Roboto describes itself as having a dual nature. The skeleton is mechanical and the forms are largely geometric, but the curves are open and friendly. Instead of squeezing letters into a rigid rhythm, Roboto lets each one settle into its natural width, which gives text a reading rhythm closer to humanist and serif designs.
Christian Robertson, ParaType and Font Bureau are credited on Google Fonts. The family was upgraded to a variable font in July 2020, with a weight axis from 100 to 900 and a width axis from 75 to 100 that closely match the two static families released earlier, Roboto and Roboto Condensed. It covers Latin, Latin Extended, Cyrillic, Greek and Vietnamese.
Roboto belongs to a larger set that also includes Roboto Slab and Roboto Mono. We already host Roboto Mono here if you need a matching monospace. This ZIP has 18 static TTF files and the two variable fonts.
Best uses for Roboto
- Mobile and web interfaces
- Product documentation
- Data tables and dashboards
- Subtitles and captions
- Business presentations
Font pairings
Roboto already has a clean engineered look, so a serif adds warmth. Roboto Slab is the natural family partner, and Lora or Merriweather also work well for longer reading.
Licence & credit
Roboto is designed by Christian Robertson, ParaType and Font Bureau and released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. That makes it free for personal and commercial use: logos, packaging, websites, apps, videos and print. You can bundle it in your own projects and modify it. You cannot sell the font files by themselves, and the licence text stays with them. Our guide to the SIL Open Font License explains what that means in practice. The family is also on Google Fonts and its source is on the project page.
Roboto Font Family
License: Personal & Commercial Use
Font Type: Free
Format: TTF
File Size: 2.2 MB
Total Files: 20
