Proxima Nova is one of the most beautiful and popular fonts on the market. Unfortunately it’s expensive too. A Webfont license which allows you to use it on your website comes with a $500+ price tag.

source: https://www.myfonts.com/font/marksimonson/proxima-nova

In this article we are going to look at the origins of Proxima Nova and also some similar fonts from Google that are completely free to use.

Origins

Proxima Nova was launched in 2005 by designer Mark Simonson. It’s used by over 30,000 of the top one million websites and it features 8 weights:

Thin

Light

Regular

Medium

Semi Bold

Bold

Extra Bold

Black

Mark had worked on Proxima Nova since 1981. Initially the typeface was called Zanzibar. In 1994 the typeface was updated and released as Proxima Sans before ultimately being expanded and re-released in 2005 as the Proxima Sans we know today.

Google Fonts Alternatives

While Proxima Sans might be outside the initial budget of your project, the following free options from Google Fonts provide a great alternative. You might even prefer them!

Montserrat

Named after the Montserrat, the oldest neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. This font by Julieta Ulanovsky was inspired by signs and posters from the neighbourhood.

Montserrat Comparison

Nunito Sans

Based on the Nunito Font by Vernon Adams, Nunito Sans is a non-rounded version of it’s predecessor.

Nunito Sans Comparison

Muli

Our last font is also by Vernon Adams. Sadly Vernon passed away in 2014, however his work does live on. In fact his fonts are in use on millions of websites and have accumulated billions of views.

Muli Comparison

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