BonFX

Helvetica is a paid font, and its desktop licences cost real money. So you want a look-alike that does the same clean job for less, ideally for free.

This page gives you 16 free fonts and 4 paid ones, all matched to Helvetica. Match scores run from 84% to 94%, and the best free pick reaches 94%.

Yes, Helvetica is everywhere, from corporate logos to transit signs, and that is exactly why people look for a stand in. It can start to feel overused or a little unoriginal, and a different font can give your work a more distinctive feel.

You like the airy, elegant look of Raleway, but you want something close that feels a little different. Maybe you need a stand-in for a project where Raleway does not quite fit.

This page shows 20 fonts that echo it. 17 of them are free, and the match scores run from 78% to 83%.

Raleway is a common sight on fashion sites, portfolios and luxury brands, and it earns that place with its light weights. But the thin ones are too fine for body text, and it is less comfortable for long reading. At heavier weights it turns into a generic geometric sans that many free fonts can match.

Century Gothic may not be installed on every computer, and a web page cannot count on it. Loading one more font file also slows things down, so you want a close stand-in.

This page compares 21 fonts that look like Century Gothic, and 16 of them are free. Match scores run from 72% to 86%, and the best free match reaches 86%.

Yes, Century Gothic became the default geometric choice because it shipped with office software, and that familiarity is part of why people look elsewhere. It is also wide, with a low x-height, so long paragraphs get tiring to read at small sizes.

You love the calm, bookish look of Baskerville, but you may not have it on your computer, or you want a free option. Either way, you need a close match that does the same job.

This page ranks 20 fonts, 17 of them free and 3 paid. Every one matches Baskerville between 74% and 81%, and the best free pick scores 81%.

Baskerville is common in book design, and that is why people look for a stand in. Its capitals are bold and can look unbalanced against the lowercase at large sizes, and critics said even in its own day that the style was too stark. It is still a favorite for literary and academic work.