Karla
sans-serif · Designed by Jonny Pinhorn
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Snippet updates automatically to match whichever weight you select above.
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Karla is a clean, grotesque sans-serif with a slightly quirky edge that sets it apart from purely neutral typefaces. Its letterforms are well-proportioned and legible without being stiff, carrying a friendly but professional tone. The typeface works confidently at both large display sizes and smaller body text, and its subtle personality prevents it from feeling generic or corporate. It handles tight spacing well and reads clearly across digital screens, making it a reliable workhorse that still has enough character to feel considered.
Karla suits startup and tech branding where the goal is approachable but polished, particularly for companies that want to avoid the overused feel of fonts like Open Sans or Roboto. It works well in web and mobile UI contexts, especially for navigation, labels, and interface copy where readability at small sizes matters. Editorial and blog designs also benefit from Karla, where it can carry body text duties or serve as a secondary display font in a two-typeface system without overwhelming the layout.
Best suited for: Recommended for digital interfaces, web body text, startup branding, and editorial layouts where approachable professionalism and screen legibility are priorities.
Design considerations: The extensive weight range from 200 to 800 supports flexible typographic hierarchies across both display and text sizes. Its grotesque structure with subtle personality suits contexts requiring neutral functionality without generic appearance, and performs reliably in tight spacing and small-size rendering.
Pairing guidance: Pair Karla with Playfair Display for editorial layouts where a contrasting serif display font adds sophistication to body text, with Merriweather for warm, readable serif pairing in longer-form content, or with DM Mono to introduce technical character in interface or code-adjacent contexts.
Pairs well with
Karla at a glance
Jonny Pinhorn
SIL Open Font License 1.1
March 2012
September 2025
14 (7 weights + italics)
Yes: weight 200–800
Sans Serif
2
Google Fonts
All 14 Karla styles
| Weight | Name | Upright | Italic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | ExtraLight | Aa Bb Gg 123 | Aa Bb Gg 123 |
| 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 |
Karla character map
Which languages does Karla support?
Karla includes 2 character sets:
- 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
It does not include Cyrillic or Greek characters, so it can't set Russian, Ukrainian or Greek text.
Can I use Karla commercially?
Yes, it's free for personal and commercial use. Karla 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.