The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Futura vs Century Gothic
Two geometric sans-serifs separated by six decades. Futura is Paul Renner's 1927 original for the Bauer foundry, built from circles, triangles and squares with classical Roman proportions, while Century Gothic is Monotype's 1990 digital redraw of Twentieth Century, a Futura copy, widened to match ITC Avant Garde's letter widths.
Futura is a commercial font, so it is shown here in Jost, its closest free alternative. All free alternatives to Futura → Century Gothic is a commercial font, so it is shown here in Didact Gothic, its closest free alternative. All free alternatives to Century Gothic →
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
- Futura has a low x-height and ascenders that rise above the cap line, giving it an elegant, slightly formal rhythm, whereas Century Gothic has a high x-height that reads larger and rounder at the same point size.
- Century Gothic was drawn to the widths of ITC Avant Garde so documents could swap between them without reflowing, which leaves it noticeably wider and airier than Futura.
- Futura keeps subtle optical corrections and near-even stroke weight across six original weights plus condensed and inline cuts, while Century Gothic's default weight is slender with almost no stroke variation and a much smaller family.
- Both are commercial: Futura ships in many digital versions under separate licenses from different vendors, while Century Gothic rides along with Microsoft Office but is not free to license on its own for web or app use.
Futura
Reach for Futura when you want the genuine Bauhaus-era article with real weight range and tight, classical proportions, for logotypes, editorial display and brands that trade on modernist heritage.
Century Gothic
Reach for Century Gothic when you need a wide, open geometric sans for large headings and signage, or when it is already on the Office-equipped machines your documents will be read on.