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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 17 December 2011
Font name Installed (%) Stack Image
Lucida Sans100.00%100.00%StackImage
Tahoma99.95%99.95%StackImage
Arial99.84%99.84%StackImage
Verdana99.84%99.84%StackImage
Microsoft Sans Serif99.79%99.79%StackImage
Trebuchet MS99.74%99.74%StackImage
Lucida Sans Unicode99.37%99.37%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Medium99.27%99.27%StackImage
Arial Black97.96%97.96%StackImage
Estrangelo Edessa97.06%97.06%Stack
Tunga97.01%97.01%Stack
Raavi96.96%96.96%Stack
Gautami96.91%96.91%Stack
Mangal96.91%96.91%Stack
Shruti96.80%96.80%Stack
Latha96.70%96.70%Stack
Kartika93.45%93.45%StackImage
Vrinda93.34%93.34%StackImage
Arial Narrow88.52%88.52%StackImage
Century Gothic87.74%87.74%StackImage
Calibri85.80%85.80%StackImage
Candara85.43%85.43%StackImage
Corbel85.43%85.43%StackImage
MS Reference Sans Serif78.62%78.62%StackImage
Segoe UI78.56%78.56%StackImage
Arial Unicode MS74.00%74.00%StackImage
Meiryo UI72.28%72.28%Stack
Malgun Gothic69.11%69.11%Stack
Microsoft YaHei69.11%69.11%Stack
Microsoft JhengHei68.91%68.91%Stack
Gisha68.12%68.12%Stack
Leelawadee67.92%67.92%Stack
Franklin Gothic Book67.66%67.66%StackImage
Eras Demi ITC67.35%67.35%StackImage
Eras Light ITC67.09%67.09%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Demi67.09%67.09%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Medium Cond66.72%66.72%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Heavy66.35%66.35%StackImage
Franklin Gothic Demi Cond66.25%66.25%StackImage
Segoe UI Light62.97%62.97%Stack
Segoe UI Semibold62.77%62.77%Stack
Berlin Sans FB61.16%61.16%Stack
Arial Rounded MT Bold60.27%60.27%StackImage
Kalinga60.09%60.09%Stack
DokChampa60.00%60.00%Stack
Euphemia60.00%60.00%Stack
Microsoft Yi Baiti60.00%60.00%Stack
Berlin Sans FB Demi59.80%59.80%Stack
Gill Sans MT59.38%59.38%Stack
Gill Sans MT Condensed58.70%58.70%Stack
Gill Sans Ultra Bold58.70%58.70%Stack
Gill Sans MT Ext Condensed Bold58.44%58.44%Stack
MS Gothic58.39%58.39%Stack
Eras Medium ITC58.28%58.28%Stack
Eras Bold ITC58.23%58.23%Stack
Gill Sans Ultra Bold Condensed58.02%58.02%Stack
Tw Cen MT57.97%57.97%Stack
Tw Cen MT Condensed57.91%57.91%Stack
MS UI Gothic57.60%57.60%Stack
GulimChe57.55%57.55%Stack
Tw Cen MT Condensed Extra Bold57.55%57.55%Stack
MS PGothic57.44%57.44%Stack
Gulim57.34%57.34%Stack
Dotum57.29%57.29%Stack
DotumChe57.29%57.29%Stack
SimHei56.34%56.34%Stack
DejaVu Sans35.70%35.70%Stack
DejaVu Sans Condensed34.94%34.94%Stack
Eurostile20.81%20.81%Stack
Bitstream Vera Sans11.74%11.74%Stack
Helvetica7.44%7.44%Stack
Univers5.50%5.50%Stack
Helvetica Narrow5.03%5.03%Stack
Abadi MT Condensed Light4.87%4.87%StackImage
Kabel Ult BT4.72%4.72%Stack
Verdana Ref4.72%4.72%Stack
News Gothic MT3.93%3.93%StackImage
Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold2.94%2.94%Stack
Abadi MT Condensed2.57%2.57%Stack
Ubuntu2.57%2.57%Stack
Ubuntu Light2.38%2.38%Stack
Optima2.36%2.36%Stack
Gill Sans2.04%2.04%Stack
Chicago1.99%1.99%Stack
Geneva1.99%1.99%Stack
Helvetica Neue1.57%1.57%Stack
Futura1.31%1.31%Stack
FIRSTHOME0.84%0.84%Stack
04b_210.58%0.58%Stack
FreeSans0.25%0.25%Stack
Ubuntu-Title0.20%0.20%Stack
Gadget0.10%0.10%Stack
Most common sans serif fonts on Mac to 17 December 2011
Font name Installed (%) Stack Image
Helvetica100.00%100.00%StackImage
Lucida Grande100.00%100.00%StackImage
Geneva99.84%99.84%StackImage
Lucida Sans99.68%99.68%Stack
Verdana99.05%99.05%StackImage
Arial98.73%98.73%StackImage
Helvetica Neue98.58%98.58%StackImage
Trebuchet MS97.31%97.31%StackImage
Arial Black96.36%96.36%StackImage
