Daily Archives: January 8, 2026

Fonts are critical! Well… words are more critical, but because words are displayed using fonts, that makes fonts critical. Of course, over the course of each year, working with literally thousands of presentations created by thousands of different authors, I can confidently say that fonts are one of the pain points of working with presentations. It is not uncommon to encounter various font issues due to the diversity of presentation authors, their work environment (e.g., app and device), and their font choices. Managing these differences can be challenging, as presentations are often shared across multiple devices, platforms, and even presentation applications, each with its own default font and font availability. 

Ever wonder what the absolute default font is for an application? For example, when you open the app and create a new presentation from scratch…what font is waiting for you to start working with?  

Well, here is some helpful information for everyone who works with presentations – a list of the default fonts for these presentation applications. 

Default Fonts by Application 

PowerPoint Desktop/Web/Mac: Aptos 

Aptos is a Microsoft font and will automatically install on all devices and operating systems (Windows, Mac, Android, desktop, tablet, or mobile device). The only caveat is if, by chance, Aptos is not currently installed on the device, then the device will need to be online when the presentation opens for the auto-installation to happen. 

Apple Keynote: SF Pro 

SF Pro is a Mac OS system font. It is automatically available on all Apple devices running Mac OS (desktop, tablet, phone). But note, this font cannot be installed on non-Mac OS devices (e.g., convert a Keynote presentation to PowerPoint, open that PowerPoint file on a Windows computer, and the SF Pro font is not going to work! PowerPoint will randomly assign a replacement font, which may or may not maintain the text alignment). 

Figma: Inter 

Inter is a Google font and will automatically install on all devices and operating systems (Windows, Mac, Android, desktop, tablet, or mobile device) when used in many programs. Note: PowerPoint is not one of these applications that trigger Inter to automatically download and install. But if using PowerPoint on Windows desktop or Mac desktop (where custom fonts can be installed), Inter can be downloaded from Google Fonts and installed on the device (tip: install the OTF version of the font, not the variable font, .VTF).   

Canva: Canva Sans 

Canva Sans is native to Canva and is the default font when no other Canva template is applied. Canva Sans will not automatically be installed if a presentation created in Canva is downloaded and opened in a different application. Canva Sans can be downloaded from third-party sites for use outside of Canva.  

Google Slides: Arial 

Arial, used by Google Slides, is a Google Font, and will automatically install on all devices and operating systems (Windows, Mac, Android, desktop, tablet, or mobile device) when used in many programs. PowerPoint will automatically use the Microsoft version of Arial for seamless use. 

Beautiful AI: no specific default font 

Beautiful.ai takes a different approach to fonts with no true default font. When creating a presentation, the user selects a presentation style that sets the font (which becomes the default font for that presentation). Beautiful.ai leverages Google fonts, so they will automatically download and install on all devices and operating systems (Windows, Mac, Android, desktop, tablet, or mobile device) when used in many programs. Note: PowerPoint will not automatically download and install Google fonts, but PowerPoint on Windows desktop and Mac desktop (where custom fonts can be installed), allows Google fonts to be downloaded and installed on the device (tip: install the OTF version of the font, not the variable font, .VTF). 

Gemini (AI-created presentation): no specific default font 

Gemini also does not have a designated default font; rather, based on the presentation options, a font is selected, and that font becomes the default font for that presentation. All Gemini presentations leverage Google fonts, so they will automatically download and install on all devices and operating systems (Windows, Mac, Android, desktop, tablet, or mobile device) when used in many programs. Same note: PowerPoint will not automatically download and install Google fonts, but PowerPoint on Windows desktop and Mac desktop (where custom fonts can be installed), allow Google fonts to be downloaded and installed on the device (tip: install the OTF version of the font, not the variable font, .VTF). 

Adobe Express: Source Sans (when no template with fonts specified is applied) 

Source Sans is the default font in Adobe Express when no template (which specifies a font) is applied. Source Sans is an Adobe Font and will automatically load for Adobe apps, including PDFs. While Adobe Cloud fonts cannot be downloaded, they can be installed on any device through the Creative Cloud app, and other applications, like PowerPoint, will recognize and use those fonts. 

Now you know 😊. 

-The TLC Creative Design Team