Whether you're a podcaster or comedian, vlogger, or artist, TikTok can be a great platform for you to reach your audience. Captioned, subtitled, and headline-carrying clips get better engagement, so you might want to make it a habit to add captions and text to your TikTok videos. Here are your font options.
TikTok uses Classic, Typewriter, Handwriting, NEON, and Serif fonts, each of which has different connotations and can be used for headlines or caption texts. Text captions like "wait for it" can reduce the skip rate, while actual subtitles can increase watch time. But it is crucial to use a legible font.
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In this article, you will learn more about TikTok fonts alongside their respective uses, which ones to use in which context, and how to add subtitle fonts that TikTok doesn’t even have. So let’s get started with the fonts used by TikTok.
Classic
Classic font is the default font for captions on TikTok. It has a rounded property, and the lettering is commonly associated with TikTok because of how often it is used. Classic TikTok caption isn't designed to have a very particular type of feel. It can go on funny videos, advice clips, and even keynotes.
With the excessive exposure of this font, though, specialists are starting to avoid it. While it is great to have a following on TikTok, it doesn't serve your specialist brand to be associated with TikTok only.
Use the Classic font for:
Podcast Clips - podcast clips are among spoken word content categories that can benefit the most from captioning and headlines. Because most podcasts are casual media, the Classic font doesn't clash with their inherent themes.
Mini Vlogs - If you post recaps of your day or highlights of your adventures (travel, bar hopping, dining establishments, etc.), then a broad and casually accessible font like TikTok Classic can help you connect with your viewers.
Standup Comedy - Standup comedy is the type of spoken word content that is compatible with most 'everyday fonts.' The conventions of Standup are not very tightly guarded. You can get away with using any font that isn't strictly formal or downright unreadable.
Skits and Sketches - Skits and sketches follow the same rationale as standup comedy. The clips can be titled or captioned with the Classic font as it is accessible, readable, and not too serious.
Don't use Classic font for:
Educational content captions - Educational content is at the risk of being taken too casually if it is written in the Classic font. This was not the case before the Classic font became casual and comedy TikToks due to its overuse in common TikTok clips.
Luxury-related content - Luxury content has to create an air of exclusivity. The Classic font is so overexposed that it serves the opposite purpose. One of the easiest ways to make your brand look cheap is to start using the Classic font on its official TikTok videos.
Typewriter
Typewriter is a quirky font in the context of TikTok. It features a font mimicking the typeface of a traditional typewriter. The typewriter font has high readability even with multiple lines of text. That's why it is meant to be used for longer on-screen captions.
The typewriter font doesn't have broad compatibility as it is assumed to be more educational. It's not as on the nose as being exclusive to writers only. Still, the people who would find it the most relevant to their brand are most likely educationists, speakers, and advice vloggers.
Use typewriter font for:
Advice - Advice content needs lengthy captions at times. The typewriter font is perfect for writing longer captions. It is also not compatible with comedy, so it gets taken a little more seriously.
Monologue content - Professional speakers and consultants can use the typewriter font to elaborate on their points or to subtitle them. Again, the lower frequency of the typewriter fonts used with comedy content makes it a great replacement for the Classic font in semi-serious contexts.
Fun facts - Typewriter font is just casual enough to be used for infotainment content like fun facts and trivia. It can be used for multi-sentence as well as single-sentence captions.
Don't use typewriter font for:
Luxury niche - Content in the luxury niche requires a slightly more mature font. That's why it is better not to use the typewriter font for your content if you operate in the luxury niche.
Headlines - headlines are expected to be bolder, and the typewriter font is far more compatible with sentence case and paragraphs. It doesn't aesthetically fit the mode of a headline.
Handwriting
This font is made up of glyphs that represent handwritten cursive. It isn't very legible and is better off for video titles and in contexts where the text is not important. Avoid using it for subtitles and captions.
Its current connotations are creative and offbeat, so it fits artists' brands. It doesn't really match high-end businesses, luxury brands, and even authority brands.
