Display · Astigmatic
Original Surfer
Find the font. Find its kind.
CSSfont-family: 'Original Surfer', sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;
Original Surfer is a free display font by Astigmatic, on Google Fonts since 2011. Among the 554 display faces on FontKind, Original Surfer has an x-height shorter than 77%, is of average width and, at its regular weight, is of average darkness. Its thickest strokes are 2.9 times its thinnest: high stroke contrast.
01 / Light table
Laid on top of Cuban
Original Surfer on one light table with its two closest fonts, Cuban (88 out of 100) and Galindo (83). Cuban is 70% wider and 18% lighter, with an x-height 56% taller; Galindo is 33% heavier and 13% wider, with less stroke contrast.
Original Surfer and Cuban laid on top of each other.
Ink shared with Original SurferCuban…
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 Original Surfer 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 / Sizes
Original Surfer at every size
1 weight (400) · six sizes, in your words
- 12 px
- 16 px
- 24 px
- 36 px
- 48 px
- 72 px
04 / Facts
Who made Original Surfer, and can you use it?
- Designer
- Astigmatic
- Kind
- Display
- Styles
- 1 weight (400)
- On Google Fonts since
- 2011
- 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 “Original Surfer”: the licence reserves the name.
- Sharing the files
- Yes, but not for sale. With the licence.
Original Surfer 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 Original Surfer, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
- Cricut
- Once installed. Design Space lists Original Surfer under System. Fonts for Cricut →
From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.
05 / Measurements
Original Surfer, measured
Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style
- x-height
- 48.2% of the emlowercase x
- Cap height
- 73.1% of the emcapitals
- x / cap
- 0.66lowercase against capitals
- Width
- 51.5% of the emaverage lowercase
- Ink
- 49%letter box filled
- Contrast
- 2.86 : 1high stroke contrast
Where it stands among display faces
Ranked against all 554 display faces on FontKind
x-heightSmaller than 77% of display faces
WidthNear the middle of display faces
InkNear the middle of display faces
ContrastMore contrast than 87% of display faces
06 / Similar fonts
Fonts similar to Original Surfer
Matched letter by letter · its own family apart
- Cuban8870% wider · x-height 56% taller · 18% lighter
- Galindo8333% heavier · 13% wider · less stroke contrast
- Marhey82less stroke contrast · 9% wider · 12% heavier
- Reggae One74x-height 18% taller · 14% wider · less stroke contrast
- McLaren72less stroke contrast · 10% wider · x-height 5% taller
- Grandstander71x-height 20% taller · less stroke contrast · 18% lighter
All 100 fonts similar to Original Surfer →Compare side by side →Get Original Surfer on Google Fonts
07 / Swap
Swap Original Surfer without a jump
Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%
None of the fonts that look most like Original Surfer sets text to its width and x-height: a swap would move lines.
Fallback while it loads
Until Original Surfer loads, this sets Arial in its place at 104.5% of its size, so running text keeps Original Surfer’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.
@font-face {
font-family: 'Original Surfer Fallback';
src: local('Arial');
size-adjust: 104.50%;
ascent-override: 95.13%;
descent-override: 24.57%;
line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}
font-family: 'Original Surfer', 'Original Surfer Fallback', sans-serif;08 / Questions
Questions about Original Surfer
Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list
Is Original Surfer free for commercial use?
Yes. Original Surfer 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 “Original Surfer”.
How do I download and install Original Surfer?
FontKind doesn’t host Original Surfer’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file. It holds a single font file. On Windows or a Mac, double-click each font file and choose Install, then restart any app that was open, Word included.
Is Original Surfer in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Original Surfer 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 Original Surfer in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Original Surfer under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Original Surfer in Figma?
Yes: Original Surfer is in Figma’s font menu, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.
How many weights does Original Surfer have?
Original Surfer comes in one weight, Regular (400). Ask for bold and most apps thicken the letters themselves: a faux bold, not a drawn one.
Who designed Original Surfer?
Original Surfer was designed by Astigmatic. It has been on Google Fonts since December 2011. Astigmatic also made Aclonica, Parisienne, Righteous and 54 more on FontKind.
What fonts are similar to Original Surfer?
The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Cuban (88), Galindo (83) and Marhey (82), out of 100. Next to Original Surfer, Cuban is 70% wider and 18% lighter, with an x-height 56% taller. See all 100 fonts like Original Surfer.