Alternative to proprietary Microsoft fonts

This tutorial explains how to install free fonts on Linux that can be used as alternatives to proprietary Microsoft fonts. Some of them can be found in Linux repositories, Google Fonts, and other sources.

The following table lists typical document uses for free alternatives to proprietary Microsoft fonts:

Windows Font	Non-Proprietary Alternatives	Common Use in Documents	Notes
Arial	Free Sans / Liberation Sans / Nimbus Sans / IBM Plex Sans / Ubuntu Sans	Body text, headings, subheadings	Standard and versatile sans-serif font.
Times New Roman	Free Serif / Liberation Serif / Nimbus Roman / IBM Plex Serif	Body text, formal reports, books	Classic serif font for professional documents.
Courier New	FreeMono / Liberation Mono	Code, technical documents, monospaced text	Monospaced font used in programming and tabular text.
Calibri	Carlito / Lato	Body text, presentations	Modern and readable font.
Cambria	Caladea / Cambo	Body text, formal reports	Similar to Times New Roman, with better on-screen readability.
Comic Sans MS	Comic Neue	Informal, educational, and children's presentation text	Comic Neue is more refined.
Verdana	DejaVu Sans	Body text, web pages, graphical interfaces	Excellent screen readability.
Georgia	Gelasio	Body text, document headings	Serif font with good screen readability.
Trebuchet MS	Fira Sans	Headings, subheadings, presentations	Alternative with a clean, modern design.
Impact	Anton / Oswald	Eye-catching headings	Anton is an alternative with strong visual impact.
Tahoma	Signika	Body text in graphical interfaces and business documents	Similar spacing and clarity.
Palatino Linotype	Source Serif 4	Books, essays, academic texts	Based on the Palatino design.
Book Antiqua	P052 / C059	Body text in elegant or classic documents	Classic alternatives with a refined style.
Franklin Gothic Book	Libre Franklin	Headings, posters, headers	Heavy sans-serif font with a strong style.
Century Gothic	URW Gothic	Modern headings, graphic design	Clean and futuristic design.
Rockwell	Arvo	Headings with visual impact	Slab-serif style alternatives.
Baskerville	Goudy Bookletter 1911	Body text in classic and elegant documents	Font with excellent print readability.
Consolas	JetBrains Mono / DejaVu Sans Mono / Fira Code / Hack / Iosevka / Victor Mono / Fragment Mono	Programming code, terminals, technical documents	Consolas is monospaced; its alternatives support code ligatures.

Installing free fonts from Linux repositories (Debian/MX Linux/Ubuntu, etc.)

Install the free fonts directly from the repositories with this command:

sudo apt install fonts-liberation fonts-freefont-ttf fonts-crosextra-carlito \
    fonts-crosextra-caladea fonts-dejavu fonts-cantarell fonts-firacode \
    fonts-jetbrains-mono fonts-ebgaramond fonts-ebgaramond-extra \
    fonts-hack fonts-inconsolata fonts-uralic \
    fonts-urw-base35 fonts-bpg-georgian fonts-comic-neue \
    fonts-goudybookletter fonts-ibm-plex

Note: To install the fonts-ibm-plex package, the contrib repository must be enabled. If you use Debian, you need to add it.

Among the installed packages, some install several fonts with different types and names:

fonts-liberation = Liberation Sans, Liberation Serif
fonts-freefont-ttf = FreeMono
fonts-crosextra-carlito = Carlito
fonts-crosextra-caladea = Caladea
fonts-dejavu = DejaVu Sans, DejaVu Sans Mono
fonts-cantarell = Cantarell
fonts-ebgaramond = EB Garamond (08, 12)
fonts-ebgaramond-extra = EB Garamond SC (08, 12), EB Garamond 12 All SC
fonts-ibm-plex = IBM Plex Sans, IBM Plex Serif, IBM Plex Mono
fonts-hack = Hack
fonts-inconsolata = Inconsolata
fonts-urw-base35 = Nimbus Roman, Nimbus Sans, URW Gothic, URW Bookman, C059, P052
fonts-comic-neue = Comic Neue
fonts-goudybookletter = Goudy Bookletter 1911

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Alternative fonts from Google Fonts

Some fonts are not in the repositories. They are in this repository, but you can also download them manually from Google Fonts:

Search for the font and download it (.zip with .ttf or .otf files).

