Free alternatives to Tahoma
Tahoma is not an open font. These open fonts come closest by measured letter widths, the property that decides whether text keeps its line breaks when the font is swapped.
Closest open fonts to Tahoma
Measured on every printable character both fonts contain. A smaller difference means the same words take the same space, so lines break in the same places.
- Clear Sans Lightsimilar widths (29.6 units)
- Clear Sans Regularloosely similar widths (30.6 units)
- Clear Sans Thinloosely similar widths (30.9 units)
- Annapurna SIL Boldloosely similar widths (33.9 units)
- Clear Sans Mediumloosely similar widths (34.4 units)
- Signika Boldloosely similar widths (37.4 units)
- Signika Negative Boldloosely similar widths (37.5 units)
- Signika SemiBoldloosely similar widths (38.4 units)
- Signika Negative SemiBoldloosely similar widths (39.2 units)
- IBM Plex Sans Hebrew Lightloosely similar widths (39.5 units)
Tahoma measured
| Average lowercase letter width | 488.7 units per 1000 em |
|---|---|
| Average capital letter width | 607.9 units per 1000 em |
| Word space | 312.5 units per 1000 em |
| Digits | tabular (every digit is 545.9 units wide, so columns of numbers line up) |
| Spacing | proportional |
| Width of i compared with m | 27% |
| Printable ASCII characters covered | 94 of 94 |
Editing a PDF that uses Tahoma
Most PDFs embed only the letters they already use. Type a new letter and many editors either refuse or swap in a different font. Tahoma is not freely available, so MythosPDF first uses every letter already embedded in your PDF. If a new letter is missing, it asks before using the closest open font listed here, and tells you which one it used.
Questions people ask
+What is the best free alternative to Tahoma?
By measured letter widths, Clear Sans Light: similar widths (29.6 units per 1000 em).
+Can I edit a PDF that uses Tahoma without having it installed?
Yes. MythosPDF first uses the letters already embedded in the PDF. For a missing letter it asks before using the closest open font.
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