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Free alternatives toInput Mono

Set in IBM Plex Mono, its closest free match

The closest free alternative to Input Mono is IBM Plex Mono, 81% alike by measurement, free from Google Fonts. Chivo Mono and Fragment Mono come next.

  • PaidDavid Jonathan Ross · DJR · 2014
  • Measuredon input.djr.com, 23 October 2026

The six closest.

  1. 01

    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.

    IBM Plex Mono

    81%

    Close matchGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License

    • 5% shorter x-height
    • Sets 6% narrower
    • Same weight
    • Same stroke contrast
    Get IBM Plex Mono ↗
  2. 02

    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.

    Chivo Mono

    81%

    Close matchGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License

    • 6% shorter x-height
    • Sets 6% narrower
    • Same weight
    • More stroke contrast
    Get Chivo Mono ↗
  3. 03

    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.

    Fragment Mono

    77%

    Close matchGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License

    • 4% shorter x-height
    • Sets 3% narrower
    • Same weight
    • Same stroke contrast
    Get Fragment Mono ↗
  4. 04

    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.

    Geist Mono

    76%

    Close matchGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License

    • 3% shorter x-height
    • Sets 6% narrower
    • Same weight
    • Same stroke contrast
    Get Geist Mono ↗
  5. 05

    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.

    Roboto Mono

    75%

    Close matchGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License

    • 3% shorter x-height
    • Sets 6% narrower
    • Same weight
    • Same stroke contrast
    Get Roboto Mono ↗
  6. 06

    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.

    JetBrains Mono

    75%

    Close matchGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License

    • Same x-height
    • Sets 6% narrower
    • Same weight
    • Same stroke contrast
    Get JetBrains Mono ↗

Measured, side by side.

Input Mono against IBM Plex Mono, from the letters themselves. These numbers are why IBM Plex Mono comes first, and what the CSS below corrects for.

Proportions in em, at the same font size
Ascender0.730.74Cap height0.730.70x-height0.550.52Descender0.190.21
Letter widths, a to z: what decides where lines break
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Weight−7%
Stroke contrast+1%

Input Mono IBM Plex Mono

Keep your line breaks.

Swap Input Mono for IBM Plex Mono and nothing reflows. This sets IBM Plex Mono at Input Mono’s x-height and line length, so headings, buttons and paragraphs break where they did.

Input Mono → IBM Plex Mono
font-family: "IBM Plex Mono", monospace;
font-size: 1.057em; /* up to Input Mono’s x-height */
letter-spacing: 0.002em; /* to Input Mono’s line length */

About Input Mono

Input Mono is a paid monospace designed by David Jonathan Ross, published by DJR in 2014.

See Input Mono on input.djr.com ↗

Paid fonts like Input Mono

Questions, answered.

What is the best free alternative to Input Mono?

IBM Plex Mono. Measured letter by letter, it’s 81% alike: 5% shorter x-height, sets 6% narrower, same weight, same stroke contrast. Chivo Mono, Fragment Mono, Geist Mono, Roboto Mono and JetBrains Mono are also close.

Is there a free version of Input Mono?

No. Input Mono is a paid monospace from DJR. Every alternative on this page is free for commercial use, under the SIL Open Font License.

How were these alternatives chosen?

By measuring the letters, not by comparing names or tags. Input Mono was measured as input.djr.com draws it: its proportions, the width of every letter and figure, its weight, its stroke contrast and the shapes of telling letters like a, g, R and Q. The same measurements were taken of 1,506 free fonts, and these came closest. Each match was then checked by eye.

Will IBM Plex Mono change my layout?

Not if you use the CSS on this page. It sets IBM Plex Mono 5.7% larger with a touch more letter-spacing, so text written for Input Mono keeps its x-height and its line lengths, and lines break in the same places.

Spot Input Mono in the wild?

Point Fontsight at any text on any website. It names the font, and offers a free look-alike you can try on the page, line breaks intact.

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