that breaks on non-Latin scripts would be a genuine problem at Reddit’s scale.
Who Designed IBM Plex Sans?
Mike Abbink, creative director at IBM BX&D, conceptualized the IBM Plex family. The actual type design and direction was led by Paul van der Laan and Pieter van Rosmalen at Bold Monday.
IBM released Plex in 2017, primarily to replace Helvetica as IBM’s corporate typeface after more than 50 years of licensing costs.
The design received a Judge’s Choice Certificate of Typographic Excellence from the Type Directors Club in 2018.
IBM Plex Sans is not a custom font created for Reddit. Reddit licensed it as a commercial open-source typeface. The font family includes Sans, Serif, Mono, and Condensed subfamilies, each with 8 weights and true italics.
Is IBM Plex Sans Free to Use?
Yes, fully free. IBM Plex Sans is released under the SIL Open Font License (OFL) 1.1, which allows personal and commercial use, modification, and redistribution.
| Source | Format | Cost |
| Google Fonts | Web + download | Free |
| Adobe Fonts | Sync + web use | Free with subscription |
| IBM GitHub repository | Source files | Free |
One thing worth knowing: building the fonts from source requires FontLab Studio, which is proprietary software. But downloading and using the pre-built files is completely free.
You can use IBM Plex Sans in Figma, Canva, web CSS, or print design without any licensing complications. That was actually one of the reasons IBM created it in the first place: to stop paying Helvetica license fees at scale.
What Font Did Reddit Use Before?
Before the 2018 redesign, Reddit did not specify a custom web font at all. The site relied on the browser’s default sans-serif rendering, which on most systems resolved to Verdana.
Verdana was designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft in 1996, specifically for low-resolution screen rendering. It has a large x-height, wide spacing, and open letterforms. Those were the right qualities for 96dpi monitors. On high-DPI displays and modern screens, it feels dated and loose.
Reddit’s CSS for old.reddit.com still uses font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif. Users who access old.reddit.com still see Verdana today.
The 2018 redesign was a full platform overhaul, not just a font swap. IBM Plex Sans came in as part of a broader effort to modernize the UI for mobile and high-density displays.
What Are the Best Free Alternatives to IBM Plex Sans?
If you want a similar feel for your own project, these 5 options are worth trying:
| Font | Similarity to IBM Plex Sans | License | Source |
| Inter | Grotesque, high legibility, screen-optimized | Free (OFL) | Google Fonts |
| Work Sans | Neutral grotesque, similar weight range | Free (OFL) | Google Fonts |
| DM Sans | Clean, low-contrast grotesque | Free (OFL) | Google Fonts |
| Source Sans Pro | Humanist grotesque, excellent readability | Free (OFL) | Google Fonts / Adobe Fonts |
| Space Grotesk | Grotesque with subtle quirks, similar structure | Free (OFL) | Google Fonts |
Inter is probably the closest match in practice. It was built specifically for screen interfaces and shares IBM Plex Sans’s neutral, legible character. Most developers I know default to Inter when they want that clean UI font look without much debate.
If you’re checking out free Google Fonts for a similar aesthetic, Inter, Work Sans, and Space Grotesk are the three I’d look at first.
How to Use IBM Plex Sans (or an Alternative) in Your Project
In CSS via Google Fonts
Add this to your <head>:
“ <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=IBM+Plex+Sans:wght@400;500;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> `
Then in your CSS:
` body { font-family: 'IBM Plex Sans', sans-serif; } `
In Figma
Install the font locally from Google Fonts, then it appears in Figma’s font picker automatically. No plugin needed.
For those adding fonts to other tools, the process is similar: download the font files, install them system-wide, and the application picks them up on restart. If you’re working in Adobe Illustrator or want to know how to add fonts to InDesign, the steps follow the same basic pattern.
CSS Font Stack (with fallbacks)
Reddit’s actual font stack pairs IBM Plex Sans with system UI fallbacks:
` font-family: 'IBM Plex Sans', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif; `
This is standard practice for web design fonts: load the preferred face, fall back to system defaults if it fails.
Why Did Reddit Choose IBM Plex Sans?
The 2018 redesign aimed to fix three concrete problems: poor mobile rendering, limited language support, and a UI that looked frozen in 2008. Verdana had been a good choice for 96dpi monitors. By 2018, it was a liability.
IBM Plex Sans solved all three. Its grotesque structure renders sharply on high-DPI displays. Its extensive script support handles Reddit’s international user base. And its neutral character keeps visual attention on user content rather than the interface itself.
