Free fonts similar to Times New Roman
Times New Roman was built to save space in newspaper columns: narrow, sharp and economical. On the web it often signals a missing stylesheet or a failed font. Used on purpose, it gives an academic, editorial tone.
Short answer: the closest free alternative to Times New Roman is Tinos. Source Serif 4 and Newsreader are also worth a look. All are open source and free for commercial use.
Times New Roman 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.
/* Tinos is open source. Self-host it or load it from Google Fonts. */ font-family: "Tinos", "Times New Roman", Times, serif;
The alternatives in detail
1. TinosMetric-compatible
Why it works. Metric-compatible with Times New Roman. Documents keep their pagination and line breaks.
What differs. Very slight differences in curve detail. It is designed to be a drop-in replacement.
2. Source Serif 4
Why it works. A modern text serif made for screens, with optical sizes and a full weight range.
What differs. Wider and lower in contrast, so it feels calmer and more contemporary.
3. Newsreader
Why it works. Designed for long-form reading with a similar editorial voice.
What differs. Softer and more spacious, with less of the sharp newspaper bite.
How to recognize Times New Roman
Stanley Morison with Victor Lardent, 1931, commissioned by The Times of London and produced by Monotype.
- Narrow letters with sharp, bracketed serifs and strong contrast.
- A page where everything is in Times usually has no font styling at all.
- Compact lowercase with a moderate x-height.
In a site’s CSS it may appear as Times, TimesNewRomanPSMT. Not sure what you are looking at? Identify the font on the live page first.
Is Times New Roman free?
Ships with Windows and macOS. It is not open source. Browsers also use it as the default serif, so unstyled pages appear in it.
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 Tinos 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: "Tinos";
src: url("/fonts/tinos-400.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 400;
font-display: swap;
}
@font-face {
font-family: "Tinos";
src: url("/fonts/tinos-700.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 700;
font-display: swap;
}
body {
font-family: "Tinos", "Times New Roman", Times, 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 Times New Roman?+
Tinos is the closest free alternative to Times New Roman. Metric-compatible with Times New Roman. Documents keep their pagination and line breaks. Source Serif 4 and Newsreader are also worth testing.
Is Times New Roman free to use?+
Ships with Windows and macOS. It is not open source. Browsers also use it as the default serif, so unstyled pages appear in it.
What Google Font looks like Times New Roman?+
On Google Fonts, the nearest matches are Tinos, Source Serif 4 and Newsreader. 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?+
Tinos is metric-compatible with Times New Roman. 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 Times New Roman?+
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.
Georgia
Try Gelasio, Merriweather and Source Serif 4
OLD-STYLE (GARALDE) SERIFGaramond
Try EB Garamond, Cormorant Garamond and Crimson Pro
DIDONE (MODERN) SERIFDidot
Try Playfair Display and Bodoni Moda
DIDONE (MODERN) SERIFBodoni
Try Bodoni Moda and Playfair Display
NEO-GROTESQUE SANS SERIFHelvetica
Try Inter, Arimo and Roboto
NEO-GROTESQUE SANS SERIFHelvetica Neue
Try Inter, Arimo and Hanken Grotesk