Free fonts similar to Trebuchet MS
Trebuchet MS was one of Microsoft’s core fonts for the web and the lively one of the group: humanist shapes with a few deliberately odd letters. It was everywhere in blogs and web headings of the 2000s. It still works well for short text that needs personality.
Short answer: the closest free alternative to Trebuchet MS is Fira Sans. PT Sans is also worth a look. All are open source and free for commercial use.
Trebuchet MS 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.
/* Fira Sans is open source. Self-host it or load it from Google Fonts. */ font-family: "Fira Sans", "Trebuchet MS", "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", sans-serif;
The alternatives in detail
1. Fira Sans
Why it works. A humanist sans with its own strong character and a very large range of weights, good for both headings and text.
What differs. Wider with a taller x-height and a more technical tone. The quirky g and ampersand are gone.
2. PT Sans
Why it works. Humanist shapes with a slightly calligraphic touch, close to Trebuchet in width and warmth.
What differs. Calmer and more bookish. Regular and bold only.
How to recognize Trebuchet MS
Vincent Connare for Microsoft, 1996. Named after the medieval siege engine.
- The ampersand is drawn as a joined E and t.
- A distinctive lowercase g with an open lower loop, and a lowercase l that ends in a small curve to the right.
- Tall ascenders and lively, slightly irregular shapes that give headings an energetic look.
In a site’s CSS it may appear as Trebuchet. Not sure what you are looking at? Identify the font on the live page first.
Is Trebuchet MS free?
Ships with Windows and macOS, but not with Android or most Linux systems. It is not open source and cannot be served as a web font without a license, although it is now also in the Adobe Fonts library.
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 Fira Sans 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: "Fira Sans";
src: url("/fonts/fira-sans-400.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 400;
font-display: swap;
}
@font-face {
font-family: "Fira Sans";
src: url("/fonts/fira-sans-700.woff2") format("woff2");
font-weight: 700;
font-display: swap;
}
body {
font-family: "Fira Sans", "Trebuchet MS", "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", 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 Trebuchet MS?+
Fira Sans is the closest free alternative to Trebuchet MS. A humanist sans with its own strong character and a very large range of weights, good for both headings and text. PT Sans is also worth testing.
Is Trebuchet MS free to use?+
Ships with Windows and macOS, but not with Android or most Linux systems. It is not open source and cannot be served as a web font without a license, although it is now also in the Adobe Fonts library.
What Google Font looks like Trebuchet MS?+
On Google Fonts, the nearest matches are Fira Sans and PT Sans. 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 Trebuchet MS?+
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.
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