Is Trade Gothic free?

No. Trade Gothic is a commercial typeface from Linotype / Monotype. Commercial; licensed from Monotype. The fonts listed here are free, open-licensed alternatives you can download, self-host and use commercially.

What is the closest free alternative to Trade Gothic?

Archivo Narrow scores 86% against Trade Gothic on our published formula. Condensed grotesque with Trade Gothic's newspaper-headline proportions. It is licensed OFL-1.1, 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.

Free font alternatives

Free alternatives to Trade Gothic

Trade Gothic is a commercial grotesque sans from Linotype / Monotype. Commercial; licensed from Monotype. 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.

Trade Gothic 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.

#186% matchcurated picksansOFL-1.1 · Omnibus-Type
Archivo Narrow
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Condensed grotesque with Trade Gothic's newspaper-headline proportions.
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: grotesque.
Metrics×0.25
95%
x-height 0.53 vs 0.52 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); cap height 0.69 vs 0.70 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); both condensed width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
60%
Shares condensed, industrial, monoline (3 of 5 traits).
Role×0.10
50%
Both suit body, heading; Archivo Narrow is not tagged for display.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Trade Gothic's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Trade Gothic.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Archivo Narrow specimen →Pairings →400 · 500 · 600 · 700
#277% matchcurated picksansOFL-1.1 · Vernon Adams, Kalapi Gajjar, Cyreal
Oswald
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Condensed grotesque with the same compact, sturdy feel at display sizes.
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: grotesque.
Metrics×0.25
63%
x-height 0.58 vs 0.52 for Trade Gothic (close); cap height 0.81 vs 0.70 for Trade Gothic (far apart); both condensed width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
50%
Shares condensed, industrial, monoline (3 of 6 traits).
Role×0.10
67%
Both suit display, heading; Oswald is not tagged for body.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Trade Gothic's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Trade Gothic.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Oswald specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700
#384% matchcurated picksansOFL-1.1 · Jeremy Tribby
Barlow Condensed
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Condensed grotesque with Trade Gothic's clean, slightly squared shapes.
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: grotesque, industrial.
Metrics×0.25
97%
x-height 0.51 vs 0.52 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); cap height 0.70 vs 0.70 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); both condensed width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
50%
Shares condensed, industrial, monoline (3 of 6 traits).
Role×0.10
50%
Both suit body, heading; Barlow Condensed is not tagged for display.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Trade Gothic's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Trade Gothic.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Barlow Condensed specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
#487% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Omnibus-Type
Asap Condensed
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: grotesque.
Metrics×0.25
99%
x-height 0.52 vs 0.52 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); cap height 0.70 vs 0.70 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); both condensed width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
60%
Shares condensed, industrial, monoline (3 of 5 traits).
Role×0.10
50%
Both suit body, heading; Asap Condensed is not tagged for display.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Trade Gothic's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Trade Gothic.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Asap Condensed specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
#587% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Mike Abbink, Bold Monday
IBM Plex Sans Condensed
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: grotesque.
Metrics×0.25
99%
x-height 0.52 vs 0.52 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); cap height 0.70 vs 0.70 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); both condensed width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
60%
Shares condensed, industrial, monoline (3 of 5 traits).
Role×0.10
50%
Both suit body, heading; IBM Plex Sans Condensed is not tagged for display.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Trade Gothic's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Trade Gothic.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View IBM Plex Sans Condensed specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700
#686% matchsansOFL-1.1
Pathway Gothic One
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: grotesque.
Metrics×0.25
96%
x-height 0.54 vs 0.52 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); cap height 0.70 vs 0.70 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); both condensed width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
60%
Shares condensed, industrial, monoline (3 of 5 traits).
Role×0.10
50%
Both suit body, heading; Pathway Gothic One is not tagged for display.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Trade Gothic's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Trade Gothic.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Pathway Gothic One specimen →Pairings →400
#784% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Jeremy Tribby
Barlow Semi Condensed
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: grotesque, industrial.
Metrics×0.25
97%
x-height 0.51 vs 0.52 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); cap height 0.70 vs 0.70 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); both condensed width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
50%
Shares condensed, industrial, monoline (3 of 6 traits).
Role×0.10
50%
Both suit body, heading; Barlow Semi Condensed is not tagged for display.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Trade Gothic's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Trade Gothic.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Barlow Semi Condensed specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
#884% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Nathan Willis
News Cycle
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: grotesque.
Metrics×0.25
89%
x-height 0.52 vs 0.52 for Trade Gothic (near-identical); cap height 0.74 vs 0.70 for Trade Gothic (close); both condensed width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
60%
Shares condensed, industrial, monoline (3 of 5 traits).
Role×0.10
50%
Both suit body, heading; News Cycle is not tagged for display.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Trade Gothic's subsets (latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Trade Gothic.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View News Cycle specimen →Pairings →400 · 700

mcpConnect your agent — find Trade Gothic 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 Trade Gothic for a classic brand

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

Use Archivo Narrow instead

Archivo Narrow is the top-ranked alternative to Trade Gothic (86%) and is free to self-host under OFL-1.1. Drop these @font-face rules into your CSS — the .woff2 files are served straight from BrandSweets.

css

@font-face {
  font-family: "Archivo Narrow";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/archivo-narrow/archivo-narrow-400.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Archivo Narrow";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 500;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/archivo-narrow/archivo-narrow-500.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Archivo Narrow";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 600;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/archivo-narrow/archivo-narrow-600.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Archivo Narrow";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/archivo-narrow/archivo-narrow-700.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Archivo Narrow";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/archivo-narrow/archivo-narrow-400i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Archivo Narrow";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 500;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/archivo-narrow/archivo-narrow-500i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Archivo Narrow";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 600;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/archivo-narrow/archivo-narrow-600i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Archivo Narrow";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/archivo-narrow/archivo-narrow-700i.woff2") format("woff2");
}

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

What we compare Trade Gothic on

Class: grotesque, industrial
x-height: 0.52 ≈
Cap height: 0.70 ≈
Width · contrast: condensed · low
Traits: industrial, classic, condensed, editorial, monoline
Roles: heading, display, body
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 Trade Gothic free?: No. Trade Gothic is a commercial typeface from Linotype / Monotype. Commercial; licensed from Monotype. The fonts listed here are free, open-licensed alternatives you can download, self-host and use commercially.
What is the closest free alternative to Trade Gothic?: Archivo Narrow scores 86% against Trade Gothic on our published formula. Condensed grotesque with Trade Gothic's newspaper-headline proportions. It is licensed OFL-1.1, 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 Archivo Narrow

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

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