Icons Count as Licensed Assets
Teams often audit "brand fonts" and forget icon fonts. Font Awesome is one of the most widely deployed font-based icon sets on the web — and Pro icons require a paid license.
Font Awesome Free
Font Awesome Free icons are available under a mix of licenses (CC BY 4.0 for some icons, SIL OFL for the font files, MIT for code — verify the current FAQ for your version).
In practice for most websites:
- You can use Free icons on commercial sites
- You should retain attribution where the license requires it
- You must not claim the icons as your own exclusive design
Always check the version you ship — license text can differ by major release.
Font Awesome Pro
Font Awesome Pro is commercial. A Pro subscription or perpetual license is required to use Pro icon sets. Common violations include:
- Copying Pro webfont / SVG kits from a previous employer or client
- Using a Pro CDN kit token on sites outside the licensed seats/domains
- Keeping Pro files in a public GitHub repo
- Continuing to serve Pro assets after the subscription lapses
CDN, Kits, and Self-Hosting
Font Awesome offers kits and npm packages. Compliance depends on what you are entitled to, not which install method you prefer.
| Method | Risk if unlicensed |
|---|---|
| Official kit / CDN with valid plan | Usually fine |
Self-hosted Pro fa-solid-900.woff2 without plan | High risk |
| Theme that bundles Pro files | High risk — themes rarely grant you Pro rights |
How to Audit Icon Fonts
- Search the network tab for
fontawesome,fa-, or kit URLs - Inspect CSS for
Font Awesome 6 Pro(or similar) family names - Compare icon names against Free vs Pro sets if unsure
- Include icon fonts in your domain-wide font scan — they appear as font files too
SVG-Only Setups Still Need Rights
Switching from webfonts to SVG sprites does not erase Pro licensing. The icons remain copyrighted artwork.
Conclusion
Treat Font Awesome Pro like any other commercial font family: license it, limit where it is used, and remove it when the plan ends. Free icons are fine for most sites — Pro icons are not a gray area.