Sans serif · SIL International
Harmattan
Find the font. Find its kind.
CSSfont-family: 'Harmattan', sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;
Harmattan is a free sans serif by SIL International, on Google Fonts since 2020. Among the 697 sans serifs on FontKind, Harmattan has an x-height shorter than 98%, is narrower than 93% and, at its regular weight, is darker than 68%. Its thickest strokes are 1.2 times its thinnest: nearly even strokes.
01 / Light table
Laid on top of Tenali Ramakrishna
Harmattan on one light table with its two closest fonts, Tenali Ramakrishna (93 out of 100) and GFS Neohellenic (90). Tenali Ramakrishna is 12% lighter, with more stroke contrast and an x-height 4% shorter; GFS Neohellenic is 11% lighter, with an x-height 4% taller.
Harmattan and Tenali Ramakrishna laid on top of each other.
Ink shared with HarmattanTenali Ramakrishna…
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 Harmattan 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
Harmattan in 4 weights
4 weights, 400–700
- 400 Regular
- 500 Medium
- 600 Semibold
- 700 Bold
04 / Facts
Who made Harmattan, and can you use it?
- Designer
- SIL International
- Kind
- Sans serif
- Styles
- 4 weights, 400–700
- On Google Fonts since
- 2020
- Character sets
- arabic, 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, under another name. Not as “Fouta”, “Andika”, “SIL” or “Harmattan”: the licence reserves the name.
- Sharing the files
- Yes, but not for sale. With the licence.
Harmattan 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 Harmattan, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
- Cricut
- Once installed. Design Space lists Harmattan under System. Fonts for Cricut →
From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.
05 / Measurements
Harmattan, measured
Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style
- x-height
- 37.4% of the emlowercase x
- Cap height
- 53.5% of the emcapitals
- x / cap
- 0.70lowercase against capitals
- Width
- 38.5% of the emaverage lowercase
- Ink
- 45%letter box filled
- Contrast
- 1.16 : 1nearly even strokes
Where it stands among sans serifs
Ranked against all 697 sans serifs on FontKind
x-heightSmaller than 98% of sans serifs
WidthNarrower than 93% of sans serifs
InkDarker than 68% of sans serifs
ContrastNear the middle of sans serifs
06 / Similar fonts
Fonts similar to Harmattan
Matched letter by letter · its own family apart
- Tenali Ramakrishna93more stroke contrast · 12% lighter · x-height 4% shorter
- GFS Neohellenic9011% lighter · x-height 4% taller
- Alegreya Sans SC76x-height 33% taller · 29% wider · 29% lighter
- Gurajada7417% narrower · 32% heavier · x-height 12% shorter
- Andika7234% wider · x-height 33% taller
- Anaheim69x-height 30% taller · 14% wider · 25% lighter
All 100 fonts similar to Harmattan →Compare side by side →Get Harmattan on Google Fonts
07 / Swap
Swap Harmattan without a jump
Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%
- Tenali Ramakrishna93text 0.7% wider · x-height 4.3% shorter
- Googee46text 3.0% wider · x-height 5.0% shorter
- Beiruti38text 2.1% narrower · x-height 4.4% taller
- Fibel Vienna37text 2.9% narrower · x-height 5.0% shorter
Fallback while it loads
Until Harmattan loads, this sets Arial in its place at 79.1% of its size, so running text keeps Harmattan’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.
@font-face {
font-family: 'Harmattan Fallback';
src: local('Arial');
size-adjust: 79.11%;
ascent-override: 133.68%;
descent-override: 81.65%;
line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}
font-family: 'Harmattan', 'Harmattan Fallback', sans-serif;08 / Questions
Questions about Harmattan
Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list
Is Harmattan free for commercial use?
Yes. Harmattan is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 , which allows commercial use at any scale, logos, websites, apps and PDFs included; a changed version may not be called “Fouta”, “Andika”, “SIL” or “Harmattan”.
How do I download and install Harmattan?
FontKind doesn’t host Harmattan’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 Harmattan in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Harmattan 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 Harmattan Medium and Harmattan SemiBold. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.
Is Harmattan in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Harmattan under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Harmattan in Figma?
Yes: Harmattan is in Figma’s font menu with all four weights, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.
How many weights does Harmattan have?
Harmattan comes in four weights: Regular (400), Medium (500), SemiBold (600) and Bold (700).
Who designed Harmattan?
Harmattan was designed by SIL International. It has been on Google Fonts since July 2020. SIL International also made Charis SIL, Alkalami, Gentium Book Plus and 14 more on FontKind.
What fonts are similar to Harmattan?
The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Tenali Ramakrishna (93), GFS Neohellenic (90) and Alegreya Sans SC (76), out of 100. Next to Harmattan, Tenali Ramakrishna is 12% lighter, with more stroke contrast and an x-height 4% shorter. See all 100 fonts like Harmattan.