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DejaVu Sans vs Roboto
DejaVu Sans and Roboto are both freely available sans-serif fonts. DejaVu Sans serves as a replacement for 3 premium fonts while Roboto covers 19. This comparison helps you pick between two strong open-source options.
Design DNA
Design overlap:100%
DejaVu Sans
Roboto
Highlighted traits are shared between both fonts
Visual Comparison
DejaVu Sans
FreeAa Bb Cc 123
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%^&*()
Roboto
FreeAa Bb Cc 123
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%^&*()
Feature Comparison
| Feature | DejaVu Sans | Roboto |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Free | Free |
| Classification | sans-serif | sans-serif |
| Variable Font | No | Yes |
| Weights | 400, 700 | Variable (100-900) |
| Italics | Yes | Yes |
| License | Bitstream-Vera | Apache-2.0 |
| Language Support | latin, latin-extended, cyrillic, cyrillic-extended, greek, greek-extended, hebrew, arabic, armenian, georgian | latin, latin-extended, cyrillic, cyrillic-extended, greek, greek-extended, vietnamese |
| Source | Open Font Library | Google Fonts |
Best Use Cases
Typography optimized for user interfaces, design systems, and digital products. ...
Typography for desktop and web applications, software interfaces, and digital to...
Typography for business documents, reports, and professional communications. Doc...
Typography optimized for websites, landing pages, and web applications. Web font...
Typography for established businesses, enterprise software, and professional ser...
Typography suited for magazines, newspapers, and long-form content. Editorial fo...
Fonts that establish strong brand identity with distinctive character and versat...
Typography for wayfinding, environmental graphics, and public signage. Signage f...
Weight & Style Coverage
Performance Comparison
| Metric | DejaVu Sans | Roboto |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 43/100 | 59/100 |
| File Size | N/A | 551.9 KB |
| Weights | 2 | 9 (var) |
| Italics | Yes | Yes |
| Variable Font | No | Yes (2 axes) |
| Language Groups | 10 | 7 |
| CDN Delivery | No | Yes |
| x-Height Ratio | N/A | 0.528 |
| Cap Height Ratio | N/A | 0.711 |
Which Should You Choose?
Recommended: DejaVu Sans
- Replaces 3 premium fonts
- clean, professional character
- Popular in healthcare-medical and enterprise-corporate
- Broader language and script support
- Free under Bitstream-Vera
Consider: Roboto
- Replaces 19 premium fonts
- clean, professional character
- Popular in healthcare-medical and enterprise-corporate
- Variable font with continuous weight range
- Free under Apache-2.0
Premium Font Coverage
Only DejaVu Sans (3)
Only Roboto (19)
DejaVu Sans covers 3 premium fonts vs Roboto's 19