Free alternatives to Verdana

The closest free alternatives to Verdana are PT Sans and Noto Sans, open sans serifs made for reading on screens. Open Sans is close too.

  • 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 SansClose match300 to 800YesReadable body text
Source Sans 3Similar feel200 to 900YesInterfaces and long text
MuktaSimilar feel200 to 800NoClean body 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

    Close match

    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. Mukta

    Similar feel

    A clear humanist sans with weights from 200 to 800.

Pair it with

Curated pairings that use these alternatives.

About Verdana

Verdana was designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft in 1996 to read clearly on screens. It comes with Windows and macOS.

Designed by
Matthew Carter, 1996
License
Ships with Windows and macOS. Webfont use needs a license.
Best free match
PT Sans
See Verdana on Fontpair

Questions about Verdana

Is Verdana free?

It comes with Windows and macOS, 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 Verdana?

The closest free alternatives to Verdana are PT Sans and Noto Sans, open sans serifs made for reading on screens.

Is Verdana on Google Fonts?

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

What font pairs well with PT Sans?

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

More font alternatives

See all