Use Handwriting font for:
Video titles - The handwriting font isn't very bold. But a good designer can make its eccentricity work in a headline. You can use the handwriting font to slap the video label onto the video screen. This increases the click-through rate of the video from your profile.
Creative labels - Aside from video titles, you can use the text to highlight specific creative works in a video. This works well for studio tour videos and collection showcasing clips.
Don't use Handwriting font for:
Captions - The handwriting font doesn't work very well for subtitling. The fanciness of the font is neutralized by its lack of legibility.
Formal content - Formal content like legal' opinions or celebrity statements should not be touched by the handwriting font. The font's uber-casual approach can lower the chances of the content being taken seriously.
NEON
The NEON font is a very title-friendly and anti-caption font that features glowing text and carries nightlife, party, and celebratory connotations. It can be used in all the contexts in which you can use the handwriting font but within the festive contexts.
The NEON font is the narrowest TikTok font with the highest risk of a brand mismatch. So use it carefully and only when you're 100% confident that you know what you are doing.
Use the NEON font for:
Celebratory/Party-related titles - Part announcements, club openings, etc., are festive events. The celebratory aspect of these overshadows the need for formality and even legibility. The NEON font is perfect for these.
Festive subject labels - Club name, party organizer label, etc. can be published in the NEON font because it is in line with the nighttime vibe. The NEON font is appropriate for themes adjacent to the night.
Nightclub video titles - As mentioned earlier. NEON complements nightlife. However, that doesn't mean that it can be used for captions and subtitles in the nightlife industry. It works well for headlines, though.
Don't use NEON font for:
Captions - NEON font might be a thematic fit for parties and nightlife content. But it is functionally incompatible with body text and subtitles. Avoid using it as captions or reservation details text, even in the nightlife context.
Formal content - Even if you have a corporate brand that sells NEON lights, don't use the NEON font. The NEON font is antithetical to everything formal.
Serif
Serif is a formal font that has traditional serifs and is pretty close to Times New Roman in its legibility and likeness. Serif can be used for all the contexts in which typewriter font is used, provided that the theme is formal.
Just like Times New Roman, the Serif font on TikTok is broadly usable by most people. However, it looks too formal when used by video content creators, especially if the videos themselves are light-hearted.
Use the Serif font for:
Educational videos - Serif's seriousness makes it compatible with content that must be taken seriously. This obviously includes educational videos. The serif font can be used to create captions in educational, consulting, and legal advice niches.
Advice videos - Advice videos, in general, can benefit from being captioned in a font that exudes seriousness. Advice videos that are too formal to be subtitled with the Classic TikTok font should be captioned with the serif one.
Don't use the Serif font for:
Comedy videos - Comedy is a very open and accepting niche for everything except formality and air of pretentiousness. Serif font has textbook energy in videos, and using them for standup comedy is almost always antithetical.
Casual podcast clips - Podcasts can get deep and educational, yet they remain a largely casual mode of communication. Using serif font for podcast captions can turn off casual viewers who might assume an air of seriousness that they don't want to engage with.
General video titles - Serif font on TikTok is just not good for headlines in videos. That's not to say that all serif fonts are poor choices for subtitles. It's just that TikTok has just one serif font, and it looks bad for both formal and informal headlines.
ContentFries: Add Fonts That TikTok Doesn’t Have
Millions of people use TikTok, so even the least mainstream font choice will be adopted by hundreds of thousands of people. Use ContentFries to subtitle your videos with custom fonts that align with your brand.
This makes your content more cohesive and gives you a wider range of font options. Most importantly, it is over 50 times quicker in text captioning than TikTok's manual subtitling method.
Final Thoughts
TikTok uses five fonts, with Classic being the most used and NEON font being the least used. You should use Classic or Typewriter for casual captions. Serif works better for formal content captions. But if you find these choices limiting, then you should use an alternative editor like ContentFries to add captions and headlines in custom fonts.
