brandsweets

Free font alternatives

Free alternatives to Times New Roman

Times New Roman is a commercial transitional serif from Monotype. Bundled with Windows/macOS under those EULAs; web use needs a Monotype license. 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.

Times New Roman 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. #181% matchcurated pickserifApache-2.0
    Tinos

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Metric-compatible with Times New Roman — identical widths, no reflow.

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: transitional.
    Metrics×0.25
    97%
    x-height 0.46 vs 0.45 for Times New Roman (near-identical); cap height 0.66 vs 0.66 for Times New Roman (near-identical); both normal width; both medium stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    25%
    Shares classic (1 of 4 traits).
    Role×0.10
    67%
    Both suit body, longform.
    Language×0.05
    100%
    Covers all of Times New Roman's subsets (cyrillic, greek, hebrew, latin, latin-ext).
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Times New Roman.
    Family gate
    Same family: serif.
    View Tinos specimen →Pairings →400 · 700
  2. #277% matchcurated pickserifOFL-1.1 · Production Type
    Newsreader

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    A contemporary Times-style newspaper serif with optical sizes.

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: transitional.
    Metrics×0.25
    93%
    x-height 0.43 vs 0.45 for Times New Roman (close); cap height 0.67 vs 0.66 for Times New Roman (near-identical); both normal width; both medium stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    25%
    Shares classic (1 of 4 traits).
    Role×0.10
    67%
    Both suit body, longform.
    Language×0.05
    40%
    Covers latin, latin-ext; lacks cyrillic, greek, hebrew.
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Times New Roman.
    Family gate
    Same family: serif.
    View Newsreader specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800
  3. #383% matchcurated pickserifOFL-1.1 · ParaType
    PT Serif

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Transitional serif with Times' sturdy, neutral text feel.

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: transitional.
    Metrics×0.25
    80%
    x-height 0.50 vs 0.45 for Times New Roman (close); cap height 0.70 vs 0.66 for Times New Roman (close); both normal width; both medium stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    50%
    Shares classic, editorial (2 of 4 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, longform.
    Language×0.05
    60%
    Covers cyrillic, latin, latin-ext; lacks greek, hebrew.
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Times New Roman.
    Family gate
    Same family: serif.
    View PT Serif specimen →Pairings →400 · 700
  4. #485% matchserifOFL-1.1 · Production Type
    Spectral

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: transitional.
    Metrics×0.25
    100%
    x-height 0.45 vs 0.45 for Times New Roman (near-identical); cap height 0.66 vs 0.66 for Times New Roman (near-identical); both normal width; both medium stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    33%
    Shares classic, editorial (2 of 6 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, longform.
    Language×0.05
    60%
    Covers cyrillic, latin, latin-ext; lacks greek, hebrew.
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Times New Roman.
    Family gate
    Same family: serif.
    View Spectral specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800
  5. #584% matchserifOFL-1.1 · Frank Grießhammer
    Source Serif 4

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: transitional.
    Metrics×0.25
    92%
    x-height 0.47 vs 0.45 for Times New Roman (close); cap height 0.67 vs 0.66 for Times New Roman (near-identical); both normal width; both medium stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    33%
    Shares classic, editorial (2 of 6 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, longform.
    Language×0.05
    80%
    Covers cyrillic, greek, latin, latin-ext; lacks hebrew.
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Times New Roman.
    Family gate
    Same family: serif.
    View Source Serif 4 specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
  6. #680% matchserifOFL-1.1
    Gelasio

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: transitional.
    Metrics×0.25
    85%
    x-height 0.48 vs 0.45 for Times New Roman (close); cap height 0.69 vs 0.66 for Times New Roman (close); both normal width; both medium stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    50%
    Shares classic, editorial (2 of 4 traits).
    Role×0.10
    67%
    Both suit body, longform.
    Language×0.05
    40%
    Covers latin, latin-ext; lacks cyrillic, greek, hebrew.
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Times New Roman.
    Family gate
    Same family: serif.
    View Gelasio specimen →Pairings →400 · 500 · 600 · 700
  7. #780% matchserifOFL-1.1 · Cyreal
    Lora

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: transitional.
    Metrics×0.25
    80%
    x-height 0.50 vs 0.45 for Times New Roman (close); cap height 0.70 vs 0.66 for Times New Roman (close); both normal width; both medium stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    33%
    Shares classic, editorial (2 of 6 traits).
    Role×0.10
    100%
    Both suit body, longform.
    Language×0.05
    60%
    Covers cyrillic, latin, latin-ext; lacks greek, hebrew.
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Times New Roman.
    Family gate
    Same family: serif.
    View Lora specimen →Pairings →400 · 500 · 600 · 700
  8. #880% matchserifOFL-1.1
    Brygada 1918

    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow

    Show score breakdown
    Classification×0.35
    100%
    Same class: transitional.
    Metrics×0.25
    95%
    x-height 0.46 vs 0.45 for Times New Roman (near-identical); cap height 0.67 vs 0.66 for Times New Roman (near-identical); both normal width; both medium stroke contrast.
    Traits×0.20
    25%
    Shares classic (1 of 4 traits).
    Role×0.10
    67%
    Both suit body, longform.
    Language×0.05
    80%
    Covers cyrillic, greek, latin, latin-ext; lacks hebrew.
    Variable×0.05
    100%
    Static instances, like Times New Roman.
    Family gate
    Same family: serif.
    View Brygada 1918 specimen →Pairings →400 · 500 · 600 · 700
mcpConnect your agent — find Times New Roman 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 Times New Roman for a classic brand

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

Use Tinos instead

Tinos is the top-ranked alternative to Times New Roman (81%) 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: "Tinos";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/tinos/tinos-400.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Tinos";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/tinos/tinos-400i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Tinos";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/tinos/tinos-700.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Tinos";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/tinos/tinos-700i.woff2") format("woff2");
}

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

What we compare Times New Roman on

Class
transitional
x-height
0.45 ≈
Cap height
0.66 ≈
Width · contrast
normal · medium
Traits
classic, neutral, editorial, serious
Roles
body, longform
Languages · variable
latin, latin-ext, cyrillic, greek, hebrew · 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 Times New Roman free?
No. Times New Roman is a commercial typeface from Monotype. Bundled with Windows/macOS under those EULAs; web use needs a Monotype license. The fonts listed here are free, open-licensed alternatives you can download, self-host and use commercially.
What is the closest free alternative to Times New Roman?
Tinos scores 81% against Times New Roman on our published formula. Metric-compatible with Times New Roman — identical widths, no reflow. 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 Tinos

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

Extract a brandDesign one on a canvas