Notes on Typefaces
Included on this page are some notes compiled on fonts that I’ve come across, while trying to identify equivalents and variants. The Font Versions page lists many common fonts (both free and proprietary) and their latest known version if you are attempted to track them down.
Equivalents
Below is a set of free rough equivalents to reasonably well-known proprietary fonts. There are various arguments as to how similar the free fonts are, however the general size and shape should be a close match.
| Proprietary Font | Free Font(s) Equivalents |
|---|---|
| Times New Roman | Liberation Serif, Tinos |
| Helvetica / Arial | Arimo, Lato, Libersation Sans, Nimbus Sans L, FreeSans |
| Courier New | Cousine |
| Calibri | Carlito |
| Cambria | Caladea |
| Comic Sans | Comic Neue |
| Segoe UI | Selawik |
| Verdana | DejaVu Sans, Legendum |
| Futura | Beteckna |
| Interstate | Overpass |
| Consolas | Inconsolata |
| Joanna | Fanwood |
| Garamond | EB Garamond |
Notes
- The Arial typeface is almost indistinguishable from Helvetica by most people.
- Tinos, Arimo, and Cousine are a part of the Croscore Fonts package. Carlito and Caladea also come as part of the Croscore Extra package.
- Carlito and Caladea are metric-adjusted versions of the Lato and Cambo.
- Tinos, Arimo, and Cousine form the basis of the Liberation fonts.
- FreeSans is derived from Nimbus Sans L, which in turn is based on the Helvetica design.
Recommendations
Sans
- Monda
- Fira Sans
- Montserrat
- Roboto
- Source Sans Pro
Serif
- Century
- Crimson Text
- Liberation Serif
- Roboto Slab
- Sanchez
Monospace
- Clear Sans
- Inconsolata
- Monaco
- Roboto Mono
- Ubuntu Mono
Handwriting
- Caveat Brush
- Gaegu
- Itim
- Permanent Marker
- Rancho
Display
- Audiowide
- Comfortaa
- Corben
- Iceland
- Mirza
Websites
Some websites which provide typefaces to download, many of which are free.