Free fonts similar to Arial
Arial is the fallback at the end of countless font stacks. When you see it on a page, check whether it is intentional: very often the intended web font failed to load and Arial is what the browser fell back to.
Short answer: the closest free alternative to Arial is Arimo. Roboto and Inter are also worth a look. All are open source and free for commercial use.
Arial is not installed on this device, so it cannot be drawn here. The free alternatives below are live. On a device that has it, this row shows the original and unlocks the overlay.
/* Arimo is open source. Self-host it or load it from Google Fonts. */ font-family: "Arimo", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
The alternatives in detail
1. ArimoMetric-compatible
Why it works. Metric-compatible with Arial, designed as a drop-in replacement. Layouts and documents keep their exact line breaks.
What differs. Tiny differences in curve details. Almost no one will notice.
2. Roboto
Why it works. A cleaner, more modern grotesque that is already cached or installed on many devices.
What differs. Narrower with a more geometric rhythm, so text reflows.
3. Inter
Why it works. A good upgrade when you want better screen legibility than Arial offers.
What differs. Wider with a taller x-height. Text looks larger at the same font size.
How to recognize Arial
Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders, 1982, Monotype. Its character widths were made to match Helvetica.
- Stroke endings on t, r, a and c are cut at an angle, where Helvetica’s are flat.
- The uppercase R has a straight diagonal leg, and G has no spur.
- If the CSS names another font first, you are looking at a fallback.
In a site’s CSS it may appear as Arial MT, ArialMT. Not sure what you are looking at? Identify the font on the live page first.
Is Arial free?
Ships with Windows and macOS, so nearly every desktop has it. It is not an open source font, and it is absent on most Android and Linux devices.
The alternatives on this page are open source, so you can use them on commercial sites, self-host the files and ship them in products. Read more in font licensing in plain English.
Use Arimo in your CSS
Put the free font first and keep sensible fallbacks behind it. Self-hosting the files is the most private and usually the fastest option.
@font-face {
font-family: "Arimo";
src: url("/fonts/arimo-400.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 400;
font-display: swap;
}
@font-face {
font-family: "Arimo";
src: url("/fonts/arimo-700.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 700;
font-display: swap;
}
body {
font-family: "Arimo", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
}Saw a font you can’t place, or can’t afford?
Font Inspector names the font on any website in one click. For popular paid and system fonts it suggests free look-alikes right in the panel.
Questions & answers
What is the closest free font to Arial?+
Arimo is the closest free alternative to Arial. Metric-compatible with Arial, designed as a drop-in replacement. Layouts and documents keep their exact line breaks. Roboto and Inter are also worth testing.
Is Arial free to use?+
Ships with Windows and macOS, so nearly every desktop has it. It is not an open source font, and it is absent on most Android and Linux devices.
What Google Font looks like Arial?+
On Google Fonts, the nearest matches are Arimo, Roboto and Inter. All are open source and free for commercial use. None is an exact copy, so compare them with your own text first.
Which alternative keeps my layout from changing?+
Arimo is metric-compatible with Arial. Each character has the same width, so line breaks and page counts stay the same when you swap fonts.
How can I tell whether a website uses Arial?+
Inspect the text. Browser DevTools show the rendered font in the Computed tab, and the Font Inspector extension shows the family, the rendered font and free look-alikes in one click.
Helvetica
Try Inter, Arimo and Roboto
NEO-GROTESQUE SANS SERIFHelvetica Neue
Try Inter, Arimo and Hanken Grotesk
GEOMETRIC GROTESQUE HYBRIDProxima Nova
Try Montserrat, Figtree and Nunito Sans
GEOMETRIC SANS SERIFGotham
Try Montserrat, Outfit and Figtree
GEOMETRIC SANS SERIFFutura
Try Jost, League Spartan and Outfit
GEOMETRIC HUMANIST SANS SERIFAvenir
Try Nunito Sans, Figtree and Mulish