Nunito Sans vs Open Sans
Two sans-serif faces, set live below in their own letters — then the honest take on which to pick and when.
The quick brown fox 0123456789
Vernon Adams, Jacques Le Bailly · 2016 · weights 400, 600, 700, 800
At a glance
- Personality
- Friendly humanist
- Neutral humanist
- Weights
- 400 / 600 / 700 / 800
- 300–700, four steps
- Best for
- Warm body + headings
- Safe, familiar body
- Designer
- Adams & Le Bailly, 2016
- Steve Matteson, 2011
Nunito SansOpen Sans
The honest take
Two dependable body sans faces, one warmer, one more neutral. Open Sans (Steve Matteson, 2011) is the classic humanist web body sans: open, upright, familiar and safe in any long-form context. Nunito Sans (Vernon Adams & Jacques Le Bailly, 2016) is the non-rounded companion to Nunito — a balanced sans with a friendly humanist feel, slightly softer proportions and a wide 400–800 range for more heading flexibility. Choose Open Sans for the most conventional, recognisable body voice with maximum on-screen legibility. Choose Nunito Sans when you want a touch more warmth and character in the same humanist register, plus heavier weights for headings. Both read comfortably at length; Open Sans is the ultra-safe default, Nunito Sans the marginally friendlier, more flexible alternative.
The x-ray
Same size, same baseline — Nunito Sans over Open Sans. Where they agree the strokes merge; where they argue, fringes.
“Hamburgefonstiv” is the type designer's test word — it carries most of the shapes that give a face away.
Read more
More about each face: Nunito Sans · Open Sans