Use Your Own Fonts in Zella

Quick answer: Zella can use your own font files for titles and captions. Import .ttf, .otf, .ttc or .otc files, in any script (Latin, Bangla, Hindi, Arabic, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and more). On the Mac, click Add font in a title’s Font grid (or drag font files onto it), or pick Add Font… in the Captions tab’s font menu. On iPhone, tap the Add font card in the font picker and choose files from Files. Your fonts collect under My fonts, stay on your device, and travel with an iPhone project to the Mac. Only use fonts you have the right to use.

On this page: formats · on the Mac · on iPhone · languages · where they live · favourites and removing · hand-off · licences · FAQ

For where to get a font you are allowed to use and how to check it covers your script, read how to use custom fonts in video captions and titles.

Which font files work?

Format	What it is
.ttf	TrueType, the most common download
.otf	OpenType
.ttc	A TrueType collection (several faces in one file)
.otc	An OpenType collection

Variable fonts work too. Every file is checked before it is added: a damaged file, a file that is not really a font, or one over 160 MB is turned away with a message saying why. Adding a font you already have just tells you it was already in My fonts. You can pick several files at once.

How to add a font on the Mac

For titles:

Open the Text tab and click a title style (or Edit on a placed title) to open the title editor.
Next to Font, click Add font, or click the Add font card at the start of the font grid.
Choose one or more font files and click Add Fonts.
Your families appear under My fonts at the top of the grid, above Built-in. Click one to use it.

You can also drag font files from Finder straight onto the font grid; it outlines while you drag, and the files import on drop.

For captions: open the Captions tab, open the Font menu and choose Add Font… (.ttf / .otf / .ttc). Your imported fonts are listed under My Fonts at the top of the same menu.

Titles and captions share one library, so a font you add in one place is ready in the other. See titles and captions.

On iPhone

Tap Text (or Captions) in the editor’s tool strip.
In the font picker, tap the Add font card (the first tile, with a plus).
Choose your font files in Files. They can come from iCloud Drive, a download or any Files location.
The first new face is applied straight away, and everything you added sits under the My fonts chip (it also leads All).

The picker reminds you: “Add .ttf, .otf, .ttc or .otc files from Files. Only use fonts you have the right to use.” Cards for your own fonts preview in the font’s own script, so a Bangla face shows Bangla letters rather than “Aa”.

The same picker serves captions and titles, so one import covers both. More in captions & titles on iPhone.

Languages and scripts

Imported fonts are rendered by Apple’s text engine, which shapes complex scripts from the font itself: Bangla and Devanagari conjuncts, Arabic joining and right-to-left text, Thai marks, and Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters. If your font is missing a character, that one character falls back to a system font instead of turning into a box.

This matters most for captions. Zella’s built-in caption fonts are Latin-only, so on a non-Latin transcript they fall back to the system font. A font you import is used as chosen, which is how you get a Bangla or Arabic caption in the exact face you want.

Where your fonts live

Each font is copied into Zella’s own library (in the app’s Application Support folder), so you can delete or move the original download afterwards.
They are registered for Zella only. Nothing is installed system-wide and there is no install prompt.
They are never uploaded anywhere.
They are re-loaded every time Zella opens, so a project that uses one keeps rendering it after a restart.

Favourites and removing a font

On the Mac, right-click a font card in the title editor:

Save as favourite (or Remove from favourites) - favourites float to the front of the grid with a star.
Remove from My fonts - after you confirm, the font is taken out of Zella. Titles that used it show Helvetica Neue until you add the font again.

On iPhone, long-press a font card:

Save as favourite (or Remove favourite) - starred fonts also collect under the star chip.
Remove from My fonts (only on your own fonts) - after you confirm, titles and captions that used it show the system font.

Removing a font never deletes your project. Add the same file again and the text picks it back up.

Fonts travel from iPhone to Mac

When you hand a project from the phone to the Mac as a .zella file, the package carries the imported fonts its titles and captions use. Open it on the Mac (or on another iPhone) and those fonts are added to My fonts automatically, so the text looks the same on the big screen. See export & Mac handoff.

If a project ever opens with a font that is not on the device, Zella tells you which one is missing and shows a fallback font until you add it.

A note on font licences

Fonts are software with licences. Zella shows the line “Only use fonts you have the right to use.” Many free families (for example those under the SIL Open Font License) allow use in videos, while some commercial fonts need a licence that covers video or broadcast. Check the licence that came with the font before you publish.

Custom fonts FAQ

Can I use my own fonts in Zella? Yes. Import .ttf, .otf, .ttc or .otc files for titles and captions, on Mac and iPhone.

Does it work with Bangla, Hindi or Arabic fonts? Yes. Conjuncts, joining and right-to-left text are shaped from the font itself.

Is importing fonts a Pro feature? No. It is free on every plan.

Do I need to install the font on my Mac first? No. Zella keeps its own copy and loads it for the app only.

Will my fonts come across when I send an iPhone project to the Mac? Yes. The .zella package includes the imported fonts its titles and captions use, and the Mac adds them when it opens the project.

I added a font but it is not in the list. Why? Check the message Zella shows after the import: the file may be damaged, not a real font, or already in My fonts. See troubleshooting.

Pro tips & gotchas

Import the weights you need. Bold and italic are separate faces in most families; add each file you want to use.
Use a collection file (.ttc or .otc) to bring a whole family in one go.
Favourite your brand font so it sits at the front of the grid every time.
Keep the original files somewhere safe if you work across several Macs; each device keeps its own library.