Fluent Emoji vs Twemoji
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A free set of friendly, modern emoji icons from Microsoft, published on GitHub.
Open source · MIT
Twitter's open-source emoji images and a small JavaScript library to swap emoji characters for images.
The short answer
Choose Fluent Emoji if you need…
- Designers looking for a free emoji style to use in mockups or interfaces
- Developers who want emoji images for a web or app project, after checking the license terms
- Creators who want consistent emoji artwork for content
Choose Twemoji if you need…
- Web developers who want the same emoji look across all browsers and operating systems
- Sites that display user-generated text and need emoji to render consistently
- Developers who want to resize emoji to match surrounding text using CSS
- Designers looking for a free, consistent emoji image set with attribution
Side-by-side
| Fluent Emoji | Twemoji | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Design asset | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 10.2k | 17.8k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | See the README | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Python | HTML |
| Last code update | 2 months ago | 4 months ago |
What each one is
Fluent Emoji
Fluent Emoji is a collection of emoji artwork created by Microsoft and shared as open source under the MIT license. The README describes them as familiar, friendly, and modern emoji. The README provided does not describe file formats, folder layout, or how to use the images, so those details are not covered here.
Twemoji
Twemoji is a JavaScript library and image set from Twitter that replaces standard Unicode emoji characters with consistent picture files. This lets emoji look the same on every platform and browser instead of depending on each system's own emoji font. The graphics are licensed CC-BY 4.0, and the README asks users to give attribution.
Best for
Fluent Emoji
- Designers looking for a free emoji style to use in mockups or interfaces
- Developers who want emoji images for a web or app project, after checking the license terms
- Creators who want consistent emoji artwork for content
Twemoji
- Web developers who want the same emoji look across all browsers and operating systems
- Sites that display user-generated text and need emoji to render consistently
- Developers who want to resize emoji to match surrounding text using CSS
- Designers looking for a free, consistent emoji image set with attribution
Strengths
Fluent Emoji
- Free and open source under the MIT license
- Developed and published by Microsoft with a named design contact
- Large community interest, with about 10,000 GitHub stars
Twemoji
- Based on Unicode 14.0 and Emoji 14.0 specs, per the README
- Offers a DOM parsing mode that avoids innerHTML, which the README calls the safer option
- Permissive MIT license for the code, with CC-BY 4.0 graphics
Not ideal for
Fluent Emoji
- People who need a ready-made app or tool: the README describes an emoji collection, not a program
- Anyone who needs documented usage instructions, since the README shown does not include them
Twemoji
- Projects that need custom or non-Unicode emoji, since the README says custom emoji are not supported
- Anyone who wants to pass untrusted HTML strings directly to the string parser, because the README says that method does not sanitize input
- Projects that depend on the MaxCDN image host, which the README says is shut down
Trade-offs
Fluent Emoji
- The README provided does not describe how to download, install, or use the images
- The shown README is truncated, so detailed information may be missing
Twemoji
- The README says the MaxCDN default image host is shut down, so you must use another CDN or download the assets yourself
- The README notes that the string parsing method does not sanitize input, so it is not recommended
- Version 14 is the latest documented version, and the README points to a legacy API for older code
Getting started
Fluent Emoji
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/fluentui-emojiTwemoji
Load the latest library from unpkg
<script src="https://unpkg.com/twemoji@latest/dist/twemoji.min.js" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Fluent Emoji and Twemoji?
Fluent Emoji: A free set of friendly, modern emoji icons from Microsoft, published on GitHub. Twemoji: Twitter's open-source emoji images and a small JavaScript library to swap emoji characters for images. Fluent Emoji suits designers looking for a free emoji style to use in mockups or interfaces, while Twemoji suits web developers who want the same emoji look across all browsers and operating systems.
Are Fluent Emoji and Twemoji free?
Fluent Emoji: Free and open source. Twemoji: Free and open source.
Is Fluent Emoji or Twemoji more popular?
Twemoji has more GitHub stars (17.8k) than Fluent Emoji (10.2k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.