Layering Text & Counters

Layers are the new way to place icons and text visually on top of each other using the power of SVG+JS, replacing our classic icons stacks. With this new approach, you can use more than two icons.

We’ll cover the basics of how to use custom CSS to get layered effects.

Before You Get Started

Make sure you’re:

• Set up with Font Awesome in your project.
• Using the SVG+JS method of Font Awesome.
• Familiar with the basics of adding Font Awesome icons.

Layers are awesome when you don’t want your page’s background to show through, or when you do want to use multiple colors, layer several icons, layer text, or layer counters onto an icon. For clarity in the example, we’ve added a background color on the layers so you can see the effect.

<div class="fa-4x">
  <span class="fa-layers fa-fw" style="background:MistyRose">
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-circle" style="color:Tomato"></i>
    <i class="fa-inverse fa-solid  fa-times" data-fa-transform="shrink-6"></i>
  </span>

  <span class="fa-layers fa-fw" style="background:MistyRose">
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-bookmark"></i>
    <i class="fa-inverse fa-solid  fa-heart" data-fa-transform="shrink-10 up-2" style="color:Tomato"></i>
  </span>

  <span class="fa-layers fa-fw" style="background:MistyRose">
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-play" data-fa-transform="rotate--90 grow-4"></i>
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-sun fa-inverse" data-fa-transform="shrink-10 up-2"></i>
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-moon fa-inverse" data-fa-transform="shrink-11 down-4.2 left-4"></i>
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-star fa-inverse" data-fa-transform="shrink-11 down-4.2 right-4"></i>
  </span>

  <span class="fa-layers fa-fw" style="background:MistyRose">
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-calendar"></i>
    <span class="fa-layers-text fa-inverse" data-fa-transform="shrink-8 down-3" style="font-weight:900">27</span>
  </span>

  <span class="fa-layers fa-fw" style="background:MistyRose">
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-certificate"></i>
    <span class="fa-layers-text fa-inverse" data-fa-transform="shrink-11.5 rotate--30" style="font-weight:900">NEW</span>
  </span>

  <span class="fa-layers fa-fw" style="background:MistyRose">
    <i class="fa-solid  fa-envelope"></i>
    <span class="fa-layers-counter" style="background:Tomato">1,419</span>
  </span>
</div>

Your Turn!

Try laying it on thick with these Codepen layering examples.

Layering Rendering Issues

Currently layers with multiple icons are not rendering properly. We’re aware of the issue and are working on a fix. In the meantime, we recommend using additional CSS to get the desired effect of layered icons.

Layering Element	How It Works
fa-layers	Wraps your stack of icons or text. You’ll likely want to also include an fa-fw class so your layers align.
Inner icons	Add as many icons as you like directly inside your fa-layers element. Icons stack with the last icon on the top.
fa-layers-text	Add inside your fa-layers element to put text on top of an icon. Combine with data-fa-transform for full control.
fa-layers-counter	Adds a counter to the top right of your icons. Can be positioned with fa-layers-bottom-left, fa-layers-bottom-right, fa-layers-top-left and the default fa-layers-top-right. Overflow text is truncated with an ellipsis.

Customizing

We’ve added CSS custom properties to make customizing easier and more efficient. Define your own values for the following properties to override and customize Font Awesome’s defaults.

CSS Custom Property	Details	Accepted Values
--fa-counter-background-color	Set fa-layers-counter’s background color	Any valid CSS color value
--fa-counter-border-radius	Set fa-layers-counter’s border radius	Any valid CSS border-radius value
--fa-counter-line-height	Set fa-layers-counter’s line-height	Any valid CSS line-height value
--fa-counter-max-width	Set fa-layers-counter’s max-width	Any valid CSS width value
--fa-counter-min-width	Set fa-layers-counter’s min-width	Any valid CSS width value
--fa-counter-padding	Set fa-layers-counter’s padding	Any valid CSS padding value
--fa-counter-scale	Set how much fa-layers-counter is scaled up/down	Any valid CSS transform scale value
--fa-top	Set top offset of .fa-layers-top-left or layers-top-right	Any valid CSS top value
--fa-right	Set right offset of .fa-layers-top-right or layers-bottom-right	Any valid CSS right value
--fa-bottom	Set bottom offset of .fa-layers-bottom-left or layers-bottom-right	Any valid CSS bottom value
--fa-left	Set left offset of .fa-layers-top-left or layers-bottom-left	Any valid CSS left value
--fa-inverse	Set color of an inverted stacked icon	Any valid CSS color value