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CSS fonts should be based on a generic font family to ensure an appropriate style font is rendered in any circumstances. Preferred font names should be declared in order of preference in a comma separated font family list tailored for specific platforms.

CSS font family: sans-serif

Sans serif fonts have a very regular, often geometrical shape with no serifs on the end of the letter strokes. Sans serif font faces are generally considered to have a simple, clean, modern font style that is reliable for the Web. Use the CSS font family name sans-serif.

The most common sans serif fonts

Key sans serif fonts common to all systems include Microsoft Arial, Arial Black, Trebuchet MS and Verdana, although their frequency on Unix family systems is quite low.

Helvetica is very common on Mac and Unix systems but not on Windows, where Arial is the closest equivalent. Avant Garde for Mac and Avantgarde for Unix are variants of the same font, not usually present on Windows. In this case, the closest match would be Century Gothic.

Lucida Grande for Mac, Lucida Sans Unicode for Windows and Lucida for Unix family systems are quite similar, though not particularly common.

Take the Linux font survey before you go

Check font coverage by Unicode range

Tables show definite coverage for the specified range, some fonts may not be listed despite having coverage as Unicode data is added to the survey.

Filter sans serif fonts by Unicode range

Unicode range data compiled with reference to Alan Wood's Unicode Resources.

Most common sans serif fonts on Windows to 5 April 2012
Font name Installed (%) Stack Image
Lucida Sans100.00%100.00%StackImage
Tahoma100.00%100.00%StackImage
Arial99.90%99.90%StackImage
Verdana99.90%99.90%StackImage
Microsoft Sans Serif99.85%99.85%StackImage
Trebuchet MS99.81%99.81%StackImage
Lucida Sans Unicode99.51%99.51%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Medium99.37%99.37%StackImage
Tunga97.61%97.61%Stack
Estrangelo Edessa97.57%97.57%Stack
Gautami97.52%97.52%Stack
Arial Black97.47%97.47%StackImage
Mangal97.47%97.47%Stack
Raavi97.42%97.42%Stack
Latha97.37%97.37%Stack
Shruti97.32%97.32%Stack
Kartika94.26%94.26%StackImage
Vrinda94.06%94.06%StackImage
Calibri89.09%89.09%StackImage
Candara88.70%88.70%StackImage
Corbel88.61%88.61%StackImage
Arial Narrow87.59%87.59%StackImage
Century Gothic86.95%86.95%StackImage
Segoe UI83.69%83.69%StackImage
MS Reference Sans Serif79.02%79.02%StackImage
Meiryo UI75.60%75.60%Stack
Arial Unicode MS75.17%75.17%StackImage
Malgun Gothic72.32%72.32%Stack
Microsoft JhengHei72.10%72.10%Stack
Microsoft YaHei72.10%72.10%Stack
Gisha71.12%71.12%Stack
Leelawadee71.12%71.12%Stack
Franklin Gothic Book67.53%67.53%StackImage
Eras Demi ITC67.14%67.14%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Demi67.09%67.09%StackImage
Eras Light ITC66.99%66.99%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Medium Cond66.75%66.75%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Heavy66.46%66.46%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Demi Cond66.36%66.36%StackImage
