Lato vs Poppins
Lato and Poppins are both freely available sans-serif fonts often used as alternatives to the same premium typefaces. Lato serves as a replacement for 13 premium fonts while Poppins covers 37. This comparison helps you pick between two strong open-source options.
Design DNA
Design overlap:67%
Lato
Poppins
Highlighted traits are shared between both fonts
Visual Comparison
Lato
FreeAa Bb Cc 123
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%^&*()
Poppins
FreeAa Bb Cc 123
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%^&*()
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Lato | Poppins |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Free | Free |
| Classification | sans-serif | sans-serif |
| Variable Font | No | No |
| Weights | 100, 300, 400, 700, 900 | 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 |
| Italics | Yes | Yes |
| License | OFL-1.1 | OFL-1.1 |
| Language Support | latin, latin-extended | latin, latin-extended, devanagari |
| Source | Google Fonts | Google Fonts |
Best Use Cases
Typography for established businesses, enterprise software, and professional ser...
Fonts that establish strong brand identity with distinctive character and versat...
Typography suited for magazines, newspapers, and long-form content. Editorial fo...
Fonts optimized for mobile interfaces with excellent small-size legibility, clea...
Typography for medical, wellness, and healthcare applications. Healthcare fonts ...
Typography optimized for online retail, marketplaces, and shopping experiences. ...
Typography for startups, tech companies, and venture-backed businesses. Startup ...
Typography optimized for websites, landing pages, and web applications. Web font...
Typography optimized for user interfaces, design systems, and digital products. ...
Typography for wayfinding, environmental graphics, and public signage. Signage f...
Weight & Style Coverage
Performance Comparison
| Metric | Lato | Poppins |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 60/100 | 59/100 |
| File Size | 85.9 KB | 162.4 KB |
| Weights | 5 | 9 |
| Italics | Yes | Yes |
| Variable Font | No | No |
| Language Groups | 2 | 3 |
| CDN Delivery | Yes | Yes |
| x-Height Ratio | 0.506 | 0.548 |
| Cap Height Ratio | 0.717 | 0.698 |
Lato is 47% lighter for the standard weight set (400, 400i, 700).
Which Should You Choose?
Recommended: Lato
- Replaces 13 premium fonts
- friendly, professional character
- Popular in education-academia and healthcare-medical
- 5 weight options
- Free under OFL-1.1
Consider: Poppins
- Replaces 37 premium fonts
- friendly, modern character
- Popular in education-academia and healthcare-medical
- 9 weight options
- Broader language and script support
Premium Font Coverage
Both replace (2)
Only Lato (11)
Only Poppins (35)
Lato covers 13 premium fonts vs Poppins's 37