🖼 Line Awesome, a FontAwesome replacement in 2026
Icon fonts are the fastest way to add graphics to a project without dealing with SVG files. FontAwesome has become the standard: millions of sites load its CDN every day.
But this standard comes with a cost. The free version is limited, Pro icons require a subscription, and the full CSS file weighs hundreds of kilobytes. Plus the monotonous solid style creates visual noise on dense interfaces.
Line Awesome solves these problems with one line of code. It's a free icon font from Icons8 with 1,380 icons in a thin line style. Same class names, same sizes, but a different style and completely free without Pro tiers or counters.
💡 Quick overview:
- Understand how Line Awesome differs from FontAwesome and why it's worth considering
- Connect the icon font to your project via CDN, npm or local file
- Replace FontAwesome with Line Awesome without editing HTML markup
- Configure icon sizes, colors and animations for your specific layout
What Line Awesome is and how it differs from FontAwesome
Line Awesome is an icon font from Icons8 studio, created as a drop-in replacement for FontAwesome 5.11.2. Under the hood: 1,380 icons in a thin line style, drawn according to Windows 10 guidelines. The main engineering advantage is that class names match FontAwesome. You change the CSS file in your project, and all icons migrate to the new style without editing HTML.
The key difference is aesthetics. FontAwesome uses solid silhouettes (solid style), Line Awesome uses outline strokes. In practice this means: icons are easier to read on dense layouts, less visual noise in navigation and lists. For admin panels, dashboards and settings interfaces, the linear style often looks cleaner.
Another practical advantage is optimization for large sizes. According to Icons8 documentation, FontAwesome is designed for 14×14px, while Line Awesome is designed for 32×32px. When scaling, linear icons maintain sharpness, while solid icons start to blur at the edges.
The license is Good Boy License from Icons8. This means free use in any projects, including commercial ones, provided you link to Icons8. No Pro tiers, no limits on views or domains. All 1,380 icons are available immediately.
How to connect Line Awesome to your project
The simplest way is CDN. Add one line to your <head>:
1 <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxst.icons8.com/vue-static/landings/line-awesome/line-awesome/1.3.0/css/line-awesome.min.css">
After this, icons are available through the <i> tag with las la-* classes. For example, the camera icon:
1 <i class="las la-camera"></i>
If your project uses a bundler, install via npm:
1 npm install line-awesome
Then import the CSS at your entry point:
1 import 'line-awesome/dist/line-awesome/css/line-awesome.min.css';
The local version is preferable for production: no dependency on third-party CDN, less latency, full control over caching. You can download the archive from the GitHub repository. The repository is active, latest version is 1.3.0.
How to replace FontAwesome with Line Awesome
Replacement comes down to three steps. First, remove the FontAwesome CSS file from your template:
1 <!-- Remove --> 2 <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/5.15.4/css/all.min.css">
Then connect Line Awesome:
1 <!-- Add --> 2 <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxst.icons8.com/vue-static/landings/line-awesome/font-awesome-line-awesome/css/all.min.css">
Note the second line: this is a special build that maps fa fa-* classes to corresponding las la-* classes. Once connected, all <i class="fa fa-camera"> in your markup automatically become linear icons. No need to change HTML.
In Bootstrap projects, replacement is even simpler. Find the FontAwesome connection line in your <head> and change the URL to the font-awesome-line-awesome build. All Bootstrap components using icons, buttons, navigation, form validation, pick up the new style automatically.
Line Awesome: fine tuning and customization
Size matters. Line Awesome is designed for large icons: at the target resolution of 32×32px, lines look perfect. At small sizes, some icons lose readability, thin strokes merge. The solution: force 16px through CSS, as the setup guide suggests:
1 .icon-sm { font-size: 16px; }
Most icons display normally in this range. If a specific icon blurs, replace it with a simpler one from the same set.
For designers: all icons are available in the Icons8 web app. You can search by keywords, copy SVG directly, or edit line thickness before export. This is convenient when the set of 1,380 doesn't cover a specific need: the Icons8 platform has more than 4,000 icons in the same Windows 10 style.
Icon color is changed with standard color in CSS, like any font. Animation is done through transition or @keyframes. No special APIs: Line Awesome inherits the behavior of regular text, which simplifies integration into an existing design system. In practice, this means the frontend developer doesn't need to learn new syntax: all familiar CSS properties work without restrictions, and icons automatically pick up the color and size of the parent block.
