Add to ChromeBraveFree alternatives toRoyal Gothic
The closest free alternative to Royal Gothic is Libre Franklin, 79% alike by measurement, free from Google Fonts. Pontano Sans and Mona Sans come next.
Royal Gothic, by Paul Barnes for Commercial Type. Measured on commercialtype.com, October 23rd, 2026.
The six closest.
- 01
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.
Libre Franklin
79%Close matchGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License
- 6% taller x-height
- Sets 5% wider
- Same weight
- Less stroke contrast
- 02
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.
Pontano Sans
75%Close matchGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License
- Same x-height
- Sets 6% narrower
- Same weight
- Less stroke contrast
- 03
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.
Mona Sans
74%Same spiritGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License
- 5% taller x-height
- Sets 3% wider
- Same weight
- Less stroke contrast
- 04
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.
Nunito
73%Same spiritGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License
- Same x-height
- Same width
- Same weight
- Less stroke contrast
- 05
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.
Tomorrow
73%Same spiritGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License
- 5% taller x-height
- Sets 7% wider
- Same weight
- Less stroke contrast
- 06
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Typography is what language looks like.
Hubot Sans
73%Same spiritGoogle Fonts · SIL Open Font License
- 5% taller x-height
- Same width
- Same weight
- Same stroke contrast
Measured, side by side.
Royal Gothic against Libre Franklin, from the letters themselves. These numbers are why Libre Franklin comes first, and what the CSS below corrects for.
Royal Gothic Libre Franklin
Keep your line breaks.
Swap Royal Gothic for Libre Franklin and nothing reflows. This sets Libre Franklin at Royal Gothic’s x-height and line length, so headings, buttons and paragraphs break where they did.
font-family: "Libre Franklin", sans-serif;
font-size: 0.942em; /* down to Royal Gothic’s x-height */
letter-spacing: 0.007em; /* to Royal Gothic’s line length */About Royal Gothic
Royal Gothic is a paid sans serif designed by Paul Barnes, published by Commercial Type.
See Royal Gothic on commercialtype.com ↗Questions, answered.
What is the best free alternative to Royal Gothic?
Libre Franklin. Measured letter by letter, it’s 79% alike: 6% taller x-height, sets 5% wider, same weight, less stroke contrast. Pontano Sans, Mona Sans, Nunito, Tomorrow and Hubot Sans are also close.
Is there a free version of Royal Gothic?
No. Royal Gothic is a paid sans serif from Commercial Type. 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. Royal Gothic was measured as commercialtype.com, October 23rd 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 Libre Franklin change my layout?
Not if you use the CSS on this page. It sets Libre Franklin 5.8% smaller with a touch more letter-spacing, so text written for Royal Gothic keeps its x-height and its line lengths, and lines break in the same places.
Spot Royal Gothic 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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