Font vs font
The fonts people compare most, each pair on a page: what differs and where it is said, the letters that give each away, our own measurements where we have them, and free fonts to use instead.
Most of these fonts are not free to serve, so the pages show them only from your own device, and say so when it lacks one.
Across the five pages: 33 facts, each with its source, 18 letters that tell the two fonts apart, 19 answers on which to use when, and 8 free fonts to use instead: Arimo, EB Garamond, Cormorant Garamond, Tinos, Gelasio, Inter, Geist and Carlito.
- 01Arial vs HelveticaThe same widths, different stroke ends: how to tell them apart.
- 02Garamond vs Times New RomanWhich Garamond, and how much smaller it sets.
- 03Times New Roman vs GeorgiaThe newspaper serif and the screen serif, measured.
- 04SF Pro vs HelveticaApple’s screen sans and the Helvetica it replaced.
- 05Calibri vs ArialOffice’s two defaults, and how much smaller Calibri sets.
Words people mix up
- Serif vs sans serifThe same letters in both, measured: serifs, contrast and when to use each.
- KerningDrag a letter into place, then see how the typeface spaces the pair.
- Font vs typefaceOne typeface, 36 fonts, two files: the design and what carries it.
- TTF vs OTFQuadratic or cubic curves: what a .ttf and an .otf hold, and which to use.
- WOFF vs WOFF2The same font packed for the web: six popular fonts weighed in each format.
Comparing free fonts instead? Set up to six side by side, or lay them over each other on the light table.
Font comparisons, answered
- Why can’t I see Helvetica on these pages?
- The pages set fonts like Helvetica only from your own device, and Helvetica comes with macOS and iOS but not with Windows. FontKind never sends a font it has no right to; where yours is missing, the page says so and shows a free font in its place.
- How does FontKind measure the fonts?
- From their outlines: the x-height as a share of the em, the stroke contrast of the o, how wide the small letters run and how dark a line of text sets. The methodology page explains each measure.
- Which free font is closest to Arial?
- Arimo, drawn to Arial’s widths, which are Helvetica’s too, so a text set in it breaks into the same lines. Tinos does the same for Times New Roman, and Carlito for Calibri.