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SF Mono vs JetBrains Mono
SF Mono is a common reference point; JetBrains Mono is one of the closest free families to reach for. With 92% similarity, JetBrains Mono shares SF Mono's clean, neutral character with similar proportions and excellent code readability. One practical difference: JetBrains Mono supports ligatures, which changes the feel in code-heavy UIs.
Design DNA
Design overlap:17%
SF Mono
JetBrains Mono
Highlighted traits are shared between both fonts
Visual Comparison
SF Mono
Premium
JetBrains Mono
FreeAa Bb Cc 123
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%^&*()
Feature Comparison
| Feature | SF Mono | JetBrains Mono |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Premium | Free |
| Classification | mono | mono |
| Variable Font | No | Yes |
| Weights | Multiple | Variable (100-900) |
| Italics | Yes | Yes |
| License | Commercial License Required | OFL-1.1 |
| Language Support | latin, latin-extended, cyrillic, greek | latin, latin-extended, cyrillic, cyrillic-extended, greek, vietnamese |
| Source | Apple | Google Fonts |
Best Use Cases
Typography for command-line interfaces, terminal emulators, and shell environmen...
Typography for technical documentation, user guides, and help content. Documenta...
Typography for code editors, terminals, and developer documentation. Code fonts ...
Typography suited for magazines, newspapers, and long-form content. Editorial fo...
Typography for tech companies, software products, and digital innovation. Tech f...
Fonts that establish strong brand identity with distinctive character and versat...
Performance Comparison
| Metric | SF Mono | JetBrains Mono |
|---|---|---|
| Score | N/A | 67/100 |
| File Size | N/A | 174.2 KB |
| Weights | N/A | 9 (var) |
| Italics | N/A | Yes |
| Variable Font | N/A | Yes (1 axes) |
| Language Groups | N/A | 6 |
| CDN Delivery | N/A | Yes |
| x-Height Ratio | N/A | 0.55 |
| Cap Height Ratio | N/A | 0.73 |
Where You'll See These Fonts
SF Mono
- Xcode
- macOS Terminal
- Apple developer documentation
- iOS development
- Swift Playgrounds
Which Should You Choose?
Consider: SF Mono
- Shares SF Mono's modern character
- Particularly suited for IDE and code editors and terminal applications
- Variable font with continuous weight adjustment
- Supports 6 scripts including cyrillic and cyrillic-extended
- Delivers a clean, professional, modern aesthetic
Recommended: JetBrains Mono
- Original design with refined typographic details
- Designed specifically for code-editors and terminal
- Used by Xcode, macOS Terminal
- Commercial license with professional support
Browse by Context
Free Alternatives to Consider
Other free alternatives to SF Mono