Unlike many Latin-to-Arabic adaptations, Helvetica Neue LT Arabic maintains:
If you need a font that looks 90% like Helvetica Neue Lt Arabic and supports bilingual text, but your budget is zero, use these Open Source alternatives. These fonts are licensed under the SIL Open Font License (OFL), meaning you can download, use, modify, and even sell designs made with them for free.
Looking for a clean, professional bilingual typeface that pairs Helvetica’s iconic neutrality with elegant Arabic script? The Helvetica Neue LT Arabic Family is a top choice for designers working on multilingual projects. Helvetica Neue Lt Arabic Family Free Download
In this guide, we’ll cover where to access trial versions, open-source alternatives, and how to legally download the complete family for your commercial work.
Helvetica Neue (German for "New Helvetica") is a reworking of the original 1957 Helvetica typeface. Released in 1983 by D. Stempel AG and Linotype, it features a more unified set of heights and widths, improved legibility, and a larger character set. It is the gold standard for corporate branding, signage, and UI design. Pro Tip: Helvetica Neue has a distinct horizontal width
Even with a free alternative, you must adjust your CSS (for web) or paragraph styles (for print) to mimic the "Lt" (Light) feel of Helvetica.
CSS Code for Web (Using IBM Plex Sans Arabic as Helvetica Substitute): Unlike many Latin-to-Arabic adaptations
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=IBM+Plex+Sans+Arabic:wght@300;400;600&display=swap');
body font-family: 'IBM Plex Sans Arabic', 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-weight: 300; /* This is the 'Light' equivalent / font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.5px; / Helvetica Neue has tight tracking */ line-height: 1.4;
Pro Tip: Helvetica Neue has a distinct horizontal width. To make free alternatives look more like it, manually adjust the letter-spacing (tracking) between -0.02em and -0.05em.
Monotype offers a subscription service starting around $10–$15 per month. This gives you access to the entire Helvetica Neue Lt Arabic family as part of a larger library of thousands of fonts. You can install and use them on a limited number of devices while subscribed.