Serif · Owen Earl
Besley
Find the font. Find its kind.
CSSfont-family: 'Besley', serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;
Besley is a free serif by Owen Earl, on Google Fonts since 2021. Among the 354 serifs on FontKind, Besley has an x-height taller than 83%, is wider than 83% and, at its regular weight, is of average darkness. Its thickest strokes are 2.3 times its thinnest: high stroke contrast.
01 / Light table
Laid on top of Montagu Slab
Besley on one light table with its two closest fonts, Montagu Slab (85 out of 100) and Zodiak (83). Montagu Slab has an x-height 3% shorter; Zodiak is 14% lighter, with more stroke contrast and an x-height 4% shorter.
Besley and Montagu Slab laid on top of each other.
Ink shared with BesleyMontagu Slab…
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.
02 / Letters
The Besley 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.
- &
- ?
- !
- @
- %
- (
- )
03 / Weights
Besley in 6 weights
6 weights, 400–900, with italics · variable from 400 to 900
Variable weight, 400 to 900
- 400 Regular, with its italic
- 500 Medium, with its italic
- 600 Semibold, with its italic
- 700 Bold, with its italic
- 800 Extra bold, with its italic
- 900 Black, with its italic
04 / Facts
Who made Besley, and can you use it?
- Designer
- Owen Earl
- Kind
- Serif
- Styles
- 6 weights, 400–900, with italics
- Variable axes
- Weight 400–900
- On Google Fonts since
- 2021
- Character sets
- 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.
Besley is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. This is a plain summary, not legal advice: the licence itself decides.
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 Besley, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
- Cricut
- Once installed. Design Space lists Besley under System. Fonts for Cricut →
From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.
05 / Measurements
Besley, measured
Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style
- x-height
- 52.0% of the emlowercase x
- Cap height
- 75.0% of the emcapitals
- x / cap
- 0.69lowercase against capitals
- Width
- 56.6% of the emaverage lowercase
- Ink
- 42%letter box filled
- Contrast
- 2.33 : 1high stroke contrast
Where it stands among serifs
Ranked against all 354 serifs on FontKind
x-heightLarger than 83% of serifs
WidthWider than 83% of serifs
InkNear the middle of serifs
ContrastMore contrast than 63% of serifs
06 / Similar fonts
Fonts similar to Besley
Matched letter by letter · its own family apart
- Montagu Slab85x-height 3% shorter
- Zodiak83more stroke contrast · 14% lighter · x-height 4% shorter
- Domine77x-height 4% taller
- Cantata One77more stroke contrast · 14% heavier · x-height 4% shorter
- Arbutus Slab7717% heavier · x-height 5% shorter · less stroke contrast
- Copse75less stroke contrast · 20% heavier · 7% narrower
All 100 fonts similar to Besley →Compare side by side →Get Besley on Google Fonts
07 / Swap
Swap Besley without a jump
Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%
- Montagu Slab85text 1.5% narrower · x-height 3.3% shorter
- Zodiak83text 0.5% narrower · x-height 4.2% shorter
- Arbutus Slab77text 1.1% narrower · x-height 4.8% shorter
- Trocchi73same text width · x-height 0.8% taller
- DejaVu Serif71text 2.7% wider · same x-height
- Solway69text 1.9% narrower · x-height 3.9% shorter
Fallback while it loads
Until Besley loads, this sets Times New Roman in its place at 124.7% of its size, so running text keeps Besley’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.
@font-face {
font-family: 'Besley Fallback';
src: local('Times New Roman');
size-adjust: 124.70%;
ascent-override: 100.24%;
descent-override: 34.08%;
line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}
font-family: 'Besley', 'Besley Fallback', serif;08 / Pairs
Used together with Besley
Of the 874 home pages that load Besley, 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
- Open Sans11%92 sites · 0.6× chance
- Roboto9.3%81 sites · 0.5× chance
- Poppins9.2%80 sites · 0.8× chance
- Montserrat8.6%75 sites · 0.6× chance
- Inter8.5%74 sites · 0.8× chance
09 / Questions
Questions about Besley
Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list
Is Besley free for commercial use?
Yes. Besley 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 Besley?
FontKind doesn’t host Besley’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file. It holds two variable files, one for the uprights and one for the italics, and a static folder with a file per style: install one set or the other, not both. On Windows or a Mac, double-click each font file and choose Install, then restart any app that was open, Word included.
Is Besley in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Besley isn’t one of Microsoft 365’s cloud fonts. Installed, it is in Word’s font menu and PowerPoint’s. On Windows, its weights beyond Regular and Bold show as fonts of their own, such as Besley Medium and Besley Black. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.
Is Besley in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Besley under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Besley in Figma?
Yes: Besley is in Figma’s font menu with all six weights and their italics, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.
How many weights does Besley have?
Besley comes in six weights, from Regular (400) to Black (900), each with an italic. It is a variable font: it takes any weight from 400 to 900.
Who designed Besley?
Besley was designed by Owen Earl. It has been on Google Fonts since January 2021. Owen Earl also made Bodoni Moda, Jost, Bodoni Moda SC and two more on FontKind.
What fonts are similar to Besley?
The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Montagu Slab (85), Zodiak (83) and Domine (77), out of 100. Next to Besley, Montagu Slab has an x-height 3% shorter. See all 100 fonts like Besley.