Design your way

Helvetica is one of the most popular fonts out there. It is known as an enduring font that is capable of doing just about anything. The Helvetica font has been around since 1957 and has passed the test of time on numerous occasions, which can be seen in the number of times it appears in designs nowadays.

It has that neutral quality which makes it a good starting point for many designers. Since it came out, many people tried to recreate what Helvetica does; none have been as famous as it is. This means that there are many fonts similar to Helvetica out there.

Helvetica is a neo-grotesque font with a realist design, designed by Max Miedinger, a Swiss typeface designer. Firstly, it was known as the Neue Haas Grotesk but was renamed to Helvetica later. The name Helvetica means Swiss in Latin, and it was named that way due to its Swiss designer. It was not only one of the most popular fonts in the 20^th century, but remains that to this day.

Many fonts come close to what Helvetica offers, but none have been quite able to trump it in terms of popularity. There are, however, many fonts similar to Helvetica, and we have gathered some of the best on this list. If you want a look that Helvetica offers, but you want to use something different that Helvetica, then you have come to the right place. Here, we will take a look at the best fonts similar to Helvetica.

Fonts similar to Helvetica

Akzidenz Grotesk

The Akzidenz Grotesk is one of the oldest typefaces on this list. First released in 1898, this font is one for the purists. It was one of the first fonts that started the neo-grotesque movement within the typography, and it was also one of the fonts that Helvetica is based on.

It is much smaller and rounder than Helvetica, but it also features a less compact design that makes it more neutral and cleaner than Helvetica.

Gothic A1

Another alternative for Helvetica is the Gothic A1 font that has nine different styles. It is a very versatile font that offers many weights and has optimized exclusive distribution.

Coolvetica

As the name suggests, this font is one of those fonts similar to Helvetica. It does have its character, though, but it is loosely based on Helvetica itself. It was designed in the 1970s and was subsequently used by American chain stores for their logos. It comes from a time when Helvetica was especially popular, and everyone was trying to recreate what it did. It has some curls and distinct features that make it a unique font, and it features a more tight spacing than Helvetica.

Coolvetica was intended as a font purely for display means. It can be used to make some unique and funky headlines and is also a trendy font. Not only does it feature many alphabets such as Greek and Latin, but it also includes many mathematical symbols. This font is one of the coolest fonts similar to Helvetica.

Alte Haas Grotesk

The Alte Haas Grotesk closely resembles the Helvetica font, but it does have some distinct features, such as rounded corners and also some other ligatures. It was designed in 2007, and it has two weights.

IBM Plex Sans

This is a very neutral and friendly font that has 14 different styles and is one of the best fonts similar to Helvetica.

It is a grotesque font that has the sans, sans condensed, mono, and serif styles included. The great thing about this font is that it is highly legible in print, web and mobile designs. The designs of the fonts can all work on their own, and they can work very well together as well. Ultimately, it is up to you how you use the font, but some of the styles were made for specific uses; sans was made for contemporary purposes, serif for storytelling, and mono was made for code snippets.

Lowvetica

The name says it all – a good alternative for Helvetica, the Lowvetica font is loosely based on Helvetica and can be downloaded entirely for free.

Neue Haas Grotesk

It is the digital version of Helvetica. This font has too gained plenty of popularity and ground in recent years, and it is known as being one of the best fonts similar to Helvetica. It especially appeals to modernist designers out there, and it is a font that keeps up with the times well. You can use it as an alternative to the Helvetica font.

Open Sans

The Open Sans is often featured on these lists as an alternative for many fonts, and for good reasons. The font is so versatile and friendly that it works in just about any setting. In addition to the 897 characters that it features, it is also amicable for many languages – it can be used in Latin, Greek and Cyrillic languages.

It does have a neutral appearance and a very clean and pleasing aesthetic. What is more, this font is very readable and highly versatile, which makes it one of the more popular fonts on the list.

Noirden Sans

Next up on the list is the Noirden Sans font, and it has many qualities of the original Helvetica font. However, this font has its character due to the more rounded appearance of the letters, but it does represent an excellent alternative for Helvetica. All in all, it has a more contemporary feel to it.

Stag Sans

The muscularity and roundedness of this font make it a unique font that does share some similarities with Helvetica. It is based on the Stag font, but this one is more suitable for headlines and titles. It is, however, complementary to the original Stag font, and it is also one of the good alternatives for Helvetica.

Roboto

Roboto has a mechanical feel to it and is available in 12 different styles. The geometric forms and the mechanical feel does make it feel similar to Helvetica, but it does bring some of its features to the table.

VISIA Pro

This geometric sans-serif font is a far more rounded version than Helvetica, but it is similar in many respects. It is one of the best fonts similar to Helvetica.

This is because it is highly legible and convenient. Not many fonts manage to do that and can be used for headlines, titles, and signage. It comes with seven weights and italics for each weight.

Work Sans

This highly practical font comes in 9 different weights. Its best use is on-screen, but also as a display font. The versatility of this font and the practicality are its best features, though, and is also a good alternative for Helvetica.

Avenir

Next up is Avenir, a font whose name means the future in French. Designed in 1988, the Avenir holds up today well, and the whole look of it is still quite temporary to this day. It looks great; it is easy to read and can be used in a variety of projects. What is not to like?

Univers

Designed by Adrian Frutiger, the Univers is the smaller and more spaced out version of the Helvetica font. It was created in 1957 but is still very relevant to this day. It is one of those fonts similar to Helvetica that can be used in many different ways.

There is more variety within the strokes of the Univers font itself. It is not as neutral as Helvetica is, but it is still a perfect font that should be considered as an alternative to Helvetica.

Montserrat

Montserrat is a trendy font itself, and could itself be as big as Helvetica. However, it is an excellent alternative for Helvetica because it does offers some features that are similar to it.

Effra

This font reminds us of Avenir with a bit more flair to it. It has some distinct features that make it an exciting alternative for Helvetica.

Acumin

Designed and published in 2015, Acumin was one of the features of the font within the Adobe library. Nowadays, it is used in many different ways and is one of the best font similar to Helvetica.