The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Free font
Public Sans
A free alternative to Aktiv Grotesk.
About Public Sans
- Designer
- Dan Williams (USWDS)
- Released
- 2019
- Available at
- Google Fonts →
- Featured on
- 8 paid font pages
Public Sans is also a free alternative to…
- Aktiv Grotesk → Less contemporary than Aktiv Grotesk's polished cuts, but the same neutral grotesque foundation at body sizes. The right pick when restraint matters more than identity.
- Akzidenz-Grotesk → The US Web Design System's neutral grotesque. Workhorse-grade — the same plain-Jane voice as Akzidenz at body-text sizes, with permissive open-source licensing for commercial use.
- Gotham → The US Web Design System's neutral grotesque. Less geometrically pure than Gotham, but the same quiet workhorse register at body-copy sizes — and explicitly licensed for any government or commercial use.
- Graphik → The US Web Design System's neutral grotesque. Drawn explicitly to be a workhorse without identity — exactly Graphik's stated intent. The right pick when neutrality is the brief.
- Neue Haas Grotesk → The US Web Design System's neutral grotesque. The same plain-Jane workhorse register as Neue Haas Grotesk at body-text sizes, with permissive open-source licensing.
- Helvetica → The US Web Design System's neutral grotesque. Workhorse-grade — the same plain-Jane voice as Helvetica at body-text sizes, with no surprises and a permissive open-source licence.
- Söhne → The US Web Design System's neutral grotesque. Less sharply contemporary than Söhne, but occupies the same space at body-text sizes — when restraint matters more than identity.
- Univers → The US Web Design System's neutral grotesque. Univers's engineered, no-personality voice at body-text sizes — and explicitly licensed for any use.
Display + body that work together
A grammar of empty space
The display sets the register; the body follows through. When both halves of a pair pull in the same direction, the design disappears and the words come forward.
Modern · Editorial Public Sans + Crimson Pro
Quiet type that does the work
Two thousand years of letterforms boil down to a handful of decisions — width, weight, proportion. Pick a pair you trust, and let the rest take care of itself.
Editorial · Modern Playfair Display + Public Sans