The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
SF Pro vs Helvetica
Two neutral neo-grotesques, one of which shaped the other. Helvetica is the 1957 Swiss original from the Haas foundry, designed by Max Miedinger under Eduard Hoffmann and based on Akzidenz-Grotesk, built for print signage and corporate identity. SF Pro is Apple's 2014 system face, a Helvetica- and DIN-influenced grotesque engineered for screens, and the font that replaced Helvetica Neue on macOS and iOS.
SF Pro is a commercial font, so it is shown here in Inter, its closest free alternative. All free alternatives to SF Pro → 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
- SF Pro ships Display and Text optical sizes, with the Text cut opening apertures and loosening spacing below 20 points, while Helvetica's narrow apertures and tight spacing were tuned for print and limit small-size legibility on screen.
- SF Pro is a variable font with nine weights, four widths, and variable optical size, plus a Rounded variant; classic Helvetica is a static family, and its 1983 Neue Helvetica and 2019 Helvetica Now reworkings each need separate licensing.
- Helvetica is a commercial Monotype family that must be bought per use, whereas SF Pro is free to download but licensed only to registered Apple developers for designing software that runs on Apple platforms.
- Helvetica's horizontal terminals, square-looking s, and lookalike capital I and lowercase l are its signature, and SF Pro keeps the neutral tone while fixing those screen-legibility snags.
- Both include a two-story a and single-story g, so at display sizes they read as close relatives, and the gap only opens in text settings.
SF Pro
Reach for SF Pro when you are designing an app or mock-up for iOS, macOS, or another Apple platform, where it is the native system font and the license permits it.
Helvetica
Reach for Helvetica for print, signage, and brand identity work outside Apple's ecosystem, accepting a Monotype license fee for the original Swiss neutral.