Free alternatives to Verdana
Verdana 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 Verdana
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.
- DejaVu Sans Regularsimilar widths (25.9 units)
- DejaVu Serif Regularloosely similar widths (43.2 units)
- DejaVu Math Regularloosely similar widths (45.3 units)
- IBM Plex Sans JP Boldloosely similar widths (45.8 units)
- IBM Plex Sans JP SemiBoldloosely similar widths (46 units)
- Manrope ExtraBoldloosely similar widths (47.3 units)
- Hauora Sans ExtraBoldloosely similar widths (47.3 units)
- M PLUS 2 Mediumloosely similar widths (48.2 units)
- M PLUS 2 SemiBoldloosely similar widths (48.2 units)
- M PLUS 1p ExtraBoldloosely similar widths (48.3 units)
Verdana measured
| Average lowercase letter width | 561.8 units per 1000 em |
|---|---|
| Average capital letter width | 686.5 units per 1000 em |
| Word space | 351.6 units per 1000 em |
| Digits | tabular (every digit is 635.7 units wide, so columns of numbers line up) |
| Spacing | proportional |
| Width of i compared with m | 28% |
| Printable ASCII characters covered | 94 of 94 |
Editing a PDF that uses Verdana
Most PDFs embed only the letters they already use. Type a new letter and many editors either refuse or swap in a different font. Verdana 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 Verdana?
By measured letter widths, DejaVu Sans Regular: similar widths (25.9 units per 1000 em).
+Can I edit a PDF that uses Verdana 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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