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Calibri vs Arial

Calibri is the humanist sans Microsoft made the default in Office in 2007, replacing Times New Roman in Word and Arial in PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, until Aptos took over in 2024. Arial is Monotype’s 1982 neo-grotesque, drawn to Helvetica’s widths. At the same size Calibri is the smaller and narrower: we measured its x-height 10% shorter than Arial’s and the same text 7% narrower.1,2,3

On this deviceCalibri: looking…Arial: looking…

01 / In your words

Calibri vs Arial, side by side

Paid and system fonts show only from your own device: FontKind never sends their files. The free fonts below them are labelled as what they are.
65 px
Default
0 em

  1. Calibri · looking on this device

    Looking for Calibri on this device…

  2. Arial · looking on this device

    Looking for Arial on this device…

  3. Free · Carlito · Drawn to Calibri’s widths

    Find the font. Find its kind.

  4. Free · Arimo · Drawn to Arial’s widths

    Find the font. Find its kind.

02 / Compared

What is the difference between Calibri and Arial?

Calibri and Arial compared
What differsCalibriArial
Designed1,2Calibri2002–2004, by Lucas de Groot for Microsoft’s ClearType collection; released in 2007Arial1982, by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders at Monotype
Style1,2CalibriHumanist sans serif, with subtly rounded stems and cornersArialNeo-grotesque sans serif, drawn to Helvetica’s widths
Office default1CalibriWord, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, from 2007 until Aptos in 2024ArialPowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, until Calibri in 2007
Comes with4,5,6,2CalibriWindows and Microsoft Office; not macOSArialWindows, macOS and iOS
APA style7Calibri11 pointsArial11 points
Free alternative8,9CalibriCarlito, drawn to its widthsArialArimo, drawn to its widths
Measured by FontKind3
x-heightHeight of the lowercase x, share of the emCalibri46.7%Arial51.9%
Cap heightHeight of the capitals, share of the emCalibri63.5%Arial71.6%
Letter widthThe 26 lowercase letters on average, share of the emCalibri45.6%Arial48.9%
Running textWidth of English text a character, share of the emCalibri41.4%Arial44.7%
InkHow much of the letter box the lowercase fillsCalibri43%Arial44%
ContrastThe o’s sides against its top and footCalibri1.25 : 1Arial1.25 : 1

03 / Letter by letter

How to tell Calibri from Arial

Each letter in both fonts, as this device and the catalogue set them, with what to look for.

  • Stems and corners1

    Calibri

    Looking…

    Subtly rounded, which shows at large sizes

    Arial

    Looking…

    Cut square

  • x-height3

    Calibri

    Looking…

    Lower: Calibri sets smaller at the same point size

    Arial

    Looking…

    Higher

  • The capital i and the small L1

    Calibri

    Looking…

    Effectively indistinguishable

    Arial

    Looking…

    The same

04 / Which to use

Calibri or Arial: which should you use?

  • A paper in APA style

    Either, at 11 points: APA lists both. At 11 points Calibri’s x-height is 5.1 points and Arial’s 5.7 points.7,3

  • A document opened on a Mac

    Arial: macOS comes with it, while Calibri arrives only with Microsoft Office.5,4

  • Fitting more on a slide or a page

    Calibri: the same text sets 7% narrower than in Arial at the same size.3

  • A website

    Serve Carlito or Arimo, free with the same widths, or name the fonts in font-family and let each visitor’s own copy show.8,9

05 / Free instead

Free fonts instead of Calibri and Arial

Free for commercial use, under open licences. A font drawn to the original’s widths keeps a document’s line breaks; the others are the closest our data finds.

Instead of Calibri

  • Picked
    Carlito

    Drawn to Calibri’s widths

  • Match 93 · by our data
    Asap Condensed

    x-height 12% taller · 9% narrower · 7% heavier

  • Match 93 · by our data
    Asap

    x-height 12% taller · 9% wider

  • Match 83 · by our data
    Istok Web

    x-height 10% taller · 6% wider · more stroke contrast

Free alternatives to Calibri

Instead of Arial

  • Picked
    Arimo

    Drawn to Arial’s widths

  • Match 87 · by our data
    Rag

    12% wider

  • Match 84 · by our data
    Kecal

    Nearly identical proportions

  • Match 82 · by our data
    Miedinger

    Nearly identical proportions

Free alternatives to Arial

06 / Questions

Calibri vs Arial: questions people ask

Is Calibri smaller than Arial?

Yes, at the same point size: we measured Calibri’s x-height 10% shorter than Arial’s, and the same text sets 7% narrower. Calibri at 12.2 points has the x-height of Arial at 11.3

Why did Microsoft replace Calibri?

In January 2024 Microsoft made Aptos, a new font of its own, the default in Office, after 17 years of Calibri.1

Is Calibri free?

It comes with Windows and Microsoft Office, for use there. Carlito is a free, open-source font drawn to Calibri’s widths, released by Google in 2013 so documents keep their layout without Calibri.4,8,1

Can I use Calibri in Google Docs?

Yes: Google added Calibri to the fonts of Google Docs in 2010, with Cambria and Consolas.10

Is Calibri or Arial easier to read?

Calibri was drawn for ClearType, to read clearly on screens, but at the same point size its letters are smaller. Compare them at sizes that match, such as Calibri at 12.2 points against Arial at 11.1,3

Sources

  1. 1Wikipedia: Calibri
  2. 2Wikipedia: Arial
  3. 3FontKind: How we measure
  4. 4Microsoft: Windows 11 font list
  5. 5Apple: Fonts included with macOS Sequoia
  6. 6Apple Developer: System fonts
  7. 7APA Style: Font
  8. 8Google Fonts: Carlito
  9. 9Google Fonts: Arimo
  10. 10Google Workspace Updates: New web fonts in Google Docs (2010)

Updated 1 October 2026. Calibri and Arial are trademarks of their owners, named here only to say which fonts the page compares. FontKind is not affiliated with them: this is an independent comparison.