Open Sans
Open Sans is a sans serif font in 6 weights with italics, also available as a variable font. Its lowercase letters are about as wide as the typical sans serif font. Last updated 16 September 2025.
Editing a PDF that uses Open Sans
Most PDFs embed only the letters they already use. Type a new letter and many editors either refuse or swap in a different font. MythosPDF recognises Open Sans from the widths stored in your PDF, loads the complete open font, and sets your new text in Open Sans itself. The rest of the page is carried over untouched.
Measured metrics
| Average lowercase letter width | 522.4 units per 1000 em |
|---|---|
| Average capital letter width | 628.3 units per 1000 em |
| Word space | 259.8 units per 1000 em |
| Digits | tabular (every digit is 571.8 units wide, so columns of numbers line up) |
| Spacing | proportional |
| Width of i compared with m | 27% |
| Printable ASCII characters covered | 94 of 94 |
| Category | Sans serif |
Weights and styles
Languages beyond basic Latin
Open fonts closest to Open Sans
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.
- Noto Sans Sharada Regularnearly identical widths (4.4 units)
- Nokora Regularnearly identical widths (4.8 units)
- Noto Sans Khmer Regularnearly identical widths (4.9 units)
- Noto Sans Linear B Regularnearly identical widths (4.9 units)
- Noto Sans Hanifi Rohingya Regularnearly identical widths (4.9 units)
- Noto Sans Hanunoo Regularnearly identical widths (4.9 units)
- Noto Sans Hatran Regularnearly identical widths (4.9 units)
- Noto Sans Imperial Aramaic Regularnearly identical widths (4.9 units)
Compare Open Sans
Questions people ask
+Can I edit a PDF that uses Open Sans?
Yes. Drop the PDF into MythosPDF and click the text. New letters are set in Open Sans itself, loaded from the open font, so the edit matches the rest of the page.
+Is Open Sans free to use?
Open Sans is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, an open licence that allows free use in documents, including commercial ones. Check the licence text for your exact use.
+Which font is closest to Open Sans?
By measured letter widths, Noto Sans Sharada is the closest match among open fonts (a mean difference of 4.4 units per 1000 em). Text set in one takes almost the same space in the other.
+Which languages does Open Sans support?
It includes these character sets: Cyrillic, Cyrillic Extended, Greek, Greek Extended, Hebrew, Latin, Central European, Math symbols, Symbols, Vietnamese.
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