Serif · David Perry
Cardo
Find the font. Find its kind.
CSSfont-family: 'Cardo', serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;
Cardo is a free serif by David Perry, on Google Fonts since 2011. Among the 354 serifs on FontKind, Cardo has an x-height shorter than 78%, is narrower than 72% and, at its regular weight, is lighter than 64%. Its thickest strokes are 2.9 times its thinnest: high stroke contrast.
01 / Light table
Laid on top of ET Book
Cardo on one light table with its two closest fonts, ET Book (85 out of 100) and Ibarra Real Nova (81). ET Book is 10% heavier and 5% narrower, with an x-height 5% shorter; Ibarra Real Nova is 10% lighter and 3% narrower, with an x-height 3% shorter.
Cardo and ET Book laid on top of each other.
Ink shared with CardoET Book…
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 Cardo 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
Cardo in 2 weights
2 weights, 400–700, with italics
- 400 Regular, with its italic
- 700 Bold
04 / Facts
Who made Cardo, and can you use it?
- Designer
- David Perry
- Kind
- Serif
- Styles
- 2 weights, 400–700, with italics
- On Google Fonts since
- 2011
- Character sets
- gothic, greek, greek-ext, hebrew, latin, latin-ext, old-italic, runic
- 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.
Cardo 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 Cardo, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
- Cricut
- Once installed. Design Space lists Cardo under System. Fonts for Cricut →
From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.
05 / Measurements
Cardo, measured
Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style
- x-height
- 44.0% of the emlowercase x
- Cap height
- 68.8% of the emcapitals
- x / cap
- 0.64lowercase against capitals
- Width
- 48.2% of the emaverage lowercase
- Ink
- 40%letter box filled
- Contrast
- 2.86 : 1high stroke contrast
Where it stands among serifs
Ranked against all 354 serifs on FontKind
x-heightSmaller than 78% of serifs
WidthNarrower than 72% of serifs
InkLighter than 64% of serifs
ContrastMore contrast than 79% of serifs
06 / Similar fonts
Fonts similar to Cardo
Matched letter by letter · its own family apart
- ET Book8510% heavier · 5% narrower · x-height 5% shorter
- Ibarra Real Nova8110% lighter · 3% narrower · x-height 3% shorter
- Nanum Myeongjo8023% lighter · x-height 7% taller
- Sneaky Times79x-height 6% taller
- Shippori Mincho B17911% wider · x-height 9% taller · 14% lighter
- Cinzel78x-height 37% taller · 33% wider · 42% lighter
All 100 fonts similar to Cardo →Compare side by side →Get Cardo on Google Fonts
07 / Swap
Swap Cardo without a jump
Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%
- Ibarra Real Nova81text 1.8% narrower · x-height 3.1% shorter
- Joan70text 2.9% narrower · x-height 3.8% taller
- Lusitana69text 1.1% narrower · x-height 1.3% shorter
- Judson65text 1.4% wider · same x-height
- Gentium Book Plus65same text width · x-height 3.3% taller
- Gentium Plus65text 1.9% narrower · x-height 3.3% taller
Fallback while it loads
Until Cardo loads, this sets Times New Roman in its place at 105.2% of its size, so running text keeps Cardo’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.
@font-face {
font-family: 'Cardo Fallback';
src: local('Times New Roman');
size-adjust: 105.19%;
ascent-override: 94.14%;
descent-override: 34.59%;
line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}
font-family: 'Cardo', 'Cardo Fallback', serif;08 / Pairs
Used together with Cardo
Of the 11,701 home pages that load Cardo, 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
- Inter34%4,020 sites · 3.4× chance
- Open Sans10%1,214 sites · 0.6× chance
- Montserrat9.4%1,098 sites · 0.7× chance
- Roboto8.5%992 sites · 0.4× chance
- Lato7.3%856 sites · 0.9× chance
- Poppins4%470 sites · 0.4× chance
More than chanceZen Old Mincho 6.7×Cinzel 3.5×Inter 3.4×
Fonts that go with Cardo: pairs and trios →The pairs sites choose most →
Pair checkerCardo + 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 Cardo
Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list
Is Cardo free for commercial use?
Yes. Cardo 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 Cardo?
FontKind doesn’t host Cardo’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file. It holds three 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 Cardo in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Cardo 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 Cardo in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Cardo under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Cardo in Figma?
Yes: Cardo 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 Cardo have?
Cardo comes in two weights: Regular (400) and Bold (700), and an italic at 400.
Who designed Cardo?
Cardo was designed by David Perry. It has been on Google Fonts since September 2011.
What fonts are similar to Cardo?
The closest in our letter-by-letter match are ET Book (85), Ibarra Real Nova (81) and Nanum Myeongjo (80), out of 100. Next to Cardo, ET Book is 10% heavier and 5% narrower, with an x-height 5% shorter. See all 100 fonts like Cardo.