A Guide to Open Source Fonts
Ubuntu
The Ubuntu font was released in 2010 and has been used as the default font in Ubuntu releases ever since. A sans serif font, Ubuntu has large rounded bowls on letters like b and o that make it highly readable, both online and on the page, while eccentricities like the half crossbar on the letter t and the tail of the l offer a modern, original look. The Ubuntu font creates a strong impression. In fact, it is among Ubuntu’s greatest contributions to open source (Figure 11).
Proprietary Substitutions
If you choose to use open source fonts, you may find that you need to replace a well-known proprietary font. My book Designing with LibreOffice includes an appendix that lists the closest substitutions available for many proprietary fonts (Table 1). Note that some of these substitutions are more exact than others. The quality may also vary. Happy hunting!
Table 1: Free Equivalents for Standard Proprietary Fonts
| Proprietary Font |
Free Equivalent |
| Alternate Gothic #1 |
League Gothic |
| Arial |
Liberation Sans*, PT Sans, Open Sans Condensed, Lato |
| Arial Narrow |
Liberation Sans Narrow* |
| Avenir |
Mint Spirit No2, Nunito |
| Baskerville |
Baskervald ADF Std |
| Bembo |
EB Garamond |
| Bodoni |
Accanthis ADF Std, Oranienbaum |
| Caladea |
Cambria* |
| Calibri |
Carlito* |
| Centaur |
Coelacanth |
| Century Gothic |
Muli |
| Comic Sans |
Comic Relief |
| Courier |
Liberation Mono |
| Courier 10 Pitch |
Courier Code* |
| Courier New |
Cousine |
| Eurostile |
Jura |
| Frutiger Istok |
Normal 400, Mint Spirit No2, Nunito |
| Futura Light |
Futura Renner Light |
| Garamond** |
Crimson Text, EB Garamond |
| Georgia |
Nimbus Roman No. 9 |
| Gill Sans |
Cabin, Gillius ADF, Hammersmith One, Railway Regular, Raleway |
| Goudy Old Style** |
Goudy Bookletter 1911, Linden Hill, Sorts Mill Goudy |
| Helvetica |
Liberation Sans,* PT Sans, Open Sans Condensed, Lato |
| Helvetica Narrow |
Liberation Sans Narrow* |
| Joanna |
Fanwood |
| Letter Gothic |
Josefin Sans, Josefin Slab |
| Myriad |
Junction, PT Sans |
| News Gothic |
News Cycle |
| Stone Sans |
Nunito |
| Stone Serif |
Lustria |
| Tahoma |
Lucida Sans, Nimbus Sans |
| Times New Roman |
Liberation Serif,* Linux Libertine* |
| Trajan |
Cinzel |
| Univers |
Universalis ADF Std |
| Verdana |
DejaVu Sans |
| * Metrical equivalents |
|
| ** “Garamond” and “Goudy” are often generic names for fonts inspired by particular designers. The closeness of the equivalent depends on which font you are trying to match. |
|
« Previous 1 2 3 4
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
The Gnome Foundation Struggling to Stay Afloat
The foundation behind the Gnome desktop environment is having to go through some serious belt-tightening due to continued financial problems.
-
Thousands of Linux Servers Infected with Stealth Malware Since 2021
Perfctl is capable of remaining undetected, which makes it dangerous and hard to mitigate.
-
Halcyon Creates Anti-Ransomware Protection for Linux
As more Linux systems are targeted by ransomware, Halcyon is stepping up its protection.
-
Valve and Arch Linux Announce Collaboration
Valve and Arch have come together for two projects that will have a serious impact on the Linux distribution.
-
Hacker Successfully Runs Linux on a CPU from the Early ‘70s
From the office of "Look what I can do," Dmitry Grinberg was able to get Linux running on a processor that was created in 1971.
-
OSI and LPI Form Strategic Alliance
With a goal of strengthening Linux and open source communities, this new alliance aims to nurture the growth of more highly skilled professionals.
-
Fedora 41 Beta Available with Some Interesting Additions
If you're a Fedora fan, you'll be excited to hear the beta version of the latest release is now available for testing and includes plenty of updates.
-
AlmaLinux Unveils New Hardware Certification Process
The AlmaLinux Hardware Certification Program run by the Certification Special Interest Group (SIG) aims to ensure seamless compatibility between AlmaLinux and a wide range of hardware configurations.
-
Wind River Introduces eLxr Pro Linux Solution
eLxr Pro offers an end-to-end Linux solution backed by expert commercial support.
-
Juno Tab 3 Launches with Ubuntu 24.04
Anyone looking for a full-blown Linux tablet need look no further. Juno has released the Tab 3.