`font-smooth` CSS property

Non-standard: This feature is not standardized. We do not recommend using non-standard features in production, as they have limited browser support, and may change or be removed. However, they can be a suitable alternative in specific cases where no standard option exists.

The font-smooth CSS property controls the application of anti-aliasing when fonts are rendered.

Syntax

css

/* Keyword values */
font-smooth: auto;
font-smooth: never;
font-smooth: always;

/* <length> value */
font-smooth: 2em;

/* Global values */
font-smooth: inherit;
font-smooth: initial;
font-smooth: revert;
font-smooth: revert-layer;
font-smooth: unset;

Note: WebKit implements a similar property, but with different values: -webkit-font-smoothing. It only works on macOS.

auto - Let the browser decide (Uses subpixel anti-aliasing when available; this is the default)
none - Turn font smoothing off; display text with jagged sharp edges.
antialiased - Smooth the font on the level of the pixel, as opposed to the subpixel. Switching from subpixel rendering to anti-aliasing for light text on dark backgrounds makes it look lighter.
subpixel-antialiased - On most non-retina displays, this will give the sharpest text.

Note: Firefox implements a similar property, but with different values: -moz-osx-font-smoothing. It only works on macOS.

auto - Allow the browser to select an optimization for font smoothing, typically grayscale.
grayscale - Render text with grayscale anti-aliasing, as opposed to the subpixel. Switching from subpixel rendering to anti-aliasing for light text on dark backgrounds makes it look lighter.

Formal definition

Initial value	`auto`
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	yes
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

font-smooth = 
  auto             |
  never            |
  always           |
  <absolute-size>  |
  <length>         

<absolute-size> = 
  xx-small   |
  x-small    |
  small      |
  medium     |
  large      |
  x-large    |
  xx-large   |
  xxx-large

Examples

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Basic usage example

The following example shows the Safari/Chromium and Firefox equivalents that turn on font-smoothing on macOS. In both cases the smoothed font should look slightly lighter in weight.

For those of you not on a macOS system, here is a screenshot (the live version appears later on):

Two texts examples one with the font-smooth property and another one without

HTML

html

<p>Without font smoothing</p>

<p class="smoothed">With font smoothing</p>

CSS

css

html {
  background-color: black;
  color: white;
  font-size: 3rem;
}

p {
  text-align: center;
}

.smoothed {
  -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
  -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
}

Result

Specifications

Not part of any standard.

font-smooth CSS property