Note: I have a backup at: https://github.com/wachin/Alternativa-a-fuentes-de-Windows

Slabo 27px -> Alternative to Rockwell
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Slabo+27px

EB Garamond -> Alternative to Garamond
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/EB+Garamond

Libre Franklin -> Alternative to Franklin Gothic
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Libre+Franklin

Oswald -> Alternative to Impact
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Oswald

Anton -> Alternative to Impact
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Anton

Arvo -> Alternative to Rockwell
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Arvo

Source Serif 4 -> Alternative to Georgia
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Source+Serif+4

Lato -> Alternative to Calibri
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Lato

Cambo
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Cambo

Fira Sans
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Fira+Sans

Victor Mono -> Alternative to Consolas
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Victor+Mono

Fragment Mono -> Alternative to Consolas
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Fragment+Mono

Gelasio -> Alternative to Georgia
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Gelasio

Signika
https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Signika

Iosevka -> Alternative to Consolas
https://github.com/be5invis/Iosevka/releases
The following link is an example of a zip file that contains the fonts in .ttf format:
https://github.com/be5invis/Iosevka/releases/download/v32.5.0/PkgTTF-Iosevka-32.5.0.zip

Download these fonts from Google Fonts all at once from my repository

If you want to download all these fonts at once, I have them in a repository. Just enter this in the terminal:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts
cd ~/.local/share/fonts
git clone https://github.com/wachin/Alternativa-a-fuentes-de-Windows
rm -fr ~/.local/share/fonts/Alternativa-a-fuentes-de-Windows/.git

Note: The last command, rm -fr ..., deletes the duplicated repository metadata that manages the files on GitHub, because there is no point in wasting space there unnecessarily.

Installing fonts in Linux

Many old guides recommend copying Windows fonts to the personal ~/.fonts folder.
This still works in 2025, but the Fontconfig configuration file in Debian 12:

/etc/fonts/fonts.conf

clearly states:

<dir prefix="xdg">fonts</dir>
<!-- the following element will be removed in the future -->
<dir>~/.fonts</dir>

This means that ~/.fonts will be removed in the future, and the recommended location according to the XDG Base Directory standard is:

~/.local/share/fonts

Therefore, if you install fonts only for your user, it is better to use that recommended path and start getting used to it.

Install fonts only for your user (without touching the system)

To install fonts only for your user account, you can save them in the recommended folder:

~/.local/share/fonts

Note: The ~ symbol represents your home folder, for example: /home/youruser/.

1. Create the folder automatically (quick method)

Open a terminal and type the following command:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts

This command creates the entire required path.

• The -p option makes it create any missing folders without throwing errors if they already exist.

2. Create the folder manually (without using the terminal)

If you prefer to do it graphically:

1. Open your file manager.

2. Press Ctrl + H to show hidden folders (in Linux, folders that start with a dot . are hidden).

3. If the .local folder does not exist, create it:

   • Right click -> Create Folder -> type .local

4. Inside .local, create another folder called share.

5. Inside share, create another folder called fonts.

The final path should look like this:

/home/youruser/.local/share/fonts

3. Copy the fonts

Copy all Windows font files (.ttf or .otf) and paste them into that folder. You can create subfolders inside fonts if you want to organize your fonts, for example: windows, personal, etc.

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Advantages of this method

• You do not need administrator permissions.
• The fonts apply only to your user (other system users will not see them).
• It is the currently recommended method (the old ~/.fonts folder still works, but it is marked for removal in the future).

System-wide font installation

If the computer has several users and everyone needs the Windows fonts, they should be installed system-wide.

Where do system fonts go?

System fonts in Linux are stored in:

/usr/share/fonts/truetype/

We can create a new folder, for example:

/usr/share/fonts/truetype/windows

and paste all Windows fonts inside it.

