Arial and Helvetica alternatives

I created a video [YouTube, 14:35min] about the typefaces I recommend when people tell me they’re bored of (usually) Arial and they want me to suggest a more interesting font that still looks professional.

However, I hate it when content is video-locked (ie available only in video format) so here are the key bits from that video in text form.

Why use something different?

There are two reasons you could be looking for an alternative to Arial and Helvetica:

  1. Same-same: You want a typeface that’s very similar to Arial and Helvetica. Maybe because you prefer a typeface with an open licence or one with a less expensive and less restrictive licence. Or maybe you just don’t have access to Arial and Helvetica and you want to use a drop-in replacement.

  2. Different: You want something slightly different from Arial and Helvetica, though you still want this typeface to have an overall neutral-ish vibe.

I have recommendations for you either way.

Similar to Arial and Helvetica

There are a lot of typefaces that are very similar to Arial and Helvetica, but these are the ones I usually recommend.

My free favourites

These are my two free recommendations:

I actually prefer Arimo over Arial for everyday use because I think Arimo looks better on screens: it has a slightly taller x-height, more open apertures, and a little more character overall. Check out the The Register website to see how good Arimo can look on a text-heavy website.

I also prefer Nimbus Sans over Helvetica because a commercial licence to Helvetica (ie not just the personal licence you get with macOS) is quite expensive.

Before you ask, I’m not a huge fan of Liberation Sans (from Red Hat) so that’s not a typeface I’d recommend.

My paid favourites

These are my four paid recommendations [1]:

Slightly different from Arial and Helvetica

For those of you who skipped my video on this topic [YouTube, 14:35min] these are the not-so-neutral, sans serif typefaces I recommend:

My free favourites

These are my four free recommendations:

Officer Sans was designed to be metrically compatible with Arial and Helvetica and I use this my default spreadsheet font.

When I need to write text in a neutral-ish, sans serif typeface, though – like a formal letter – its usually a toss-up between Public Sans and Officer Sans. [2]

My paid favourites

These are my four paid recommendations [1]:

If you want to know why I recommend these typefaces out of all the other ones that out there, you should watch my video.

Honourable mentions

I also have two honourable mentions:

Roboto is used everywhere on the web but I don’t see it being used very often in documents and presentations, so this might be an interesting alternative to consider.

I love Unica as a typeface, but I much prefer Lineto’s Unica77 over Linotype’s Neue Haas Unica (which, as it happens, I do have a licence to). Unfortunately, Unica77 is very expensive. That’s why I only have it under a trial licence and why it’s an honourable mention and not a full-on recommendation. <sigh>

Any others?

Do you have a go-to neutral sans serif typeface that you’d recommend to others? Let me know.

FYI, the text used in the comparison-graphics above is from the opening sentences of The Rook by Daniel O’Malley.

[1] Whenever possible, I recommend typefaces from only indepenedent, interesting, or otherwise notable type foundries.

[2] As its designer, Dan Williams, mentioned in an interview, Public Sans pairs really well with Georgia (or with Gelasio, which is the Google Fonts alternative to Georgia).