Free font alternatives

Free alternatives to Maison Neue

Maison Neue is a commercial neo-grotesque sans from Milieu Grotesque. Commercial; licensed from Milieu Grotesque. Below are the 8 closest free, open-licensed families in the BrandSweets library, ranked by our published, deterministic score — classification, measured proportions, traits, role, language and variable support. Each one is shown in its own face and is free to self-host.

Maison Neue is a trademark of its owner, named here only to identify the typeface. We do not host, embed or distribute it; “similar” means similar classification and proportions, nothing more.

  1. #189% matchsansApache-2.0 · Christian Robertson, ParaType, Font Bureau
    Roboto

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: neo-grotesque.
    Metrics×0.25
    96%
    x-height 0.53 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (near-identical); cap height 0.71 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (near-identical); both normal width; both low stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    50%
    Shares modern, monoline, neutral (3 of 6 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, heading, ui.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Maison Neue's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Maison Neue.
    Family gate
    Same family: sans.
    View Roboto specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
  2. #287% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Alexandra Korolkova, Vitaly Kuzmin
    Golos Text

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: neo-grotesque.
    Metrics×0.25
    98%
    x-height 0.53 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (near-identical); cap height 0.70 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (near-identical); both normal width; both low stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    40%
    Shares monoline, neutral (2 of 5 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, heading, ui.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Maison Neue's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Maison Neue.
    Family gate
    Same family: sans.
    View Golos Text specimen →Pairings →400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
  3. #387% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Font Bureau, David Berlow, Santiago Orozco, Irene Vlachou, Ilya Ruderman, Yury Ostromentsky, Mikhail Strukov
    Roboto Flex

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: neo-grotesque.
    Metrics×0.25
    96%
    x-height 0.51 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (near-identical); cap height 0.71 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (near-identical); both normal width; both low stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    40%
    Shares monoline, neutral (2 of 5 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, heading, ui.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Maison Neue's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Maison Neue.
    Family gate
    Same family: sans.
  4. #487% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Rasmus Andersson
    Inter

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: neo-grotesque.
    Metrics×0.25
    88%
    x-height 0.55 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (close); cap height 0.73 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (close); both normal width; both low stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    50%
    Shares modern, monoline, neutral (3 of 6 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, heading, ui.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Maison Neue's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Maison Neue.
    Family gate
    Same family: sans.
    View Inter specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
  5. #587% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Oded Ezer
    Heebo

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: neo-grotesque.
    Metrics×0.25
    96%
    x-height 0.53 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (near-identical); cap height 0.71 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (near-identical); both normal width; both low stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    40%
    Shares monoline, neutral (2 of 5 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, heading, ui.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Maison Neue's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Maison Neue.
    Family gate
    Same family: sans.
    View Heebo specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
  6. #687% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Andrés Briganti, Mateo Zaragoza, Guillermo Rauch, Evil Rabbit, José Rago, Facundo Santana
    Geist

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: neo-grotesque.
    Metrics×0.25
    95%
    x-height 0.53 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (near-identical); cap height 0.71 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (near-identical); both normal width; both low stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    40%
    Shares monoline, neutral (2 of 5 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, heading, ui.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Maison Neue's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Maison Neue.
    Family gate
    Same family: sans.
    View Geist specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
  7. #787% matchsansApache-2.0 · Steve Matteson
    Arimo

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: neo-grotesque.
    Metrics×0.25
    95%
    x-height 0.53 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (near-identical); cap height 0.69 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (near-identical); both normal width; both low stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    40%
    Shares monoline, neutral (2 of 5 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, heading, ui.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Maison Neue's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Maison Neue.
    Family gate
    Same family: sans.
    View Arimo specimen →Pairings →400 · 500 · 600 · 700
  8. #886% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Mikhail Sharanda
    Manrope

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: neo-grotesque.
    Metrics×0.25
    91%
    x-height 0.54 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (near-identical); cap height 0.72 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (close); both normal width; both low stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    43%
    Shares modern, monoline, neutral (3 of 7 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, heading, ui.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Maison Neue's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Maison Neue.
    Family gate
    Same family: sans.
    View Manrope specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800
mcpConnect your agent — find Maison Neue alternatives live
live endpoint

Point any MCP client at the shared fonts endpoint and your agent gets the same ranked list with every axis score — find_alternatives, list_commercial_fonts, list_fonts and suggest_fonts, read-only, no key.

endpointhttps://mcp.brandsweets.com/fonts/mcp
claude mcp add --transport http brandsweets-fonts https://mcp.brandsweets.com/fonts/mcp
try this prompt

find a free alternative to Maison Neue for a modern brand

Want the agent to remember your picks and write them into a living brand? Create a free BrandSweets workspace.

Use Roboto instead

Roboto is the top-ranked alternative to Maison Neue (89%) and is free to self-host under Apache-2.0. Drop these @font-face rules into your CSS — the .woff2 files are served straight from BrandSweets.

css
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 100;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-100.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 200;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-200.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 300;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-300.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-400.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 500;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-500.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 600;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-600.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-700.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 800;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-800.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 900;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-900.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 100;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-100i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 200;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-200i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 300;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-300i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-400i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 500;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-500i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 600;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-600i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-700i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 800;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-800i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Roboto";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 900;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/roboto/roboto-900i.woff2") format("woff2");
}

/* Usage */
.heading { font-family: "Roboto", sans-serif; }

What we compare Maison Neue on

Class
neo-grotesque
x-height
0.52
Cap height
0.70
Width · contrast
normal · low
Traits
neutral, modern, minimal, technical, monoline
Roles
heading, body, ui
Languages · variable
latin, latin-ext · no

≈ proportions are publicly documented approximations of the regular cut, not measured by us. Open-font metrics are measured from the files. Full formula and thresholds: methodology. Machine-readable: alternatives.md

Questions

Is Maison Neue free?
No. Maison Neue is a commercial typeface from Milieu Grotesque. Commercial; licensed from Milieu Grotesque. The fonts listed here are free, open-licensed alternatives you can download, self-host and use commercially.
What is the closest free alternative to Maison Neue?
Roboto scores 89% against Maison Neue on our published formula — Same class: neo-grotesque. x-height 0.53 vs 0.52 for Maison Neue (near-identical); cap height 0.71 vs 0.70 for Maison Neue (near-identical); both normal width; both low stroke contrast. It is licensed Apache-2.0, so it is free to self-host.
How are these alternatives ranked?
By a fixed, published score — 0.35 classification, 0.25 measured proportions (x-height, cap height, width, stroke contrast), 0.20 traits, 0.10 role, 0.05 language coverage, 0.05 variable support — after a family gate: specialist families (blackletter, script, glyphic, stencil, monospace) only list same-family fonts, and any cross-family match is capped at 0.2. No model or vote; the same inputs always give the same ranking. Hand-curated picks are labelled and listed first.

Build a brand around Roboto

Turn the pick into a full identity — colors, type roles, logo, and agent-readable tokens your future sessions already know.