Open Sans

Sans Serif humanist-sans by Steve Matteson #2 on Google Fonts
Download Google Fonts
Weight

About Open Sans

Steve Matteson crafted this humanist sans-serif with upright stress and open apertures that prioritize legibility across screen sizes and resolutions. One of the most-deployed web fonts ever published, it strikes a neutral, professional tone well-suited to body copy, email templates, and web applications. Variable width and weight axes, plus Hebrew and Greek script support, make it a versatile multilingual workhorse.

Character Map

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm
NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz
0123456789
!@#$%^&*()_+-=[]{}|;':",.<>?

Weight Waterfall (6)

300 Light
400 Regular
500 Medium
600 SemiBold
700 Bold
800 ExtraBold

How to Use

<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Open+Sans:wght@300;500;600;700;800;400&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Open+Sans:wght@300;500;600;700;800;400&display=swap');
font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif;
brew install --cask font-open-sans

Details

Category
Sans Serif
Style
humanist-sans
Weights
6
Italic
✓
Korean
✗
Designer
Steve Matteson
License
OFL
Version
Popularity
#2
Downloads
1

License Usage

Web useAllowed
PrintAllowed
Video / BroadcastAllowed
PackagingAllowed
App embeddingAllowed
Brand / LogoAllowed
ModificationAllowed

OFL — Free for personal & commercial use

Language Support

cyrillic cyrillic-ext greek greek-ext hebrew latin latin-ext math symbols vietnamese

Best For

body-text web-app email

Similar Fonts

Typography Concepts

  • Aperture

    The opening of a partially enclosed counter in letters like 'c', 'e', 's'. Wider apertures generally improve readability at small sizes.

  • Sans Serif

    A typeface without serifs — 'sans' means 'without' in French. Clean, modern appearance popular in digital design.

  • Neo-grotesque

    Refined sans-serif style from the 1950s with uniform strokes and neutral appearance. The dominant style in modern UI design.

  • Humanist Sans

    Sans-serif typefaces inspired by Renaissance handwriting with organic stroke variation. Warmer and more readable than geometric styles.

  • Legibility

    How easily individual characters can be distinguished from each other — an intrinsic quality of the typeface design itself.

  • WCAG Typography

    Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as applied to text — minimum contrast ratios (4.5:1 AA, 7:1 AAA), resizable text, and no images of text.

Articles About Open Sans

Font Reviews
Open Sans: Why It's Still Everywhere
 Typography Fundamentals
Kerning, Tracking, and Leading: Mastering Type Spacing
 Font Reviews
Best Handwriting Fonts on Google Fonts
 Accessibility
Typography for Dark Mode: Contrast and Readability Adjustments