Segoe UI Light65.54%65.54%Stack
MS Gothic65.43%65.43%Stack
Segoe UI Semibold65.32%65.32%Stack
MS UI Gothic64.65%64.65%Stack
GulimChe64.56%64.56%Stack
Kalinga64.52%64.52%Stack
MS PGothic64.51%64.51%Stack
Euphemia64.46%64.46%Stack
Gulim64.46%64.46%Stack
Microsoft Yi Baiti64.46%64.46%Stack
Dotum64.36%64.36%Stack
DotumChe64.36%64.36%Stack
DokChampa64.32%64.32%Stack
Berlin Sans FB63.88%63.88%Stack
SimHei63.24%63.24%Stack
Berlin Sans FB Demi62.07%62.07%Stack
Arial Rounded MT Bold60.22%60.22%StackImage
Gill Sans MT59.98%59.98%Stack
Gill Sans MT Condensed59.20%59.20%Stack
Gill Sans Ultra Bold59.10%59.10%Stack
Gill Sans MT Ext Condensed Bold58.91%58.91%Stack
Eras Bold ITC58.81%58.81%Stack
Eras Medium ITC58.81%58.81%Stack
Gill Sans Ultra Bold Condensed58.52%58.52%Stack
Tw Cen MT58.52%58.52%Stack
Tw Cen MT Condensed58.47%58.47%Stack
Tw Cen MT Condensed Extra Bold58.23%58.23%Stack
DejaVu Sans35.57%35.57%Stack
DejaVu Sans Condensed35.07%35.07%Stack
Eurostile20.01%20.01%Stack
Bitstream Vera Sans9.88%9.88%Stack
Helvetica6.43%6.43%Stack
Abadi MT Condensed Light4.43%4.43%StackImage
Verdana Ref4.38%4.38%Stack
Univers4.33%4.33%Stack
Helvetica Narrow4.24%4.24%Stack
Kabel Ult BT3.89%3.89%Stack
News Gothic MT3.55%3.55%StackImage
Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold2.78%2.78%Stack
Ubuntu2.63%2.63%Stack
Abadi MT Condensed2.39%2.39%Stack
Ubuntu Light2.30%2.30%Stack
Gill Sans2.09%2.09%Stack
Optima2.09%2.09%Stack
Geneva1.80%1.80%Stack
Chicago1.70%1.70%Stack
Helvetica Neue1.41%1.41%Stack
Futura1.22%1.22%Stack
FreeSans1.12%1.12%Stack
FIRSTHOME0.83%0.83%Stack
04b_210.54%0.54%Stack
Ubuntu-Title0.33%0.33%Stack
Gadget0.10%0.10%Stack
Most common sans serif fonts on Mac to 5 April 2012
Font name Installed (%) Stack Image
Helvetica100.00%100.00%StackImage
Lucida Grande100.00%100.00%StackImage
Geneva99.88%99.88%StackImage
Lucida Sans99.75%99.75%Stack
Helvetica Neue99.26%99.26%StackImage
Verdana99.26%99.26%StackImage
Arial98.89%98.89%StackImage
Trebuchet MS97.90%97.90%StackImage
Gill Sans97.28%97.28%StackImage
Arial Narrow97.03%97.03%StackImage
Arial Black96.79%96.79%StackImage
Arial Rounded MT Bold96.42%96.42%StackImage
Futura96.29%96.29%StackImage
Tahoma95.92%95.92%StackImage
Skia95.80%95.80%StackImage
Optima95.43%95.43%StackImage
Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN93.04%93.04%Stack
Hiragino Maru Gothic ProN88.35%88.35%Stack
Hiragino Kaku Gothic StdN88.20%88.20%Stack
Hiragino Sans GB78.53%78.53%Stack
Heiti SC77.31%77.31%Stack
Heiti TC77.31%77.31%Stack
HeadLineA77.28%77.28%Stack
MS PGothic66.75%66.75%Stack
MS Gothic66.51%66.51%Stack
Century Gothic62.55%62.55%StackImage
News Gothic MT58.71%58.71%Stack
Abadi MT Condensed Light58.10%58.10%Stack
Adobe Heiti Std57.03%57.03%Stack
Adobe Kaiti Std57.03%57.03%Stack
MS Reference Sans Serif57.01%57.01%Stack
Calibri52.41%52.41%Stack
Corbel48.08%48.08%Stack
Candara47.96%47.96%Stack
Adobe Fan Heiti Std46.41%46.41%Stack
Adobe Gothic Std46.41%46.41%Stack
Kozuka Gothic Pr6N46.15%46.15%Stack
Univers9.64%9.64%Stack
Inconsolata6.80%6.80%Stack
Gotham6.62%6.62%Stack
News Gothic Std6.26%6.26%Stack
Interstate6.11%6.11%Stack
Chicago5.93%5.93%StackImage
