Font Awesome vs Material Icons (2026)

Font Awesome uses the Mixed (CC BY 4.0 free icons, MIT code) license, a permissive open-source license that allows free commercial use in web and mobile applications.

Material Icons uses the MIT License — one of the most permissive open-source licenses. You can use it in any commercial project, modify the icons, and redistribute them freely. The only requirement is preserving the copyright notice in copies of the software.

<FontAwesomeIcon icon={faHome} />

import HomeIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Home'
import HomeOutlinedIcon from '@mui/icons-material/HomeOutlined'
import SearchIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Search'
import DeleteIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Delete'

// ✅ Path imports — up to 6x faster in dev than barrel imports
// ❌ Avoid: import { HomeIcon } from '@mui/icons-material'

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* Filled — bold, solid, for primary actions */}
      <HomeIcon />

      {/* Outlined — minimal stroke-style, for supporting UI */}
      <HomeOutlinedIcon />

      {/* Sizing via fontSize prop */}
      <SearchIcon fontSize="small" />   {/* 20px */}
      <SearchIcon fontSize="medium" />  {/* 24px default */}
      <SearchIcon fontSize="large" />   {/* 35px */}
      <SearchIcon sx={{ fontSize: 48 }} />

      {/* Color via MUI theme tokens or custom hex */}
      <DeleteIcon color="error" />
      <DeleteIcon sx={{ color: '#6366f1' }} />
    </div>
  )
}

Which is better: Font Awesome or Material Icons?

Choosing between Font Awesome and Material Icons depends entirely on your project's technical requirements and design aesthetic. Font Awesome provides 2,058 icons and is notable for extensive library, while Material Icons offers 2,100 icons and is best known for 5 style variants per icon — filled, outlined, rounded, sharp, twotone from one package.

Are Font Awesome and Material Icons completely free to use?

Yes. Both libraries are highly permissive open-source projects. Font Awesome is licensed under Mixed (CC BY 4.0 free icons, MIT code), and Material Icons is licensed under MIT. Both licenses permit free commercial usage, modification, and redistribution in both personal and enterprise projects.

Do these libraries support TypeScript natively?

Yes, Font Awesome includes excellent built-in TypeScript definitions. Similarly, Material Icons offers robust native TypeScript support for an improved developer experience.

npm install @fortawesome/fontawesome-svg-core @fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons @fortawesome/react-fontawesome

npm install @mui/icons-material @mui/material @emotion/styled @emotion/react