Serif · Mariya Lish
Solway
Find the font. Find its kind.
CSSfont-family: 'Solway', serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;
Solway is a free serif by Mariya Lish and The Northern Block, on Google Fonts since 2018. Among the 354 serifs on FontKind, Solway has an x-height taller than 62%, is wider than 76% and, at its regular weight, is darker than 74%. Its thickest strokes are 1.2 times its thinnest: nearly even strokes.
01 / Light table
Laid on top of Kiwi Maru
Solway on one light table with its two closest fonts, Kiwi Maru (100 out of 100) and Sanchez (95). Kiwi Maru is 8% wider and 13% lighter; Sanchez is 7% lighter.
Solway and Kiwi Maru laid on top of each other.
Ink shared with SolwayKiwi Maru…
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 Solway 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
Solway in 5 weights
5 weights, 300–800
- 300 Light
- 400 Regular
- 500 Medium
- 700 Bold
- 800 Extra bold
04 / Facts
Who made Solway, and can you use it?
- Designer
- Mariya Lish, The Northern Block
- Kind
- Serif
- Styles
- 5 weights, 300–800
- On Google Fonts since
- 2018
- Character sets
- latin
- 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.
Solway 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 Solway, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
- Cricut
- Once installed. Design Space lists Solway under System. Fonts for Cricut →
From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.
05 / Measurements
Solway, measured
Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style
- x-height
- 50.0% of the emlowercase x
- Cap height
- 70.0% of the emcapitals
- x / cap
- 0.71lowercase against capitals
- Width
- 55.0% of the emaverage lowercase
- Ink
- 45%letter box filled
- Contrast
- 1.17 : 1nearly even strokes
Where it stands among serifs
Ranked against all 354 serifs on FontKind
x-heightLarger than 62% of serifs
WidthWider than 76% of serifs
InkDarker than 74% of serifs
ContrastMore even than 92% of serifs
06 / Similar fonts
Fonts similar to Solway
Matched letter by letter · its own family apart
- Kiwi Maru1008% wider · 13% lighter
- Sanchez957% lighter
- Photonico Code8812% wider · 18% lighter · less stroke contrast
- Copse8712% heavier · 5% narrower · more stroke contrast
- Crete Round8323% heavier · 6% narrower · more stroke contrast
- Cutive7622% wider · x-height 11% taller
All 100 fonts similar to Solway →Compare side by side →Get Solway on Google Fonts
07 / Swap
Swap Solway without a jump
Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%
- Sanchez95same text width · x-height 1.6% shorter
- Besley69text 1.9% wider · x-height 4.0% taller
- Trocchi64text 1.8% wider · x-height 4.8% taller
- Montagu Slab58same text width · x-height 0.6% taller
- Arbutus Slab53text 0.8% wider · x-height 1.0% shorter
- Belgrano53text 2.2% wider · same x-height
Fallback while it loads
Until Solway loads, this sets Times New Roman in its place at 122.3% of its size, so running text keeps Solway’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.
@font-face {
font-family: 'Solway Fallback';
src: local('Times New Roman');
size-adjust: 122.33%;
ascent-override: 77.66%;
descent-override: 20.44%;
line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}
font-family: 'Solway', 'Solway Fallback', serif;08 / Questions
Questions about Solway
Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list
Is Solway free for commercial use?
Yes. Solway 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 Solway?
FontKind doesn’t host Solway’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file. It holds five 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 Solway in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Solway 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 Solway Light and Solway 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 Solway in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Solway under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Solway in Figma?
Yes: Solway is in Figma’s font menu with all five weights, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.
How many weights does Solway have?
Solway comes in five weights: Light (300), Regular (400), Medium (500), Bold (700) and ExtraBold (800).
Who designed Solway?
Solway was designed by Mariya Lish and The Northern Block. It has been on Google Fonts since August 2018.
What fonts are similar to Solway?
The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Kiwi Maru (100), Sanchez (95) and Photonico Code (88), out of 100. Next to Solway, Kiwi Maru is 8% wider and 13% lighter. See all 100 fonts like Solway.