The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Arial vs Helvetica
The most famous pair of lookalikes in typography. Helvetica is the 1957 Swiss neo-grotesque from Max Miedinger and the Haas foundry that defined corporate modernism; Arial is Monotype's 1982 design by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders, drawn to match Helvetica's widths so documents could swap fonts without reflowing. Both are commercial, but Arial ships with Windows and macOS while Helvetica is licensed separately through Monotype.
Arial is a commercial font, so it is shown here in Arimo, its closest free alternative. All free alternatives to Arial → Helvetica is a commercial font, so it is shown here in Inter, its closest free alternative. All free alternatives to Helvetica →
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
- Arial's stroke ends on letters like t, c, e and s are cut at an angle, while Helvetica's are cut flat and horizontal, giving Helvetica its tighter, more machined look.
- Helvetica's G has a spur at the bottom of the stem and its R has a tail that curves straight down; Arial drops the spur and runs the R's leg out diagonally, details it borrows from Monotype Grotesque rather than Helvetica.
- Helvetica's lowercase a has a small tail at the bottom and the bowl flows into the stem; Arial's a has no tail and simply meets the stem.
- Arial is metrically compatible with Helvetica, so the two share advance widths and line breaks even though the letterforms differ.
- Helvetica is a paid license from Monotype (as Helvetica, Neue Helvetica or the 2019 Helvetica Now), whereas Arial is bundled with Windows and macOS, so its cost is usually already covered.
Arial
Reach for Arial for office documents, email, and system-font web stacks where everyone already has it installed and no license purchase is on the table.
Helvetica
Reach for Helvetica when the brand or print work calls for the genuine Swiss article with its flat terminals and tighter spacing, and the Monotype licensing cost is acceptable.