Arabic engineering reference
IBM Plex Sans Arabic Font: Size and Variable File
IBM Plex Sans Arabic needs 85.1 KB for Arabic regular and bold: rank 13 of 20, heavier than the sample median of 54.0 KB. The selected Fontsource source has no variable file. Latin makes up 31% of the mixed-script total. Every figure on this page comes from the August 23, 2026 WOFF2 snapshot.
What the measurements say about IBM Plex Sans Arabic
- It is 2.5× the Sans median of 34.2 KB.
- Switching to Tajawal, the smallest Sans family, would save 67.6 KB (79%) for the same two weights.
- The selected Fontsource source has no variable IBM Plex Sans Arabic file, so every extra weight is another static download of roughly 42.5 KB.
- Latin adds 37.8 KB, 31% of the mixed-script total.
- Bold is 3% larger than regular (43.2 KB vs 41.8 KB).
Size rank and delivery totals
Rank 13 of 20 overall and 8 of 9 in Sans, smallest first by Arabic 400+700 bytes. Ties share a rank. Measured on . Starting role (editorial guidance): Technical products.
| Scenario | Exact bytes | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic 400 + 700 | 87,128 | Two static WOFF2 files |
| Arabic + Latin 400 + 700 | 125,796 | Four static WOFF2 files |
| Added Latin bytes | 38,668 | Mixed-script total minus Arabic total |
| Arabic variable weight file | Not in selected source | One variable Arabic file, when available |
| Variable minus static | Not applicable | Compared with Arabic 400+700; negative means smaller |
Variable totals cover the selected Arabic weight-variable file, without a Latin variable file. Availability describes this snapshot’s package source. File sizes exclude CSS and do not predict latency, caching, rendering time or layout shift.
Arabic 400 preview
العربية لغة جميلة، وتصميمها الجيد يجعل القراءة أسهل.
Self-hosted Arabic subset, normal weight 400. Visual reference only; this sentence is not a complete shaping or language-coverage test.
Individual files and reproducibility
Static package: @fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic@5.3.0. The SHA-256 digests below identify the exact Arabic files; Latin file sizes are reported separately.
| Subset | Weight | Bytes | Recorded file / SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic | 400 | 42,848 | @fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic/files/ibm-plex-sans-arabic-arabic-400-normal.woff2SHA-256: 6010e7fd0dce5d527583951750728cbe3c895efbd16aa0f809ab8c824878c9d8 |
| Arabic | 700 | 44,280 | @fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic/files/ibm-plex-sans-arabic-arabic-700-normal.woff2SHA-256: 04c730b4292731ccedadd5bd80756124364ae4923895145d9cd7b1f28e443de1 |
| Latin | 400 | 19,164 | @fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic/files/ibm-plex-sans-arabic-latin-400-normal.woff2 |
| Latin | 700 | 19,504 | @fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic/files/ibm-plex-sans-arabic-latin-700-normal.woff2 |
Install the measured static package
npm install --save-exact @fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic@5.3.0Import the selected subsets
// Application entry: Arabic subsets, normal 400 and 700
import "@fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic/arabic-400.css";
import "@fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic/arabic-700.css";
// Add these only for the measured mixed-script scenario:
// import "@fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic/latin-400.css";
// import "@fontsource/ibm-plex-sans-arabic/latin-700.css";
// In your stylesheet:
// font-family: "IBM Plex Sans Arabic", sans-serif;The explicit subset imports reproduce the selected scenario. A bundler serves the package assets from your application; these snippets do not require a third-party font host. Use a fallback appropriate to your content and test it before deployment.
Declared coverage: 7/7
These checks inspect package-declared Unicode ranges, not the rendered font. They test seven representative characters, not all characters in a language.
| Representative check | Code point | Declared inclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic letter | U+0627 | Pass |
| Persian letter | U+067E | Pass |
| Urdu letter | U+0679 | Pass |
| Arabic-Indic digit | U+0661 | Pass |
| Eastern Arabic/Persian digit | U+06F1 | Pass |
| Arabic diacritic | U+064E | Pass |
| Arabic punctuation | U+061F | Pass |
Similar fonts by classification and size
The nearest 3 alternatives, prioritizing Sans families and then absolute difference in Arabic 400+700 bytes. When fewer than three same-class alternatives exist, the list includes other classifications, identified below. This is a delivery-size shortlist, not a claim that the glyphs look alike.
Noto Sans Arabic
Sans · 99,068 bytes; 11,940 bytes difference.
Almarai
Sans · 64,584 bytes; 22,544 bytes difference.
Vazirmatn
Sans · 42,816 bytes; 44,312 bytes difference.
Comparisons involving IBM Plex Sans Arabic
Method and limits
The benchmark measures filesystem bytes of normal 400 and 700 Arabic-subset WOFF2 files from installed Fontsource packages. It separately sums Latin files and records the Arabic variable file where available. The preview is a visual aid; readability is not scored.
Questions and answers
How large is IBM Plex Sans Arabic for Arabic regular and bold?
The Arabic 400 and 700 WOFF2 files total 87,128 bytes (85.1 KB), rank 13 of 20 measured families. Adding Latin brings it to 125,796 bytes. These are file sizes, not page-load timings.
Should I use the variable version of IBM Plex Sans Arabic?
The selected Fontsource source has no variable IBM Plex Sans Arabic file, so every extra weight is another static download of roughly 42.5 KB.
Does IBM Plex Sans Arabic cover Persian and Urdu letters?
IBM Plex Sans Arabic's declared Unicode ranges include the Persian (U+067E) and Urdu (U+0679) letters tested, passing 7 of 7 representative checks. All 20 measured families pass the same checks, so coverage does not separate them; test shaping with your own text.