Tahoma alternatives. Closest free font by our measurements: DejaVu Sans, score 88.
DejaVu Sans (88) edges out Amiko (87) as the free font nearest Tahoma; Clear Sans comes third at 84 of the 24 we measured.
5 / 5
Score 88 · closest by measurements
DejaVu Sans
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
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Tahoma
Against Tahoma: x-height 0.3% taller, 15% wider, 12% lighter, and 4.1% more stroke contrast.
Letters that differ most from Tahoma: I, J, and d.
Styles: 2 weights, with italics.
- ✓Logo
- ✓Selling
- DejaVu Fonts licence
6 of the 24 reach 80 against Tahoma.
Which Tahoma alternative to pick
Pick DejaVu Sans for Tahoma if score is the deciding measure: it scores 88, though it runs 15% wider and its ink is 12% lighter. Clear Sans offers Tahoma work 5 weights and italics with a smaller width change, only 2.6% wider; Telex runs 7% wider than Tahoma with ink 4.9% lighter. Three of the five have italics for Tahoma work: DejaVu Sans, Clear Sans and Radio Canada, the last two in 5 weights each. The lab labels every pick either wider than Tahoma or with a shorter x-height, and a J or j is among the letters that differ most from Tahoma in four of them.
- Only a point separates DejaVu Sans and Amiko against Tahoma, but both average about 15% wider; the score difference does not make either a width-preserving substitute for a tightly fitted label. Clear Sans gives Tahoma a smaller width shift at 2.6%, with stroke contrast only 0.6% lower.
- Both Clear Sans and Radio Canada supply Tahoma layouts with italics and five weights, but their proportions differ: Radio Canada averages 6.5% wider, while its lowercase is 5.6% shorter. Clear Sans lowers Tahoma’s x-height by 6.1%, so its narrower average comes with a slightly shorter lowercase as well.
Where DejaVu Sans and Tahoma differ
01 / Where the difference shows
I, J, and d: DejaVu Sans parts from Tahoma most here
DejaVu Sans keeps Tahoma’s x-height within 0.3%; the widest gap is 15% wider.
The lab labels DejaVu Sans against Tahoma: 15% wider and 12% lighter.
- x-height+0.3%
- Width+15%
- Weight−12%
- Contrast+4.1%
Every free font measured against Tahoma
| Free font | Score | x-height | Width | Weight | Contrast | Letters that differ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DejaVu Sans | 88 | +0.3% | +15% | −12% | +4.1% | I J d |
| Amiko | 87 | −4.3% | +15% | −13% | +4.9% | I j J |
| Clear Sans | 84 | −6.1% | +2.6% | −9.4% | −0.6% | C j s |
| Telex | 82 | −5.8% | +7% | −4.9% | +8.3% | C I M |
| Radio Canada | 80 | −5.6% | +6.5% | −5.8% | −3.2% | j b s |
| Biryani | 80 | +1.4% | +15% | −6.3% | −4.3% | Q I l |
| Tauri | 79 | +1.6% | +7.8% | +13% | +10% | g I j |
| Kanit | 76 | −13% | +6.3% | +9.7% | −0.8% | I J l |
| Menbere | 75 | +4.5% | +12% | −0.5% | +3% | J p d |
| Doppio One | 75 | −5.6% | +9.1% | +16% | +4.1% | I Q 9 |
| Inder | 73 | −7.6% | +6.9% | −3.6% | +13% | 4 I q |
| Kufam | 73 | −0.3% | +12% | −8.4% | −1.9% | V W A |
| Varela | 73 | −6.5% | +10% | −5.9% | −8.5% | t I O |
| Noto Sans | 72 | −1.7% | +8.5% | −11% | +3.3% | J p d |
| Sansation | 71 | −6% | +5.2% | −8.2% | +3.3% | I t 6 |
| Prompt | 71 | −12% | +13% | +2.7% | +7.3% | J O I |
| Zamero Sans | 70 | −8.1% | +9.1% | +9.4% | −6.3% | l j i |
| Noto Sans Display | 70 | −1.7% | +2.5% | −8.3% | +2.2% | p c J |
| Maven Pro | 70 | −8.5% | +4.8% | −22% | −8.9% | J I b |
