I created this list of popular Google fonts and pairings because I got tired of hunting through hundreds of options every time I needed fonts for a project. These combinations are based on data from websites over the past few years – they’re popular for a reason and they hold up. I figured other designers might find this useful too when they need to grab fonts quickly without spending hours browsing through Google Fonts.
Fonts are one piece of a visual identity. The rest of the picture, color and imagery, is covered in the brand color palettes article and the guide to choosing an imagery style.
Sans Serif Fonts
Roboto
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Open Sans
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Lato
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Montserrat
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Oswald
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Source Sans
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Raleway
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
PT Sans
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Nunito Sans
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Work Sans
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Serif Fonts
Merriweather
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Roboto Slab
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Playfair Display
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Lora
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
EB Garamond
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Libre Baskerville
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Cormorant Garamond
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Arvo
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Noto Serif
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Spectral
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Popular Font Pairings
Headline: Montserrat | Body: Raleway
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Headline: Oswald | Body: Nunito Sans
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Headline: Arvo | Body: Roboto
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Headline: Merriweather | Body: Lora
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Headline: Playfair Display | Body: Lato
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Headline: Roboto Slab | Body: Open Sans
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog near the quiet riverbank. Jack amazed everyone by fixing vintage clocks with zero fuss. They watched as bright jays zipped past the hazy woods.
Take this prompt with you
Copy this into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to turn the list into a decision.
Help me pick fonts for my website from the reliable Google Fonts shortlist below.
My business: [what you do and who your customers are]
The feeling I want: [pick 2: professional, friendly, premium, modern, traditional, playful]
Where the fonts will live: [website platform or theme, e.g. WordPress + Elementor]
Shortlist - Sans serif: Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Montserrat, Oswald, Source Sans, Raleway, PT Sans, Nunito Sans, Work Sans. Serif: Merriweather, Roboto Slab, Playfair Display, Lora, EB Garamond, Libre Baskerville, Cormorant Garamond, Arvo, Noto Serif, Spectral.
Recommend: one headline font and one body font from the shortlist that fit my answers, with a one-line reason each; one alternate pairing in a different mood so I can compare; the exact weights to load (keep it to 2 or 3 weights total for speed); and base sizes for body text and headings on desktop and mobile.
Rules: body font must stay readable in long paragraphs; don't pair two fonts that compete for attention; if my platform makes a font awkward to load, say so and substitute.
