Open Sans

sans-serif · Designed by Steve Matteson

Open Sans: Two driven jocks help fax my big quiz

Available weights

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Just want to use the font? Click "Get this font on Google Fonts" to download it or add it directly to a document, design tool (like Canva or Photoshop), or your computer's font list.

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Open Sans is a clean, humanist sans-serif with open letterforms and neutral proportions. It sits comfortably between formal and casual, making it approachable without feeling soft or unprofessional. The letterforms have slightly rounded terminals and generous x-height, which keeps text legible at small sizes without sacrificing readability at larger display sizes. It carries a straightforward, functional personality that works across a wide range of contexts without drawing attention to itself.

Open Sans is a reliable choice for UI design, where legibility across screen sizes and resolutions matters most, making it well suited for dashboards, mobile apps, and web applications. It performs consistently well in corporate and brand communications where a professional but accessible tone is needed, such as company websites, product landing pages, and marketing materials. It also works effectively as a body font in editorial or content-heavy environments like blogs, documentation sites, and knowledge bases, where readers are spending extended time with the text.

Best suited for: Recommended for user interfaces, web applications, corporate communications, marketing materials, and content-rich digital environments where consistent legibility across devices and sizes is essential.

Design considerations: Open Sans offers twelve variants spanning weights from 300 to 800 with matching italics, providing flexibility for establishing typographic hierarchy and emphasis. The humanist proportions and open letterforms maintain clarity across extended reading contexts while supporting both functional UI applications and editorial layouts.

Pairing guidance: Pair Open Sans with Playfair Display to introduce serif elegance for headlines and prominent sections, with Lato to reinforce sans-serif consistency at different weights or sizes, or with Inconsolata to establish monospace distinction for code, data, or technical content within the same design system.

Pairs well with

Playfair Display Lato Inconsolata

Open Sans at a glance

Designer

Steve Matteson

License

SIL Open Font License 1.1

Added to Google Fonts

February 2011

Last updated

September 2025

Styles

12 (6 weights + italics)

Variable font

Yes: width 75–100, weight 300–800

Classification

Sans Serif

Character sets

10

Distributed via

Google Fonts

All 12 Open Sans styles

Weight Name Upright Italic
300 Light Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
400 Regular Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
500 Medium Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
600 SemiBold Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
700 Bold Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123
800 ExtraBold Aa Bb Gg 123 Aa Bb Gg 123

Open Sans character map

Uppercase

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Lowercase

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Numbers and punctuation

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! ? & @ # % $ € £ ( ) [ ] { } . , : ; " ' - / * + =

Cyrillic (sample)

А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я а б в г д е ж з и й к л м н

Cyrillic Extended (sample)

Ґ Є Ї Ў Ғ Қ Ң Ү Ұ Һ Ә Ө

Greek (sample)

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ

Greek Extended (sample)

ἀ ἁ ἂ ἃ ἄ ἅ ἆ ἇ ὰ ά ἐ ἑ ὲ έ

Hebrew (sample)

א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת

Latin Extended (sample)

Ā Ă Ą Ć Č Ď Đ Ē Ę Ě Ğ Ī Į İ Ĺ Ľ Ł Ń Ň Ő Œ Ř Ś Ş Š Ť Ů Ű Ź Ż Ž

Vietnamese (sample)

Ạ Ả Ấ Ầ Ẩ Ẫ Ậ Ắ Ằ Ặ Ẹ Ẻ Ẽ Ế Ề Ệ Ỉ Ị Ọ Ỏ Ố Ồ Ộ Ơ Ớ Ờ Ụ Ủ Ư Ứ Ừ Ự Ỳ Ỵ

Which languages does Open Sans support?

Open Sans includes 10 character sets:

  • Cyrillic: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian and other Cyrillic-script languages
  • Cyrillic Extended: additional Cyrillic letters used in languages such as Kazakh, Tatar and Bashkir
  • Greek: modern Greek
  • Greek Extended: polytonic (ancient) Greek
  • Hebrew: Hebrew and Yiddish
  • Latin: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and other Western European languages
  • Latin Extended: Central and Eastern European languages such as Polish, Czech, Turkish, Romanian and Hungarian
  • Math: mathematical symbols and operators
  • Symbols: arrows, shapes and other technical symbols
  • Vietnamese: Vietnamese, including its stacked tone marks

Can I use Open Sans commercially?

Yes, it's free for personal and commercial use. Open Sans is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. You can use it in logos, websites, apps, videos, printed products and merchandise without paying or asking permission. The one thing you can't do is sell the font file on its own.

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Open Sans FAQ

Is Open Sans free for commercial use?

Yes. Open Sans is licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, so you can use it in commercial projects, including logos, client work and products you sell.

Which weights does Open Sans include?

Open Sans includes 6 weights, from Light (300) to ExtraBold (800), each with a matching italic, for 12 styles in total. It's also a variable font, so any weight between 300 and 800 is available.

Does Open Sans support Cyrillic?

Yes. Open Sans includes Cyrillic characters, so it works for Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Serbian text. It also supports Cyrillic Extended, Greek, Greek Extended, Hebrew, Latin, Latin Extended, Math, Symbols and Vietnamese.

Who designed Open Sans?

Open Sans was designed by Steve Matteson. It was added to Google Fonts in February 2011.