| PT Sans Caption | 69 | −3.7% | +14% | −11% | +4.8% | l J j |
| Spline Sans | 69 | 0% | +6.7% | −4.4% | −3.3% | J I j |
| Martel Sans | 69 | −2.1% | +11% | −12% | +10% | g I j |
| Amulya | 69 | −7.8% | +7.2% | −19% | +6.7% | g I M |
| Roboto | 69 | −3.1% | +2.1% | +0.5% | +1.8% | J C I |
Tahoma or Verdana
Tahoma came first, in 1994, and Verdana followed two years later. Against Verdana, measured through 20 shared free fonts, Tahoma comes out 13% narrower and 12% heavier, while its x-height and stroke contrast match Verdana’s exactly. Picks that suit Verdana therefore run wide here: DejaVu Sans and Amiko are both 15% wider than Tahoma, while Clear Sans stays within 2.6% of Tahoma’s width at score 84. So for text set in Tahoma, start from this page.
Can I use these Tahoma alternatives for…
| Free font | Web | App | Logo | Selling | Commercial | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DejaVu Sans | !* | !* | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Amiko | ✓ | !* | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clear Sans | ✓ | !* | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
- * DejaVu Sans, Tahoma alternatives on a website or inside an app: include the copyright notice and licence with the font files.
- * Amiko, Tahoma alternatives inside an app: include the copyright notice and licence with the font files.
- * Clear Sans, Tahoma alternatives inside an app: include the licence and any NOTICE; mark changed files.
- DejaVu Fonts licence text
- OFL 1.1 text
- Apache 2.0 text
- Full conditions for Tahoma alternatives
Tahoma alternatives: questions
What is the closest free alternative to Tahoma?
DejaVu Sans scores 88 against Tahoma, ahead of Amiko (87) and Clear Sans (84) among 24 free fonts.
Which Tahoma alternative is closest in size?
Clear Sans matches Tahoma’s width most closely (2.6% wider), and DejaVu Sans its x-height (x-height 0.3% taller), of these 5.
How does Amiko differ from Tahoma?
Amiko scores 87 against Tahoma: x-height 4.3% shorter, 15% wider, 13% lighter, and 4.9% more stroke contrast. Its I, j, and J differ most from Tahoma’s.
Which Tahoma alternative has the most weights?
Clear Sans has the most of the Tahoma picks here, 5 weights and italics; Radio Canada has 5 weights, Amiko has 3 weights, and DejaVu Sans has 2 weights.
Can I use the Tahoma alternatives commercially?
Yes, all 5 free alternatives to Tahoma here allow commercial work.
Is Tahoma an open font?
No. Tahoma ships with Windows 11, Microsoft 365, and macOS Tahoe.
Paid fonts that share free alternatives with Tahoma
- Lucida Sans Unicode → DejaVu SansShares DejaVu Sans, Telex, and Amiko with Tahoma. Lucida Sans Unicode against Tahoma: x-height 2.8% shorter, 13% wider, 8.7% lighter, and 18% more stroke contrast.score 89
- Segoe UI → TASA ExplorerShares DejaVu Sans and Amiko with Tahoma. Segoe UI against Tahoma: x-height 8.3% shorter, 1% wider, 11% lighter, and 1.6% more stroke contrast.score 84
About Tahoma
Matthew Carter drew Tahoma for Microsoft in 1994 as a humanist sans serif, the older of his two sans serifs measured here. Tahoma is on the font lists of Windows 11, Microsoft 365 and macOS Tahoe under that one name.
Besides Tahoma, Matthew Carter designed Georgia and Sitka.
Tahoma is a font by Microsoft; FontForThat is not affiliated with Microsoft; this is an independent comparison.