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Merriweather vs Source Serif Pro
Merriweather and Source Serif Pro are both freely available serif fonts often used as alternatives to the same premium typefaces. Merriweather serves as a replacement for 27 premium fonts while Source Serif Pro covers 24. This comparison helps you pick between two strong open-source options.
Design DNA
Design overlap:75%
Merriweather
Source Serif Pro
Highlighted traits are shared between both fonts
Visual Comparison
Merriweather
FreeAa Bb Cc 123
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%^&*()
Source Serif Pro
FreeAa Bb Cc 123
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%^&*()
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Merriweather | Source Serif Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Free | Free |
| Classification | serif | serif |
| Variable Font | No | Yes |
| Weights | 300, 400, 700, 900 | Variable (100-900) |
| Italics | Yes | Yes |
| License | OFL-1.1 | OFL-1.1 |
| Language Support | latin, latin-extended, cyrillic, cyrillic-extended | latin, latin-extended, cyrillic, cyrillic-extended, greek, vietnamese |
| Source | Google Fonts | Google Fonts |
Best Use Cases
Typography suited for magazines, newspapers, and long-form content. Editorial fo...
Typography for newspaper design, print journalism, and daily publications. Newsp...
Typography for magazine design, periodicals, and print publications. Magazine fo...
Typography optimized for extended reading, book publishing, and literary content...
Typography optimized for websites, landing pages, and web applications. Web font...
Typography for academic papers, research publications, and scholarly documents. ...
Typography for print and digital publishing, book design, and editorial producti...
Typography for established businesses, enterprise software, and professional ser...
Fonts that establish strong brand identity with distinctive character and versat...
Weight & Style Coverage
Performance Comparison
| Metric | Merriweather | Source Serif Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 33/100 | 68/100 |
| File Size | 674.4 KB | 209.1 KB |
| Weights | 4 | 9 (var) |
| Italics | Yes | Yes |
| Variable Font | No | Yes (2 axes) |
| Language Groups | 4 | 6 |
| CDN Delivery | Yes | Yes |
| x-Height Ratio | 0.556 | 0.475 |
| Cap Height Ratio | 0.743 | 0.67 |
Source Serif Pro is 69% lighter for the standard weight set (400, 400i, 700).
Which Should You Choose?
Recommended: Merriweather
- Replaces 27 premium fonts
- classic, professional character
- Popular in legal-law and education-academia
- Free under OFL-1.1
Consider: Source Serif Pro
- Replaces 24 premium fonts
- classic, professional character
- Popular in legal-law and education-academia
- Variable font with continuous weight range
- Broader language and script support
Premium Font Coverage
Only Merriweather (13)
Merriweather covers 27 premium fonts vs Source Serif Pro's 24