Sans serif · Steve Matteson
Open Sans
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CSSfont-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;
Open Sans is a free sans serif by Steve Matteson, on Google Fonts since 2011. Among the 697 sans serifs on FontKind, Open Sans has an x-height taller than 77%, is wider than 62% and, at its regular weight, is lighter than 74%. Its thickest strokes are 1.2 times its thinnest: nearly even strokes.
01 / Light table
Laid on top of Lunasima
Open Sans on one light table with its two closest fonts, Lunasima (92 out of 100) and Menbere (85). Lunasima is 5% wider; Menbere is 18% heavier and 5% wider, with an x-height 7% taller.
Open Sans and Lunasima laid on top of each other.
Ink shared with Open SansLunasima…
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 Open Sans 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
Open Sans in 6 weights
6 weights, 300–800, with italics · variable from 300 to 800
Variable weight, 300 to 800
- 300 Light, with its italic
- 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
04 / Facts
Who made Open Sans, and can you use it?
- Designer
- Steve Matteson
- Kind
- Sans serif
- Styles
- 6 weights, 300–800, with italics
- Variable axes
- Width 75–100, Weight 300–800
- On Google Fonts since
- 2011
- Character sets
- cyrillic, cyrillic-ext, greek, greek-ext, hebrew, latin, latin-ext, math, symbols, vietnamese
- 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.
Open Sans 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 Open Sans, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
- Cricut
- Once installed. Design Space lists Open Sans under System. Fonts for Cricut →
From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.
05 / Measurements
Open Sans, measured
Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style
- x-height
- 53.5% of the emlowercase x
- Cap height
- 71.4% of the emcapitals
- x / cap
- 0.75lowercase against capitals
- Width
- 52.2% of the emaverage lowercase
- Ink
- 38%letter box filled
- Contrast
- 1.24 : 1nearly even strokes
Where it stands among sans serifs
Ranked against all 697 sans serifs on FontKind
x-heightLarger than 77% of sans serifs
WidthWider than 62% of sans serifs
InkLighter than 74% of sans serifs
ContrastMore contrast than 64% of sans serifs
06 / Similar fonts
Fonts similar to Open Sans
Matched letter by letter · its own family apart
Open Sans's letters under another nameNoto SansNoto Sans Display
- Lunasima925% wider
- Menbere8518% heavier · x-height 7% taller · 5% wider
- Oxygen794% narrower
- Amulya78x-height 6% shorter
- DejaVu Sans768% wider
- Plein76x-height 5% shorter · 4% narrower
All 100 fonts similar to Open Sans →Compare side by side →Get Open Sans on Google Fonts
07 / Swap
Swap Open Sans without a jump
Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%
- Martel Sans73text 2.1% wider · same x-height
- Fixel70text 0.6% narrower · x-height 2.8% shorter
- Telex68text 0.7% narrower · x-height 4.0% shorter
- Voces67text 0.8% wider · x-height 3.6% shorter
- Junction67text 2.5% wider · x-height 2.7% taller
- Public Sans66same text width · x-height 3.4% shorter
Fallback while it loads
Until Open Sans loads, this sets Arial in its place at 106% of its size, so running text keeps Open Sans’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.
@font-face {
font-family: 'Open Sans Fallback';
src: local('Arial');
size-adjust: 106.02%;
ascent-override: 100.81%;
descent-override: 27.64%;
line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}
font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Open Sans Fallback', sans-serif;08 / Pairs
Used together with Open Sans
Of the 1,135,822 home pages that load Open Sans, 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
- Roboto16%179,940 sites · 0.8× chance
- Montserrat11%128,721 sites · 0.9× chance
- Poppins7%79,890 sites · 0.6× chance
- Lato5.5%62,360 sites · 0.7× chance
- Raleway4.8%55,037 sites · 1.2× chance
- Oswald3.8%43,108 sites · 1.3× chance
More than chanceShadows Into Light 3.2×Gruppo 2.9×Yanone Kaffeesatz 1.5×
Fonts that go with Open Sans: pairs and trios →The pairs sites choose most →
Pair checkerOpen Sans + 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 Open Sans
Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list
Is Open Sans free for commercial use?
Yes. Open Sans 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 Open Sans?
FontKind doesn’t host Open Sans’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 Open Sans in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Open Sans 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 Open Sans Light and Open Sans ExtraBold. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.
Is Open Sans in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Open Sans under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Open Sans in Figma?
Yes: Open Sans 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 Open Sans have?
Open Sans comes in six weights, from Light (300) to ExtraBold (800), each with an italic. It is a variable font: it takes any weight from 300 to 800 and widths from 75% to 100%.
Who designed Open Sans?
Open Sans was designed by Steve Matteson. It has been on Google Fonts since February 2011. Steve Matteson also made Arimo, Tinos, Cousine and one more on FontKind.
What fonts are similar to Open Sans?
The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Lunasima (92), Menbere (85) and Oxygen (79), out of 100. Next to Open Sans, Lunasima is 5% wider. See all 100 fonts like Open Sans.