How to copy fonts without using the terminal

To move files into that folder, we need administrator permissions. There are several ways to do it graphically:

1. Using Krusader

a.) Install Krusader (if you do not have it):

sudo apt install krusader

b.) Run Krusader as superuser:

sudo krusader

c.) Go to the folder where you have the Windows fonts and copy them.

d.) Open a tab with "Ctrl + T" and go to "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/", create the windows folder, and paste the fonts there.
(You can also do this using the other panel instead of creating a tab.)

2. Using Double Commander (GTK or QT)

a.) Install Double Commander (if it is available in the repositories):

sudo apt install doublecmd-gtk

or if you use KDE Plasma or LXQT:

sudo apt install doublecmd-qt

b.) Run Double Commander with superuser permissions:

sudo doublecmd-gtk

or:

sudo doublecmd-qt

c.) Copy the fonts to /usr/share/fonts/truetype/windows.

Tips for using the file manager as superuser

• Be very careful not to delete or move operating system folders or files. If you delete or move something critical, the system may stop working and you may need to reinstall it.
• Do not open your personal files (images, documents, etc.) from the file manager running as superuser. This is because the program that opens those files may inherit superuser permissions and change their ownership, causing you to lose access to them from your normal user.
• Close the file manager when you finish using it as superuser. Leaving it open can be dangerous because, if you come back later and forget that it still has administrator permissions, you could delete or move something important without realizing it.

Update the font cache (optional)

After copying the fonts, it is recommended to update the font cache:

sudo fc-cache -fv

Verify the installation

Open a program such as LibreOffice, GIMP, or Inkscape and check whether the newly added fonts appear.

When is fc-cache -fv actually needed?

1. When you install fonts in non-standard directories, such as one you created manually or one that is not detected automatically.
2. When you use automated scripts or installations without an active graphical session, for example on servers or mass installations.
3. When a specific program does not detect the new font, even after restarting it.
4. When you have problems with corrupt fonts, an old cache, or conflicts, and need to regenerate the entire font cache.

A bit of history

For a long time, the de facto location for installing fonts at the user level was:

• ~/.fonts (that is, a .fonts folder in your home directory)

This method worked well and was the most documented one in distributions such as Debian, Ubuntu, etc., since before 2010. Many old tutorials (and even several current ones in 2025) still recommend this path.

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What changed?

Starting with the XDG specifications (X Desktop Group), distributions began migrating to a more standardized structure for user files. In that structure:

• User data is stored in ~/.local/share/
• Therefore, per-user fonts are installed in:

~/.local/share/fonts

This change was adopted gradually, and fontconfig in modern versions (such as the one included with Debian 12) automatically recognizes and monitors that path as valid for fonts.

Optional: Install a GUI to manage fonts

If you want to view, enable, or disable fonts easily, install Fontmatrix:

sudo apt install fontmatrix

Note: I am trying to improve this program at fontmatrix

Then open it from the menu and check your installed fonts.

If the fonts do not look right, you need to configure the visible fonts.

Click:

Edit > Preferences

Click:

Display > Default font size

and set, for example:

10

This number is only an example and depends on how the fonts look on your monitor. Click Close, then close Fontmatrix and open it again so the change takes effect.

You can also see my tutorial:

Install FontMatrix and configure it on Debian 12
https://facilitarelsoftwarelibre.blogspot.com/2025/02/instalar-fontmatrix-y-configurarlo-en-debian-12.html

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Additional tips

• If you share documents with Windows users, use only Windows fonts to make sure they open correctly on another computer. For example, this matters when someone is writing a thesis and needs to share files with other students, or when you are going to print a graphic design file, such as an .svg converted to PDF, at a print shop. For any file that you are going to open on another computer, make sure the font is there too, or take it on a USB flash drive and install it on that computer so it can be displayed.

References

Linux Font Equivalents to Popular Web Typefaces | Jon Christopher
https://jonchristopher.us/blog/linux-font-equivalents-to-popular-web-typefaces/

How do I install fonts?
how-do-i-install-fonts

Add an extra font for individual users
fonts-user.html

Font configuration
Font_configuration