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Franklin Gothic vs Barlow
Barlow leans into Franklin Gothic's condensed, space-efficient side. At 65% similarity its slightly narrow proportions and full weight range make it a practical stand-in for headlines and tight layouts.
Design DNA
Design overlap:17%
Franklin Gothic
Barlow
Highlighted traits are shared between both fonts
Visual Comparison
Franklin Gothic
Premium
Barlow
FreeAa Bb Cc 123
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%^&*()
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Franklin Gothic | Barlow |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Premium | Free |
| Classification | sans-serif | sans-serif |
| Variable Font | No | No |
| Weights | Multiple | 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 |
| Italics | Yes | Yes |
| License | Commercial License Required | OFL-1.1 |
| Language Support | latin, latin-extended | latin, latin-extended, vietnamese |
| Source | URW Type Foundry | Google Fonts |
Best Use Cases
Typography designed specifically for titles, headers, and attention-grabbing tex...
Typography suited for magazines, newspapers, and long-form content. Editorial fo...
Typography for advertising, marketing campaigns, and promotional materials. Adve...
Typography for sports brands, athletic apparel, and team identities. Sports font...
Typography for news publications, journalism, and current affairs content. News ...
Typography for magazine design, periodicals, and print publications. Magazine fo...
Typography designed to grab attention at large sizes. Display fonts feature dist...
Fonts that establish strong brand identity with distinctive character and versat...
Typography for product packaging, labels, and consumer goods. Packaging fonts mu...
Performance Comparison
| Metric | Franklin Gothic | Barlow |
|---|---|---|
| Score | N/A | 63/100 |
| File Size | N/A | 133.8 KB |
| Weights | N/A | 9 |
| Italics | N/A | Yes |
| Variable Font | N/A | No |
| Language Groups | N/A | 3 |
| CDN Delivery | N/A | Yes |
| x-Height Ratio | N/A | 0.506 |
| Cap Height Ratio | N/A | 0.7 |
Which Should You Choose?
Consider: Franklin Gothic
- Shares Franklin Gothic's bold character
- Particularly suited for headlines and signage and data-dense layouts
- 9 weight options for flexible typography
- Delivers a clean, modern, simple aesthetic
- Popular in healthcare-medical and enterprise-corporate design
Recommended: Barlow
- Original design with refined typographic details
- Designed specifically for headlines and editorial
- Commercial license with professional support
Browse by Context
Franklin Gothic
Free Alternatives to Consider
Other free alternatives to Franklin Gothic