Video tutorial on working with icon fonts: connection, positioning and CSS tricks. Demonstration on FontAwesome, but all techniques apply to Line Awesome one to one.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Full class compatibility with
FontAwesome5.11.2, migration in five minutes without editing HTML - All 1,380 icons are free, without Pro restrictions and view counters, confirmed on the project website
- Linear style that reads cleaner on dashboards and administrative interfaces
- Optimization for 32×32px, icons don't blur when scaling, according to Icons8 specifications
- Access to the Icons8 web app with 4,000+ icons in the same style for custom needs
Cons:
- The project hasn't been updated significantly since version 1.3.0, the GitHub repository confirms no new releases
- At small sizes (14×14px and below) thin lines lose readability, documentation advises forcing 16px
- Good Boy License requires Icons8 attribution, not MIT, a link is mandatory
- For marketing pages and landing pages,
FontAwesomesolid style often looks more appropriate
Which projects is Line Awesome best suited for
Line Awesome wins in three scenarios.
Admin panels and dashboards. The linear style creates less visual noise, the interface looks cleaner, and icons don't pull attention away from data.
New projects from scratch. If you're not historically tied to FontAwesome, take Line Awesome. You get a full set of 1,380 icons for free, without thinking about Pro subscriptions and limits.
Bootstrap projects. Replacing one line in <head> moves all components to the new style automatically. Buttons, navigation, form validation, everything picks up without editing templates.
But when you don't need Line Awesome. If your project already uses FontAwesome Solid and you're happy with the style, there's little point in migrating. It works, don't touch it. For landing pages with dense graphics, FontAwesome solid icons look weightier and more familiar.
⁉️🤔 Frequently asked questions
What license does Line Awesome have, can it be used in commercial projects?
Line Awesome is distributed under the Good Boy License from Icons8. This means free use in any projects, including commercial and proprietary ones. There are no restrictions on the number of views, domains or projects. The only requirement is to keep a link to Icons8 in the interface or source code. Unlike MIT, attribution is mandatory, but you don't need to pay.
How much heavier is Line Awesome than FontAwesome?
The full Line Awesome set weighs about 120 KB in minified CSS, comparable to
FontAwesomeFree. But since you only use part of the icons, the real impact on loading is minimal. jsDelivr CDN serves files through Cloudflare with gzip/brotli compression, the final size is around 25-35 KB.
Are old browsers supported?
Icon fonts are supported by all browsers starting with IE 8. Line Awesome is no exception: WOFF2 format works in Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge. IE 11 uses the fallback WOFF format, which is included in the distribution.
What to do if the needed icon is not in the set?
First step, search on the Icons8 platform in the same Windows 10 style. There are more than 4,000 icons there, many available for free in SVG. Second step, take the closest icon in meaning from Line Awesome and refine it through CSS: rotation, reflection, overlay. Third, use a custom SVG alongside the icon font: they coexist normally in one project.
Is Line Awesome being updated in 2026?
The repository on GitHub is active, but there haven't been significant new versions since 1.3.0. The set of 1,380 icons covers the main pool of web developer needs, but new icon categories are not being added. Icons8 is developing a paid API for access to an extended collection, but that's a different niche. For specific icons, the Icons8 platform with SVG export helps.
Do you need to edit HTML when migrating from FontAwesome?
No, that's the main point of Line Awesome. You connect the special
font-awesome-line-awesome.min.cssbuild, and allfa fa-*classes are automatically mapped tolas la-*. All HTML with<i class="fa fa-camera">remains untouched, and icons become linear.
What to use: Line Awesome or FontAwesome in 2026
If you're starting a new project, take Line Awesome. You get a full set of icons for free, modern linear style and class compatibility that simplifies future migration. No Pro tiers, no restrictions.
If your project is already on FontAwesome and the solid style suits you, stay with it. Migration for the sake of migration isn't worth the time. But when a redesign or migration to new markup is planned, try Line Awesome on a test stand. Replace one CSS line and go through the interface. You'll see the difference in a minute.
Try Line Awesome right now: project documentation with connection examples and the Icons8 web app for finding icons for your task.
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