Sans serif · Dave Crossland
Cantarell
Find the font. Find its kind.
CSSfont-family: 'Cantarell', sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;
Cantarell is a free sans serif by Dave Crossland, on Google Fonts since 2010. Among the 697 sans serifs on FontKind, Cantarell has an x-height shorter than 81%, is of average width and, at its regular weight, is lighter than 76%. Its thickest strokes are 1.1 times its thinnest: nearly even strokes.
01 / Light table
Laid on top of Cambay
Cantarell on one light table with its two closest fonts, Cambay (94 out of 100) and Carme (83). Cambay is 5% narrower and 6% heavier; Carme has an x-height 4% taller.
Cantarell and Cambay laid on top of each other.
Ink shared with CantarellCambay…
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 Cantarell 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
Cantarell in 2 weights
2 weights, 400–700, with italics
- 400 Regular, with its italic
- 700 Bold, with its italic
04 / Facts
Who made Cantarell, and can you use it?
- Designer
- Dave Crossland
- Kind
- Sans serif
- Styles
- 2 weights, 400–700, with italics
- On Google Fonts since
- 2010
- 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.
Cantarell 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 Cantarell, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
- Cricut
- Once installed. Design Space lists Cantarell under System. Fonts for Cricut →
From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.
05 / Measurements
Cantarell, measured
Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style
- x-height
- 48.2% of the emlowercase x
- Cap height
- 69.4% of the emcapitals
- x / cap
- 0.70lowercase against capitals
- Width
- 51.7% of the emaverage lowercase
- Ink
- 38%letter box filled
- Contrast
- 1.14 : 1nearly even strokes
Where it stands among sans serifs
Ranked against all 697 sans serifs on FontKind
x-heightSmaller than 81% of sans serifs
WidthNear the middle of sans serifs
InkLighter than 76% of sans serifs
ContrastNear the middle of sans serifs
06 / Similar fonts
Fonts similar to Cantarell
Matched letter by letter · its own family apart
- Cambay945% narrower · 6% heavier
- Carme83x-height 4% taller
- Catamaran8311% narrower · 8% heavier · x-height 3% taller
- Martel Sans82x-height 11% taller · 4% wider · more stroke contrast
- Commissioner79x-height 4% taller · 6% heavier
- Telex7814% heavier · x-height 7% taller · more stroke contrast
All 100 fonts similar to Cantarell →Compare side by side →Get Cantarell on Google Fonts
07 / Swap
Swap Cantarell without a jump
Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%
- Carme83same text width · x-height 3.6% taller
- Commissioner79text 3.0% narrower · x-height 3.5% taller
- Nunito Sans74text 2.6% narrower · x-height 0.8% taller
- REM73text 2.8% wider · x-height 4.3% taller
- Mulish72same text width · x-height 4.1% taller
- Synonym69text 1.3% narrower · x-height 0.9% shorter
Fallback while it loads
Until Cantarell loads, this sets Arial in its place at 104.7% of its size, so running text keeps Cantarell’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.
@font-face {
font-family: 'Cantarell Fallback';
src: local('Arial');
size-adjust: 104.66%;
ascent-override: 104.51%;
descent-override: 30.80%;
line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}
font-family: 'Cantarell', 'Cantarell Fallback', sans-serif;08 / Pairs
Used together with Cantarell
Of the 2,278 home pages that load Cantarell, 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
- Fjalla One17%393 sites · 80× chance
- Open Sans9.5%216 sites · 0.5× chance
- Belleza8.3%190 sites · 190× chance
- Montserrat8.1%184 sites · 0.6× chance
- Roboto7.7%176 sites · 0.4× chance
- Raleway4.2%95 sites · 1× chance
More than chanceFjalla One 80×
Pair checkerCantarell + 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 other09 / Questions
Questions about Cantarell
Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list
Is Cantarell free for commercial use?
Yes. Cantarell 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 Cantarell?
FontKind doesn’t host Cantarell’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 Cantarell in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Cantarell 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 Cantarell in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Cantarell under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Cantarell in Figma?
Yes: Cantarell 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 Cantarell have?
Cantarell comes in two weights: Regular (400) and Bold (700), each with an italic.
Who designed Cantarell?
Cantarell was designed by Dave Crossland. It has been on Google Fonts since May 2010.
What fonts are similar to Cantarell?
The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Cambay (94), Carme (83) and Catamaran (83), out of 100. Next to Cantarell, Cambay is 5% narrower and 6% heavier. See all 100 fonts like Cantarell.