In typography, sans-serif fonts (also called gothic or simply sans) do not have the extending features called “serifs” at the end of strokes. Sans-serif fonts tend to have less line width variation than serif fonts and are frequently used to convey simplicity, modernity, or minimalism.
Sans-serif fonts have become the dominant choice for displaying text on computer screens. On lower-resolution digital displays, fine details like serifs may disappear or appear too large. The term comes from the French word “sans” meaning “without” and “serif” possibly from the Dutch word “schreef” meaning “line” or pen-stroke.
1. Roboto
Roboto is designed by Christian Robertson. Over 20 million websites use this font. It has a dual nature with a mechanical skeleton and largely geometric forms, while featuring friendly and open curves. Unlike some grotesques that distort letterforms to force a rigid rhythm, Roboto allows letters to settle into their natural width, creating a more natural reading rhythm commonly found in humanist and serif types.
Popular Pairings: Open Sans, Lato, Raleway, Oswald, Playfair Display
Download Font2. Open Sans
Open Sans is designed by Steve Matteson, Type Director of Ascender Corp. Over 21 million websites use this humanist sans serif typeface. This version contains the complete 897 character set, including standard ISO Latin 1, Latin CE, Greek, and Cyrillic character sets. Open Sans was designed with an upright stress, open forms, and a neutral yet friendly appearance, optimized for print, web, and mobile interfaces.
Popular Pairings: Lato, Oswald, Roboto, Raleway, Montserrat
Download Font3. Lato
Lato is designed by Łukasz Dziedzic (“Lato” means “Summer” in Polish). Used by 11 million websites worldwide, this sans serif typeface family was started in 2010. In December 2010, the Lato family was published under the Open Font License by his foundry tyPoland, with Google’s support. The semi-rounded details give Lato a feeling of warmth, while the strong structure provides solidity and seriousness.
Popular Pairings: Roboto, Open Sans, Oswald, Raleway, Playfair Display
Download Font4. Montserrat
Montserrat is designed by Julieta Ulanovsky and used by over 5 million websites. The old posters and signs in the traditional Montserrat neighborhood of Buenos Aires inspired this typeface, rescuing the beauty of urban typography from the first half of the twentieth century. The Montserrat Project aims to preserve and share these designs under the SIL Open Font License.
Popular Pairings: Open Sans, Roboto, Raleway, Lato, Oswald
Download Font5. Noto Sans
Noto Sans is designed by Google and used by over 1 million websites. Noto makes the web more beautiful across platforms for all languages. Currently covering more than 30 scripts, this is the Sans Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic family with Regular, Bold, Italic, and Bold Italic styles. Derived from Droid, it has a serif sister family called Noto Serif.
Popular Pairings: Noto Serif, Open Sans, Inconsolata, Roboto, Source Sans Pro
Download Font6. Mina
Mina is designed by Suman Bhandary and Natanael Gama. This contemporary geometric Bangla (Bengali) and Latin family comes in two weights: Regular and Bold. It began by extending the Latin font Exo, originally designed by Natanael Gama. While it works well as a display typeface, it is designed to perform at small to intermediate text sizes.
Popular Pairings: Roboto, Open Sans, Montserrat, Lato, Raleway
Download Font7. Oswald
Oswald is designed by Vernon Adams and used by 7.2 million websites. This font adjusts the classic style historically represented by ‘Alternate Gothic’ sans serif typefaces. The characters were re-drawn and reformed to better fit the pixel grid of standard digital screens. Oswald is designed to be used freely across the internet by web browsers on all devices.
Popular Pairings: Lato, Roboto, Open Sans, Raleway, Open Sans Condensed
Download Font8. Source Sans Pro
Source Sans Pro is Adobe’s first open-source typeface family, designed by Paul D. Hunt. It is a sans serif typeface designed to function well in user interfaces. Over 4.2 million websites use this font.
Popular Pairings: Open Sans, Lato, Roboto, Oswald, Raleway
Download Font9. Roboto Condensed
Roboto Condensed is also designed by Christian Robertson. Like Roboto, it has a dual nature with a mechanical skeleton and largely geometric forms, while featuring friendly and open curves. Roboto Condensed allows letters to settle into their natural width for a more natural reading rhythm. Over 2.3 million websites use this font.
Popular Pairings: Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Oswald, Raleway
Download Font10. Raleway
Raleway is an elegant sans-serif typeface family designed for headings and other large size usage. Originally designed by Matt McInerney as a single thin weight, it was expanded into a 9 weight family by Pablo Impallari and Rodrigo Fuenzalida in 2012 and iKerned by Igino Marini. Over 7.1 million websites use this font.
Popular Pairings: Roboto, Lato, Oswald, Playfair Display, Open Sans
Download FontRelated Font Collections
- Best Google Serif Fonts – Classic, elegant typefaces
- Handwritten Fonts – Personal, artistic typefaces
- Design Resources Guide – Complete toolkit for designers
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a sans-serif font?
A sans-serif font lacks the small decorative strokes (serifs) at the ends of letters. These fonts have a clean, modern appearance and are highly legible on digital screens, making them popular for websites and user interfaces.
When should I use sans-serif fonts?
Sans-serif fonts work well for digital interfaces, headings, short text blocks, and modern or minimalist designs. They are particularly effective on screens where their clean lines remain crisp at any size.
Can I mix serif and sans-serif fonts?
Yes, combining serif and sans-serif fonts is a classic design technique. Typically, use sans-serif for headings and serif for body text, or vice versa. The contrast creates visual hierarchy and interest while maintaining readability.