The font also carries no licensing overhead. Using an open-source typeface at Reddit’s traffic scale avoids the kind of per-pageview or per-user licensing complexity that commercial fonts can introduce. IBM originally designed Plex for the same reason: eliminating Helvetica’s licensing costs.
From a typography standpoint, IBM Plex Sans sits in a useful middle ground. It’s not as generic as Arial or Helvetica, not as opinionated as something like Futura. It reads as professional without drawing attention to itself. For a platform where visual hierarchy needs to serve discussion threads rather than marketing copy, that neutrality is exactly what you want.
It’s a similar logic to why platforms like Notion and Slack have gravitated toward clean grotesque sans-serifs. The font psychology here is straightforward: legible, neutral, and trustworthy reads well at any weight or size.
Reddit also uses Noto Sans as a fallback for languages and character sets that IBM Plex Sans doesn’t cover natively. Noto Sans, developed by Google, was built specifically to support every Unicode script, making it the right safety net for a platform with users across nearly every language on earth.
Other platforms have made similar typography decisions worth comparing. The YouTube font (Roboto) and the Twitter/X font (Chirp, a custom grotesque) both reflect the same instinct: pick a clean, screen-optimized grotesque and apply it consistently across every surface. Reddit’s choice fits that pattern, just with a more openly licensed option.
FAQ on What Font Does Reddit Use
What font does Reddit currently use?
Reddit uses IBM Plex Sans, a grotesque sans-serif typeface designed by Mike Abbink and Bold Monday.
It replaced Verdana during the 2018 redesign and has been Reddit’s primary UI font across desktop and mobile ever since.
Is IBM Plex Sans free to download?
Yes. IBM Plex Sans is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, making it free for personal and commercial use.
You can download it directly from Google Fonts or the IBM GitHub repository at no cost.
What font did Reddit use before the redesign?
Before 2018, Reddit had no custom web font. Most browsers rendered the default sans-serif as Verdana, a humanist typeface designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft in 1996.
Old Reddit at old.reddit.com still uses that Verdana-based font stack today.
Does Reddit use a different font on mobile?
No. Reddit uses IBM Plex Sans across both desktop and mobile, maintaining consistent typography on all platforms.
Font sizes and leading values are adjusted per screen size, but the typeface itself stays the same.
Who made IBM Plex Sans?
Mike Abbink at IBM BX&D conceptualized the family. Type direction and design were handled by Paul van der Laan and Pieter van Rosmalen at Bold Monday, an independent Dutch foundry.
IBM released the family publicly in 2017 to replace Helvetica as its corporate typeface.
What is IBM Plex Sans classified as typographically?
IBM Plex Sans is a grotesque sans-serif. It draws influence from Franklin Gothic, with angled terminals, low stroke contrast, and a double-storey lowercase “g.”
It sits between geometric and humanist classifications, which gives it a neutral but approachable character.
What font does old Reddit use?
Old Reddit (old.reddit.com) uses a CSS font stack of Verdana, Arial, and Helvetica as fallbacks.
This reflects Reddit’s original pre-2018 design, which never specified a custom web font and relied on browser defaults instead.
What are the best free alternatives to IBM Plex Sans?
The closest free alternatives are Inter, Work Sans, DM Sans, Source Sans Pro, and Space Grotesk.
All five are available on Google Fonts under open licenses and share IBM Plex Sans’s screen-optimized, neutral grotesque character.
Does Reddit use a fallback font?
Yes. Reddit uses Noto Sans as a fallback for character sets and scripts that IBM Plex Sans does not fully cover.
Noto Sans was built by Google to support every Unicode script, making it a reliable safety net for a globally used platform.
Can I use IBM Plex Sans in my own designs?
Yes, without restrictions. The SIL OFL 1.1 license permits use in web projects, apps, print, and commercial work.
Check out the best Google Fonts for websites if you want to compare it against similar options before committing to a choice.
Conclusion
If you’ve been wondering what font does Reddit use, the answer is IBM Plex Sans, a grotesque sans-serif that handles everything from comment threads to UI labels without getting in the way.
It’s open-source, free under the SIL OFL license, and available on Google Fonts. Noto Sans covers the scripts IBM Plex Sans misses, keeping Reddit readable across languages worldwide.
For your own projects, Inter and Work Sans are the closest free alternatives worth trying. Both share IBM Plex Sans’s screen-optimized, neutral typographic character and pair well in most interface contexts.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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