Display · Michael Angeles

Balsamiq Sans

Q: Is Balsamiq Sans free for commercial use?

Yes. Balsamiq Sans is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows commercial use at any scale, logos, websites, apps and PDFs included.

Your words – they follow you round the site

Case

Size72 px

Weight400 Regular

Letter spacing0 em

Line height1.10

Find the font. Find its kind.

CSSfont-family: 'Balsamiq Sans', sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;

Balsamiq Sans is a free display font by Michael Angeles, on Google Fonts since 2020. Among the 554 display faces on FontKind, Balsamiq Sans has an average x-height, is of average width and, at its regular weight, is of average darkness. Its thickest strokes are 0.9 times its thinnest: nearly even strokes.

Compare with Comic Relief →Compare with another font

01 / Light table

Laid on top of Comic Relief

Balsamiq Sans on one light table with its two closest fonts, Comic Relief (83 out of 100) and Sniglet (77). Comic Relief is 5% wider, with an x-height 3% shorter; Sniglet has more stroke contrast and an x-height 4% shorter.

Layout

Letters

Show

Size auto

Ink shared with Balsamiq SansComic Relief…

Most different letters first; the figure is the share of ink the fonts have in common. Where the fonts agree the letters cancel to black: every white sliver is a real difference.

Open in the compare tool →

02 / Letters

The Balsamiq Sans alphabet

Capitals, lowercase, figures and signs · weight 400

Tap the letters you like, here and in other fonts, to find the fonts whose letters look most like them.

&
?
!
@
%
(
)

With this font

Write your ownComic font generator →Your words in Balsamiq Sans and 17 more comic fonts. Download any of them as a PNG for Canva or an SVG for Cricut.

03 / Weights

Balsamiq Sans in 2 weights

2 weights, 400–700, with italics

400 Regular, with its italic
700 Bold, with its italic

04 / Facts

Who made Balsamiq Sans, and can you use it?

Designer: Michael Angeles
Kind: Display
Styles: 2 weights, 400–700, with italics
On Google Fonts since: 2020
Character sets: cyrillic, cyrillic-ext, latin, latin-ext
Licence: SIL Open Font License 1.1

Can I use it?

Commercial use: Yes.
Logos: Yes.
Websites and apps: Yes. Self-hosted or loaded from Google Fonts.
PDFs and documents: Yes.
Changes: Yes.
Sharing the files: Yes, but not for sale. With the licence.

Balsamiq Sans is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. This is a plain summary, not legal advice: the licence itself decides.

What each licence allows →

Read the licence

Already in your apps?

Google Docs: Most likely. Under More fonts, in Sheets and Slides too. Google’s guide
Word, PowerPoint: No. Install it from Google Fonts first. Microsoft’s list
Figma: Yes. Built in, nothing to install. Figma’s help
Canva: Not verified. Search its font menu for Balsamiq Sans, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
Cricut: Once installed. Design Space lists Balsamiq Sans under System. Fonts for Cricut →

From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.

How each app gets its fonts →

Get Balsamiq Sans on Google Fonts

05 / Measurements

Balsamiq Sans, measured

Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style

Hxgp in Balsamiq Sans. Lines at the measured heights, as a share of the em · The parts of a letter, named

x-height: 53.1% of the emlowercase x
Cap height: 71.5% of the emcapitals
x / cap: 0.74lowercase against capitals
Width: 49.4% of the emaverage lowercase
Ink: 49%letter box filled
Contrast: 0.90 : 1nearly even strokes

How we measure →

Where it stands among display faces

Ranked against all 554 display faces on FontKind

x-heightNear the middle of display faces
WidthNear the middle of display faces
InkNear the middle of display faces
ContrastMore even than 91% of display faces

06 / Similar fonts

Fonts similar to Balsamiq Sans

Matched letter by letter · its own family apart

All 100 fonts similar to Balsamiq Sans →Compare side by side →Get Balsamiq Sans on Google Fonts

07 / Swap

Swap Balsamiq Sans without a jump

Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%

Fallback while it loads

Until Balsamiq Sans loads, this sets Arial in its place at 102.1% of its size, so running text keeps Balsamiq Sans’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Balsamiq Sans Fallback';
  src: local('Arial');
  size-adjust: 102.06%;
  ascent-override: 88.18%;
  descent-override: 29.39%;
  line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}

font-family: 'Balsamiq Sans', 'Balsamiq Sans Fallback', sans-serif;

08 / Pairs

Used together with Balsamiq Sans

Of the 518 home pages that load Balsamiq Sans, the share that load each font too, and how that compares with chance.

Same page, not which sets the headings · HTTP Archive , 1 September 2026

The pairs sites choose most →

Pair checkerBalsamiq Sans + any fontHow many of the 6,276,350 home pages counted load the two together, and how that compares with chance.Check this font with any other

09 / Questions

Questions about Balsamiq Sans

Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list

Is Balsamiq Sans free for commercial use?

Yes. Balsamiq Sans is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 , which allows commercial use at any scale, logos, websites, apps and PDFs included.

How do I download and install Balsamiq Sans?

FontKind doesn’t host Balsamiq Sans’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file. It holds four font files, one per style. On Windows or a Mac, double-click each font file and choose Install, then restart any app that was open, Word included.

Is Balsamiq Sans in Microsoft Word?

Not until you install it: Balsamiq Sans isn’t one of Microsoft 365’s cloud fonts. Installed, it is in Word’s font menu and PowerPoint’s. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.

Is Balsamiq Sans in Google Docs?

Most likely. Search for Balsamiq Sans under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.

Is Balsamiq Sans in Figma?

Yes: Balsamiq Sans is in Figma’s font menu with all two weights and their italics, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.

How many weights does Balsamiq Sans have?

Balsamiq Sans comes in two weights: Regular (400) and Bold (700), each with an italic.

Who designed Balsamiq Sans?

Balsamiq Sans was designed by Michael Angeles. It has been on Google Fonts since April 2020.

What fonts are similar to Balsamiq Sans?

The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Comic Relief (83), Sniglet (77) and Autour One (76), out of 100. Next to Balsamiq Sans, Comic Relief is 5% wider, with an x-height 3% shorter. See all 100 fonts like Balsamiq Sans.