Alexandria

Alexandria is a free Arabic and Latin variable family credited to Mohamed Gaber and Julieta Ulanovsky. Its Arabic was developed as a companion to Montserrat, making it a candidate for brands that already use that Latin family.

Start with the existing brand assets

Check a bilingual name, a navigation label and a short paragraph before choosing a weight. Matching two scripts means balancing their apparent size and density; identical point sizes alone do not establish a usable hierarchy. Montserrat is a separate family and is not bundled in this download.

The broad weight range lets a project move from restrained supporting copy to dense headlines. Avoid treating the heaviest setting as the default for every label. Inspect the smallest text and the counters in short, bold words at the actual output size.

Variable files and preview weights

The ZIP contains 1 original variable TTF file, version 5.100. Axis ranges, with defaults in parentheses: wght 100–900 (400). The preview supplies 9 static styles, covering weights 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900. Compatible software can select intermediate weights from the original file.

The documented coverage here is Arabic and Latin. Test actual words, vowel marks and mixed-direction lines in the application you will use. A font file cannot determine paragraph direction or replace a shaping engine.

When italic emphasis is part of the brand sheet, inspect Zain’s static upright and italic selection. Italics exist only at 300 and 400; do not treat it as a fully paired variable alternative to Alexandria.

License and comparison

SIL Open Font License 1.1 permits personal and commercial use, embedding and redistribution under its terms. The ZIP includes the exact license and the original files. Keep the license when redistributing the font; selling the font by itself is prohibited.

Compare Cairo for the same bilingual heading, and Tajawal for short navigation labels. Browse modern Arabic fonts and Arabic and Latin design. Prepare a sample with the Arabic keyboard and the Arabic font selection guide. See the official source at the supplied revision.