Sans serif · Łukasz Dziedzic
Lato
Find the font. Find its kind.
CSSfont-family: 'Lato', sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;
Lato is a free sans serif by Łukasz Dziedzic, on Google Fonts since 2010. Among the 697 sans serifs on FontKind, Lato has an average x-height, is of average width and, at its regular weight, is of average darkness. Its thickest strokes are 1.3 times its thinnest: moderate stroke contrast.
01 / Light table
Laid on top of Carlito
Lato on one light table with its two closest fonts, Carlito (100 out of 100) and Martel Sans (83). Carlito is 8% narrower, with an x-height 6% shorter; Martel Sans is 9% wider, with an x-height 5% taller.
Lato and Carlito laid on top of each other.
Ink shared with LatoCarlito…
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 Lato 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
Lato in 5 weights
5 weights, 100–900, with italics
- 100 Thin, with its italic
- 300 Light, with its italic
- 400 Regular, with its italic
- 700 Bold, with its italic
- 900 Black, with its italic
04 / Facts
Who made Lato, and can you use it?
- Designer
- Łukasz Dziedzic
- Kind
- Sans serif
- Styles
- 5 weights, 100–900, 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, under another name. Not as “Lato”: the licence reserves the name.
- Sharing the files
- Yes, but not for sale. With the licence.
Lato 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 Lato, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
- Cricut
- Once installed. Design Space lists Lato under System. Fonts for Cricut →
From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.
05 / Measurements
Lato, measured
Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style
- x-height
- 50.6% of the emlowercase x
- Cap height
- 71.7% of the emcapitals
- x / cap
- 0.71lowercase against capitals
- Width
- 49.3% of the emaverage lowercase
- Ink
- 42%letter box filled
- Contrast
- 1.31 : 1moderate stroke contrast
Where it stands among sans serifs
Ranked against all 697 sans serifs on FontKind
x-heightNear the middle of sans serifs
WidthNear the middle of sans serifs
InkNear the middle of sans serifs
ContrastMore contrast than 79% of sans serifs
06 / Similar fonts
Fonts similar to Lato
Matched letter by letter · its own family apart
- Carlito1008% narrower · x-height 6% shorterBased on Lato
- Martel Sans839% wider · x-height 5% taller
- Nebula Sans7512% wider · 18% lighter · x-height 5% taller
- Commissioner755% wider
- Mulish736% wider · 8% lighter
- Nunito Sans73x-height 4% shorter · 6% lighter
All 100 fonts similar to Lato →Compare side by side →Get Lato on Google Fonts
07 / Swap
Swap Lato without a jump
Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%
- Commissioner75text 2.0% wider · x-height 1.4% shorter
- Nunito Sans73text 2.3% wider · x-height 4.0% shorter
- Murecho72text 0.7% narrower · x-height 2.7% taller
- Hanken Grotesk70text 2.1% wider · x-height 2.7% shorter
- Reddit Sans68text 2.0% wider · x-height 2.2% taller
- Google Sans Flex67text 2.7% wider · x-height 0.7% taller
Fallback while it loads
Until Lato loads, this sets Arial in its place at 99.6% of its size, so running text keeps Lato’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.
@font-face {
font-family: 'Lato Fallback';
src: local('Arial');
size-adjust: 99.60%;
ascent-override: 99.10%;
descent-override: 21.39%;
line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}
font-family: 'Lato', 'Lato Fallback', sans-serif;08 / Pairs
Used together with Lato
Of the 507,930 home pages that load Lato, 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
- Roboto13%64,688 sites · 0.6× chance
- Open Sans12%62,360 sites · 0.7× chance
- Montserrat10%52,374 sites · 0.8× chance
- Poppins6.6%33,383 sites · 0.6× chance
- Raleway4.1%20,700 sites · 1× chance
- Playfair Display3.2%16,292 sites · 1.2× chance
More than chanceCrete Round 3.8×Fjalla One 2.6×Dancing Script 2.2×
Fonts that go with Lato: pairs and trios →The pairs sites choose most →
Pair checkerLato + 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 Lato
Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list
Is Lato free for commercial use?
Yes. Lato 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 “Lato”.
How do I download and install Lato?
FontKind doesn’t host Lato’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file. It holds ten 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 Lato in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Lato 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 Lato Thin and Lato 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 Lato in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Lato under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Lato in Figma?
Yes: Lato is in Figma’s font menu with all five weights and their italics, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.
How many weights does Lato have?
Lato comes in five weights: Thin (100), Light (300), Regular (400), Bold (700) and Black (900), each with an italic.
Who designed Lato?
Lato was designed by Łukasz Dziedzic. It has been on Google Fonts since December 2010. Łukasz Dziedzic also made Carlito.
What fonts are similar to Lato?
The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Carlito (100), Martel Sans (83) and Nebula Sans (75), out of 100. Next to Lato, Carlito is 8% narrower, with an x-height 6% shorter. See all 100 fonts like Lato.