Free fonts similar to Menlo
Menlo replaced Monaco as the Mac’s default monospaced font and held that role until SF Mono arrived. It is still near the front of most code font stacks on the web. Because it descends from Bitstream Vera, its free relatives are very close.
Short answer: the closest free alternative to Menlo is JetBrains Mono. IBM Plex Mono is also worth a look. All are open source and free for commercial use.
Menlo 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.
/* JetBrains Mono is open source. Self-host it or load it from Google Fonts. */ font-family: "JetBrains Mono", Menlo, Monaco, "DejaVu Sans Mono", Consolas, monospace;
The alternatives in detail
1. JetBrains Mono
Why it works. A clear, generously proportioned coding font with a tall x-height, which gives code the same open, readable texture.
What differs. Slightly narrower and more rectangular in its curves, with coding ligatures enabled by default.
2. IBM Plex Mono
Why it works. A carefully drawn monospace with seven weights, where Menlo has only regular and bold.
What differs. Lighter and more stylized, with slab-like serifs on some letters and a dotted zero.
How to recognize Menlo
Jim Lyles for Apple, first shipped with Mac OS X Snow Leopard in 2009. It is a customized version of the open source Bitstream Vera Sans Mono.
- Wide, open letterforms with a large x-height, inherited from Bitstream Vera Sans Mono.
- A zero with a diagonal slash.
- It appears in stacks next to Monaco, Consolas and Courier New, and only renders on Apple devices.
In a site’s CSS it may appear as Menlo Regular, Menlo-Regular. Not sure what you are looking at? Identify the font on the live page first.
Is Menlo free?
Ships with macOS and iOS only. It is licensed with the system and cannot be served as a web font, so Windows, Android and Linux visitors see the next font in the stack.
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 JetBrains Mono 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: "JetBrains Mono";
src: url("/fonts/jetbrains-mono-400.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 400;
font-display: swap;
}
@font-face {
font-family: "JetBrains Mono";
src: url("/fonts/jetbrains-mono-700.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 700;
font-display: swap;
}
body {
font-family: "JetBrains Mono", Menlo, Monaco, "DejaVu Sans Mono", Consolas, monospace;
}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 Menlo?+
JetBrains Mono is the closest free alternative to Menlo. A clear, generously proportioned coding font with a tall x-height, which gives code the same open, readable texture. IBM Plex Mono is also worth testing.
Is Menlo free to use?+
Ships with macOS and iOS only. It is licensed with the system and cannot be served as a web font, so Windows, Android and Linux visitors see the next font in the stack.
What Google Font looks like Menlo?+
On Google Fonts, the nearest matches are JetBrains Mono and IBM Plex Mono. All are open source and free for commercial use. None is an exact copy, so compare them with your own text first.
How can I tell whether a website uses Menlo?+
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.
SF Mono
Try JetBrains Mono and IBM Plex Mono
MONOSPACED HUMANIST SANS SERIFConsolas
Try Inconsolata and JetBrains Mono
MONOSPACED SLAB SERIFCourier New
Try Cousine and Courier Prime
MONOSPACED TYPEWRITER SANS SERIFOperator Mono
Try Fira Code, JetBrains Mono and Victor Mono
NEO-GROTESQUE SANS SERIFHelvetica
Try Inter, Arimo and Roboto
NEO-GROTESQUE SANS SERIFHelvetica Neue
Try Inter, Arimo and Hanken Grotesk