Untitled Serif, designed by Kris Sowersby of Klim Type Foundry, is a contemporary serif typeface stripped of overt stylistic flourishes. It was created as a companion to Untitled Sans, aiming for neutrality, legibility, and timelessness. With its calm proportions, open counters, and refined details, it avoids drawing attention to itself — making it a favorite in editorial design, branding, and corporate identity where clarity is key.
Because Untitled Serif is a premium typeface, many designers seek alternatives that capture the same understated neutrality and modern functionality.
Here are 7 fonts similar to Untitled Serif.
Visual Comparison
Sample Text: The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog
| Font | Preview |
|---|---|
| Untitled Serif | Image preview here |
| Lyon Text | Image preview here |
| Tiempos Text | Image preview here |
| Mercury Text | Image preview here |
| Charter | Image preview here |
| Source Serif Pro | Image preview here |
| Crimson Pro | Image preview here |
| Alegreya | Image preview here |
Premium Alternatives
1. Lyon Text (Kai Bernau, 2009)
Style: Transitional serif
Why It’s Similar: Both focus on legibility with refined elegance, ideal for body text.
Key Difference: Lyon carries subtle Renaissance influences, making it slightly warmer.
Price & Availability: Paid — Commercial Type.
2. Tiempos Text (Kris Sowersby, 2010)
Style: Transitional serif
Why It’s Similar: Shares the same designer’s philosophy of modern functionality.
Key Difference: Tiempos feels sturdier, designed for newspapers and editorial environments.
Price & Availability: Paid — Klim Type Foundry.
3. Mercury Text (Jonathan Hoefler, 2003)
Style: Transitional serif
Why It’s Similar: Optimized for text-heavy use, like Untitled Serif.
Key Difference: Mercury has slightly more typographic flavor, making it less “invisible.”
Price & Availability: Paid — Hoefler & Co.
4. Charter (Matthew Carter, 1987)
Style: Transitional serif
Why It’s Similar: Designed with practicality and legibility in mind, much like Untitled.
Key Difference: A bit more compact and digital-native.
Price & Availability: Paid — Bitstream / Monotype.
Free Alternatives
5. Source Serif Pro (Frank Grießhammer, 2014)
Style: Transitional serif
Why It’s Similar: Adobe’s free open-source serif offers similar neutrality and readability.
Key Difference: More contemporary in feel, slightly sharper than Untitled Serif.
Price & Availability: Free — Google Fonts.
6. Crimson Pro (Jacques Le Bailly, 2019)
Style: Transitional serif
Why It’s Similar: Like Untitled, designed for long reading, with balanced proportions.
Key Difference: Slightly more classical detailing than Untitled.
Price & Availability: Free — Google Fonts.
7. Alegreya (Juan Pablo del Peral, 2011)
Style: Humanist/Transitional serif
Why It’s Similar: Offers warmth, rhythm, and excellent text readability.
Key Difference: A livelier, more expressive tone compared to Untitled’s restraint.
Price & Availability: Free — Google Fonts.
Recommendation Summary Table
| Font Name | Similarity Score | Free/Paid | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyon Text | ★★★★★ | Paid | Editorial, publishing |
| Tiempos Text | ★★★★★ | Paid | Newspapers, books |
| Mercury Text | ★★★★☆ | Paid | Text-heavy layouts |
| Charter | ★★★★☆ | Paid | Digital/print versatility |
| Source Serif Pro | ★★★★☆ | Free | Digital reading, UI text |
| Crimson Pro | ★★★★☆ | Free | Long-form reading |
| Alegreya | ★★★★☆ | Free | Books, expressive typography |
Conclusion
Untitled Serif embodies neutrality, making it an invisible yet powerful tool for typography. For premium alternatives, Lyon Text and Tiempos Text are excellent companions, while Mercury Text and Charter provide robust text performance. For free alternatives, Source Serif Pro and Crimson Pro are highly versatile, with Alegreya adding warmth and rhythm.
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