No. Verdana is a commercial typeface from Microsoft (Matthew Carter). Bundled with Windows/macOS under those EULAs; web use needs a license 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 Verdana?

Open Sans scores 81% against Verdana on our published formula — Same class: humanist. x-height 0.54 vs 0.55 for Verdana (near-identical); cap height 0.71 vs 0.73 for Verdana (near-identical); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast. 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 Verdana

Verdana is a commercial humanist sans from Microsoft (Matthew Carter). Bundled with Windows/macOS under those EULAs; web use needs a license 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.

Verdana 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.

#181% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Steve Matteson
Open Sans
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: humanist.
Metrics×0.25
80%
x-height 0.54 vs 0.55 for Verdana (near-identical); cap height 0.71 vs 0.73 for Verdana (near-identical); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
29%
Shares monoline, neutral (2 of 7 traits).
Role×0.10
100%
Both suit body, ui.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Verdana's subsets (cyrillic, greek, latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Verdana.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Open Sans specimen →Pairings →300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800
#278% matchsansOFL-1.1 · MCKL
Red Hat Text
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: humanist.
Metrics×0.25
67%
x-height 0.49 vs 0.55 for Verdana (noticeably different); cap height 0.70 vs 0.73 for Verdana (close); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
43%
Shares clean, monoline, neutral (3 of 7 traits).
Role×0.10
100%
Both suit body, ui.
Language×0.05
50%
Covers latin, latin-ext; lacks cyrillic, greek.
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Verdana.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Red Hat Text specimen →Pairings →300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700
#378% matchsansOFL-1.1 · ParaType
PT Sans
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: humanist.
Metrics×0.25
70%
x-height 0.50 vs 0.55 for Verdana (close); cap height 0.70 vs 0.73 for Verdana (close); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
33%
Shares monoline, neutral (2 of 6 traits).
Role×0.10
100%
Both suit body, ui.
Language×0.05
75%
Covers cyrillic, latin, latin-ext; lacks greek.
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Verdana.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View PT Sans specimen →Pairings →400 · 700
#477% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Bonnie Shaver-Troup, Thomas Jockin, Santiago Orozco, Héctor Gómez, Superunion
Lexend Giga
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: humanist.
Metrics×0.25
87%
x-height 0.53 vs 0.55 for Verdana (close); cap height 0.70 vs 0.73 for Verdana (close); both wide width; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
29%
Shares monoline, wide (2 of 7 traits).
Role×0.10
67%
Both suit body, ui.
Language×0.05
50%
Covers latin, latin-ext; lacks cyrillic, greek.
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Verdana.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Lexend Giga specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
#576% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Vernon Adams, Cyreal, Jacques Le Bailly
Mulish
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: humanist.
Metrics×0.25
71%
x-height 0.50 vs 0.55 for Verdana (close); cap height 0.70 vs 0.73 for Verdana (close); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
22%
Shares clean, monoline (2 of 9 traits).
Role×0.10
100%
Both suit body, ui.
Language×0.05
75%
Covers cyrillic, latin, latin-ext; lacks greek.
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Verdana.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Mulish specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
#676% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Paul D. Hunt
Source Sans 3
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: humanist.
Metrics×0.25
57%
x-height 0.49 vs 0.55 for Verdana (noticeably different); cap height 0.66 vs 0.73 for Verdana (noticeably different); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
50%
Shares clean, monoline, neutral (3 of 6 traits).
Role×0.10
67%
Both suit body, ui.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Verdana's subsets (cyrillic, greek, latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Verdana.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Source Sans 3 specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
#776% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Vernon Adams, Jacques Le Bailly, Manvel Shmavonyan, Alexei Vanyashin
Nunito Sans
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: humanist.
Metrics×0.25
68%
x-height 0.49 vs 0.55 for Verdana (noticeably different); cap height 0.70 vs 0.73 for Verdana (close); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
25%
Shares clean, monoline (2 of 8 traits).
Role×0.10
100%
Both suit body, ui.
Language×0.05
75%
Covers cyrillic, latin, latin-ext; lacks greek.
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Verdana.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Nunito Sans specimen →Pairings →200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900
#876% matchsansOFL-1.1 · Carrois Apostrophe
Fira Sans
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Show score breakdownScore breakdown
Classification×0.35
100%
Same class: humanist.
Metrics×0.25
72%
x-height 0.53 vs 0.55 for Verdana (near-identical); cap height 0.69 vs 0.73 for Verdana (close); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast.
Traits×0.20
29%
Shares monoline, technical (2 of 7 traits).
Role×0.10
67%
Both suit body, ui.
Language×0.05
100%
Covers all of Verdana's subsets (cyrillic, greek, latin, latin-ext).
Variable×0.05
100%
Static instances, like Verdana.
Family gate
Same family: sans.
View Fira Sans specimen →Pairings →100 · 200 · 300 · 400 · 500 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900

mcpConnect your agent — find Verdana 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 Verdana for a technical brand

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

Use Open Sans instead

Open Sans is the top-ranked alternative to Verdana (81%) 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: "Open Sans";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 300;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-300.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-400.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 500;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-500.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 600;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-600.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-700.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 800;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-800.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 300;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-300i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 400;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-400i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 500;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-500i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 600;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-600i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-700i.woff2") format("woff2");
}
@font-face {
  font-family: "Open Sans";
  font-style: italic;
  font-weight: 800;
  font-display: swap;
  src: url("https://fonts.brandsweets.com/open-sans/open-sans-800i.woff2") format("woff2");
}

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

What we compare Verdana on

Class: humanist
x-height: 0.55 ≈
Cap height: 0.73 ≈
Width · contrast: wide · low
Traits: neutral, wide, clean, technical, monoline
Roles: ui, body
Languages · variable: latin, latin-ext, cyrillic, greek · 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 Verdana free?: No. Verdana is a commercial typeface from Microsoft (Matthew Carter). Bundled with Windows/macOS under those EULAs; web use needs a license 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 Verdana?: Open Sans scores 81% against Verdana on our published formula — Same class: humanist. x-height 0.54 vs 0.55 for Verdana (near-identical); cap height 0.71 vs 0.73 for Verdana (near-identical); normal width vs wide for Verdana; both low stroke contrast. 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 Open Sans

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

Extract a brand Design one on a canvas