Gill Sans96.04%96.04%StackImage
Arial Rounded MT Bold95.89%95.89%StackImage
Arial Narrow95.73%95.73%StackImage
Futura95.41%95.41%StackImage
Skia94.62%94.62%StackImage
Optima93.99%93.99%StackImage
Tahoma93.67%93.67%StackImage
Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN91.40%91.40%Stack
Hiragino Kaku Gothic StdN85.29%85.29%Stack
Hiragino Maru Gothic ProN85.29%85.29%Stack
Hiragino Sans GB74.12%74.12%Stack
HeadLineA72.65%72.65%Stack
Heiti SC72.40%72.40%Stack
Heiti TC72.40%72.40%Stack
MS Gothic66.34%66.34%Stack
MS PGothic66.34%66.34%Stack
Century Gothic57.12%57.12%StackImage
Adobe Heiti Std55.43%55.43%Stack
Adobe Kaiti Std55.20%55.20%Stack
MS Reference Sans Serif54.46%54.46%Stack
News Gothic MT52.06%52.06%Stack
Abadi MT Condensed Light51.42%51.42%Stack
Calibri44.46%44.46%Stack
Adobe Fan Heiti Std44.17%44.17%Stack
Kozuka Gothic Pr6N43.82%43.82%Stack
Adobe Gothic Std43.75%43.75%Stack
Corbel40.19%40.19%Stack
Candara40.03%40.03%Stack
Univers10.28%10.28%Stack
Inconsolata7.35%7.35%Stack
Chicago6.80%6.80%StackImage
Gotham6.76%6.76%Stack
News Gothic Std6.47%6.47%Stack
Interstate6.36%6.36%Stack
Gadget6.33%6.33%StackImage
Hypatia Sans Pro6.18%6.18%Stack
Charcoal6.17%6.17%StackImage
Techno6.17%6.17%StackImage
Delicious5.88%5.88%Stack
Bitstream Vera Sans5.85%5.85%Stack
TradeGothic5.83%5.83%Stack
ITC Franklin Gothic5.65%5.65%Stack
Avenir5.48%5.48%Stack
Ubuntu5.42%5.42%Stack
Frutiger LT Std5.29%5.29%Stack
DINSchrift5.00%5.00%Stack
Myriad Std5.00%5.00%Stack
Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk BE4.59%4.59%Stack
Formata3.53%3.53%Stack
HelveticaNeue3.36%3.36%Stack
ITC Franklin Gothic Std3.24%3.24%Stack
RotisSemiSans3.00%3.00%Stack
AkzidenzGrotesk2.35%2.35%Stack
Cronos Pro2.35%2.35%Stack
Adobe Sans MM2.06%2.06%Stack
Franklin Gothic2.06%2.06%Stack
Ubuntu-Title1.25%1.25%Stack
The Sans-1.18%1.18%Stack
Avant Garde0.79%0.79%Stack
URW Grotesk T0.47%0.47%Stack
Helvetica Narrow0.16%0.16%Stack
Most common sans serif fonts on Linux to 17 December 2011
Font name Installed (%) Stack Image
URW Gothic L99.28%99.28%StackImage
Nimbus Sans L98.57%98.57%StackImage
DejaVu Sans97.37%97.37%StackImage
DejaVu Sans Light94.94%94.94%Stack
DejaVu Sans Condensed91.17%91.17%Stack
Liberation Sans86.16%86.16%Stack
FreeSans84.01%84.01%StackImage
UnDotum73.03%73.03%Stack
Verdana70.41%70.41%Stack
Arial69.21%69.21%StackImage
Arial Black68.74%68.74%Stack
Lohit Bengali68.54%68.54%Stack
Waree68.54%68.54%Stack
Trebuchet MS68.50%68.50%Stack
Lohit Gujarati67.98%67.98%Stack
Lohit Tamil67.98%67.98%Stack
Lohit Punjabi67.42%67.42%Stack
Ubuntu67.15%67.15%Stack
Sawasdee64.61%64.61%Stack
KacstOne64.23%64.23%Stack
Garuda64.04%64.04%Stack
Kinnari64.04%64.04%Stack
Lohit Hindi64.04%64.04%Stack
Loma64.04%64.04%Stack
Mukti Narrow64.04%64.04%Stack
Norasi64.04%64.04%Stack
Umpush64.04%64.04%Stack
utkal63.48%63.48%Stack
Mallige62.92%62.92%Stack
Phetsarath OT62.92%62.92%Stack
Rachana62.77%62.77%Stack
Lucida Sans57.33%57.33%StackImage
Ubuntu Light48.18%48.18%Stack
Bitstream Vera Sans45.82%45.82%StackImage
Metal25.00%25.00%Stack
Electron23.81%23.81%Stack
Nice23.81%23.81%Stack
Luxi Sans18.85%18.85%StackImage
MgOpen Modata15.75%15.75%Stack
MgOpen Moderna15.75%15.75%Stack
MgOpen Cosmetica15.51%15.51%Stack
Dustismo13.99%13.99%Stack
Cortoba8.03%8.03%Stack
Nimbus Sans L Condensed6.92%6.92%Stack
DejaVu LGC Sans6.55%6.55%Stack
DejaVu LGC Sans Condensed6.55%6.55%Stack
DejaVu LGC Sans Light6.55%6.55%Stack
Arial Narrow1.80%1.80%Stack
Helvetica1.67%1.67%StackImage
Ubuntu-Title1.46%1.46%Stack
Helvetica Narrow0.26%0.26%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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