Free alternatives to Tahoma

The closest free alternatives to Tahoma are PT Sans and Noto Sans, clear humanist sans serifs made for screens.

  • 5 free alternatives
  • Free for commercial use
  • Updated November 2026

At a glance

FontMatchWeightsItalicsBest for
PT SansClose match400 to 700YesSmall text and UI
Noto SansClose match100 to 900YesMany languages
Open SansSimilar feel300 to 800YesReadable body text
Source Sans 3Similar feel200 to 900YesInterfaces and long text
HindSimilar feel300 to 700NoUI text

The 5 best free alternatives

Same widths: drawn to the same letter widths, so nothing reflows. Close match: nearest look. Similar feel: same mood, different details.

  1. PT Sans

    Close match

    Best alternative

    A humanist sans with regular, bold and italics. Clear at small sizes.

  2. Noto Sans

    Close match

    A neutral humanist sans with weights from 100 to 900, italics and support for many languages.

  3. Open Sans

    Similar feel

    An open, friendly sans with weights from 300 to 800 and italics. Very easy to read.

  4. Source Sans 3

    Similar feel

    A clear humanist sans with weights from 200 to 900 and italics.

  5. Hind

    Similar feel

    A plain humanist sans with weights from 300 to 700. Good for UI text.

Pair it with

Curated pairings that use these alternatives.

About Tahoma

Tahoma was designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft and comes with Windows. It's a narrower relative of Verdana.

Designed by
Matthew Carter
License
Ships with Windows. Webfont use needs a license.
Best free match
PT Sans
See Tahoma on Fontpair

Questions about Tahoma

Is Tahoma free?

It comes with Windows, so you can use it in your own documents. Serving it as a webfont or embedding it in an app needs a license.

What is the closest free font to Tahoma?

The closest free alternatives to Tahoma are PT Sans and Noto Sans, clear humanist sans serifs made for screens.

Is Tahoma on Google Fonts?

No. PT Sans, Noto Sans and Open Sans are the closest Tahoma-style fonts on Google Fonts.

What font pairs well with PT Sans?

PT Sans pairs well with Abril Fatface, Bitter or Lora.

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