TradeGothic5.73%5.73%Stack
Hypatia Sans Pro5.55%5.55%Stack
Frutiger LT Std5.37%5.37%Stack
Myriad Std5.37%5.37%Stack
Charcoal5.32%5.32%StackImage
Gadget5.32%5.32%StackImage
Avenir5.22%5.22%Stack
Techno5.19%5.19%StackImage
Delicious5.01%5.01%Stack
Bitstream Vera Sans4.82%4.82%Stack
Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk BE4.71%4.71%Stack
DINSchrift4.65%4.65%Stack
ITC Franklin Gothic4.46%4.46%Stack
Ubuntu4.14%4.14%Stack
HelveticaNeue3.18%3.18%Stack
Formata3.04%3.04%Stack
ITC Franklin Gothic Std3.04%3.04%Stack
RotisSemiSans2.55%2.55%Stack
AkzidenzGrotesk1.79%1.79%Stack
Cronos Pro1.79%1.79%Stack
Franklin Gothic1.61%1.61%Stack
Adobe Sans MM1.43%1.43%Stack
Avant Garde0.87%0.87%Stack
The Sans-0.72%0.72%Stack
Ubuntu-Title0.65%0.65%Stack
URW Grotesk T0.37%0.37%Stack
Helvetica Narrow0.25%0.25%Stack
Most common sans serif fonts on Linux to 5 April 2012
Font name Installed (%) Stack Image
URW Gothic L98.82%98.82%StackImage
Nimbus Sans L98.42%98.42%StackImage
DejaVu Sans97.83%97.83%StackImage
DejaVu Sans Light96.10%96.10%Stack
DejaVu Sans Condensed94.48%94.48%Stack
Liberation Sans88.95%88.95%Stack
FreeSans86.00%86.00%StackImage
Verdana70.02%70.02%Stack
UnDotum69.64%69.64%Stack
Arial69.43%69.43%StackImage
Trebuchet MS68.84%68.84%Stack
Lohit Bengali68.65%68.65%Stack
Lohit Tamil68.65%68.65%Stack
Lohit Gujarati68.32%68.32%Stack
Waree68.32%68.32%Stack
Arial Black68.24%68.24%Stack
Lohit Punjabi67.99%67.99%Stack
Ubuntu63.74%63.74%Stack
Mukti Narrow63.70%63.70%Stack
Lohit Hindi63.37%63.37%Stack
Sawasdee63.37%63.37%Stack
Garuda63.04%63.04%Stack
Loma63.04%63.04%Stack
Norasi63.04%63.04%Stack
Kinnari62.71%62.71%Stack
Umpush62.71%62.71%Stack
utkal62.71%62.71%Stack
Mallige62.38%62.38%Stack
KacstOne62.21%62.21%Stack
Phetsarath OT62.05%62.05%Stack
Rachana61.07%61.07%Stack
Ubuntu Light51.53%51.53%Stack
Lucida Sans50.89%50.89%StackImage
Bitstream Vera Sans37.08%37.08%StackImage
Metal19.74%19.74%Stack
Luxi Sans19.72%19.72%StackImage
Electron18.44%18.44%Stack
Nice18.44%18.44%Stack
Dustismo12.15%12.15%Stack
MgOpen Modata12.03%12.03%Stack
MgOpen Moderna12.03%12.03%Stack
MgOpen Cosmetica11.83%11.83%Stack
DejaVu LGC Sans7.38%7.38%Stack
DejaVu LGC Sans Condensed7.38%7.38%Stack
DejaVu LGC Sans Light7.38%7.38%Stack
Nimbus Sans L Condensed6.71%6.71%Stack
Cortoba6.11%6.11%Stack
Arial Narrow2.76%2.76%Stack
Ubuntu-Title2.29%2.29%Stack
Helvetica0.79%0.79%StackImage
Helvetica Narrow0.20%0.20%Stack

Take the Linux font survey before you go

Check font coverage by Unicode range

Tables show definite coverage for the specified range, some fonts may not be listed despite having coverage as Unicode data is added to the survey.

Filter sans serif fonts by Unicode range

Unicode range data compiled with reference to Alan Wood's Unicode Resources.

Web font classification

Other CSS font family resources

Web font survey and sampler

Contribute to the survey and discover the new Web safe fonts.

Web font foundations

Font jargon: CSS font family glossary

Find fonts: Anchor Points: Font foundries & sources

Get the sampler font code: Sampler.css

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