Free Alternatives to Instrument Sans for UI Design

Looking for a free sans serif font for ui design projects? Instrument Sans by Rodrigo Fuenzalida is a popular choice, but its licensing cost can be prohibitive. We've curated 7 free alternatives that work well in ui design contexts. We've identified 6 that are especially well-suited for this context. Each alternative is scored by visual similarity and contextual relevance, and ships under an open-source license for both personal and commercial use.

Top Picks

Best Overall

Inter

88% match

Comparison Table

Font	Relevance ⓘ How well this alternative fits the specific context (use-case or trait) of this page. Score 0–100 based on matching keywords, industries, and font characteristics. Alternatives scoring 25+ are highlighted.	Similarity ⓘ How visually similar this free font is to the premium original. Score 0–100 based on x-height, width, stroke contrast, use-case overlap, and language coverage. Learn more →	Weights	Variable	License	Source
Inter	45	88%	Variable	Yes	OFL-1.1	Google Fonts ↗
Geist	34	80%	Variable	Yes	OFL-1.1	Google Fonts ↗
Satoshi	34	78%	Variable	Yes	ITF Free Font License	fontshare ↗
Mona Sans	33	72%	Variable	Yes	OFL-1.1	github ↗
Switzer	33	72%	Variable	Yes	ITF Free Font License	fontshare ↗
DM Sans	27	85%	Variable	Yes	OFL-1.1	Google Fonts ↗
Schibsted Grotesk	23	70%	Variable	Yes	OFL-1.1	Google Fonts ↗