Lora

Replaces: Georgia (85%) | OFL-1.1 | Updated: Feb 2026

About Lora

Classification
serif
Weights
Variable (100-900)
Features
Variable, Italics
SIL Open Font License 1.1

Free to use, modify, and distribute. Can be used commercially without attribution.

What's allowed?
  • Client work
  • SaaS / Web apps
  • YouTube / Video
  • Sell products
  • Print materials

Note: Derivative fonts must use the same license.

Full license guide →
Get Lora Free ↗

Lora is a well-balanced contemporary serif typeface with roots in calligraphy. Designed by Cyreal and released in 2011, it has become one of the most popular free serif fonts for web and print, known for its elegant yet readable design.

History and Design

Lora was created by Cyreal type foundry, with design work by Olga Karpushina. The typeface blends calligraphic roots with modern construction, featuring moderate contrast, subtle curves, and well-proportioned letterforms. Its design draws inspiration from classical serif tradition while maintaining excellent screen readability.

Why Lora is Popular

Lora has earned its place as a go-to free alternative to premium serifs like Georgia, Sentinel, and Plantin. Its balanced design works equally well for headlines and body text, making it versatile for editorial and branding applications. The comprehensive Cyrillic support makes it particularly valuable for multilingual projects.

Technical Features

  • Variable font: Weight axis from Regular (400) to Bold (700)
  • True italics: Elegant cursive forms, not slanted romans
  • Calligraphic details: Subtle brush-influenced curves
  • Cyrillic support: Full Cyrillic and extended character sets
  • OpenType features: Ligatures and contextual alternates

Best Use Cases

Lora excels in:

  • Blog and editorial: Perfect for articles and long-form content
  • Book design: Elegant yet readable for extended reading
  • Magazine layouts: Sophisticated appearance for publications
  • Wedding and event: Refined aesthetic for formal invitations
  • Multilingual content: Excellent Cyrillic and Latin harmony

Usage Tips

For body text, use weight 400 at 16-18px with generous line height (1.6-1.8). Use weight 600-700 for headlines. The italics are particularly beautiful and work well for emphasis and pull quotes. Pairs excellently with clean sans-serifs like Open Sans or Raleway for a classic editorial combination.

Is Lora on Google Fonts?

Yes, Lora is available for free on Google Fonts. Get Lora on Google Fonts ↗

Alternative For (8)

Lora is a free alternative to the following premium fonts:

#1 Appeal 77%
[WeType] · serif

Calligraphy-influenced serif with variable support and warm reading character

View all alternatives
#2 Edgar 76%
[Frere-Jones Type] · serif

Calligraphy-influenced serif with variable support and warm reading character

View all alternatives
#3 Georgia 85%
[Microsoft] · serif

Comparable elegant screen-optimized serif

View all alternatives
#4 GT Canon 76%
[Grilli Type] · serif

Calligraphy-influenced serif with variable support and strong screen rendering

View all alternatives
[Grilli Type] · serif

Comparable modern serif

View all alternatives
#6 Harriet 80%
[Okay Type] · serif

Similar warm readable serif

View all alternatives
#7 Mencken 78%
[Hoefler&Co] · serif

Comparable readable editorial

View all alternatives
#8 Sanomat 78%
[Commercial Type] · serif

Comparable editorial character

View all alternatives

Compare Lora

See how Lora compares to other fonts side by side.

Variable Font Axes

Lora is a variable font with 1 axis you can fine-tune.

Axis Min Default Max
wght 400 400 700

Font Pairings

Fonts that pair well with Lora based on contrast and complementary design characteristics.

Lora + Raleway
88/100
serif + sans-serif
Best for: Refined, Modern
Enterprise Finance Legal
Josefin Sans + Lora
80/100
display + serif
Lora + Uncial Antiqua
80/100
serif + display
Jost + Lora
78/100
sans-serif + serif
Lora + URW Gothic
78/100
serif + sans-serif

Performance

Key metrics for evaluating Lora in production.

Score
55 /100 Average
File Size
402.6 KB Heavy
Weights
9 (variable) + Italics
Languages
5 groups CDN delivery

Font Metrics

x-Height Ratio
0.5
Cap Height Ratio
0.7
Ascender
1006
Descender
-274

Fallback CSS Overrides

Apply these overrides to Georgia to minimize layout shift when loading Lora.

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Lora Fallback';
  src: local('Georgia');
  ascent-override: 100.6%;
  descent-override: 27.4%;
  line-gap-override: 0%;
  size-adjust: 103.85%;
}
woff2 Measured via Google Fonts API Metrics extracted from WOFF2

How to Use Lora

Copy these code snippets to quickly add Lora to your project.

Quick Start

CSS code for Lora

@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Lora:wght@100..900&display=swap');