Newsreader Font: History, Pairings and How to Use It
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Newsreader:wght@400;700&display=swap');
body {
font-family: 'Newsreader', Georgia, serif;
}
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {
font-weight: 700;
}Newsreader is a free serif designed by Production Type and commissioned by Google Fonts, added to the library in 2020. It covers seven weights from 200 to 800 with italics and an optical size axis, and it is best known as a serif for reading news and long articles on screen.
Newsreader
Good type disappears into the reading. The heading sets the tone, and the body text carries the story to the last line. Readers spend most of their time here, so the letters have to stay comfortable from the first paragraph to the tenth.
Set in Newsreader 700 and Newsreader 400See Newsreader on a full page ›
Where Newsreader Came From
Newsreader was commissioned by Google Fonts from Production Type, a type design studio based in Paris and Shanghai. Hugues Gentile designed it, with original art direction by Jean-Baptiste Levée. It was added to Google Fonts in 2020 under the SIL Open Font License, and it was shortlisted at the D&AD Awards in 2021.
The brief was clear from the name. Newsreader is an original typeface made for continuous reading on screen in content-rich places such as news sites, article feeds and publishing platforms, where people read long text on phones and laptops.
What Newsreader Looks Like
Newsreader has open, familiar shapes that feel bookish without looking old fashioned. At text sizes it is sturdy, with moderate contrast and clear serifs that hold up on screens. At display sizes it becomes sharper and more elegant, with finer details that give headlines more character.
The overall mood is calm and editorial. It looks like a modern newspaper or magazine, which makes it a natural choice for anything built around articles. It covers Latin languages including Vietnamese, more than 130 languages in all.
Weights and Styles
Newsreader has seven weights, from ExtraLight 200 to ExtraBold 800, each with a true italic. On Google Fonts it is a variable font with a weight axis and an optical size axis that runs from 6 to 72. Production Type drew three optical sizes, so small text gets sturdier shapes and large headings get finer, tighter forms.
For most sites, 400 for body text and 600 or 700 for headings is enough. The lighter weights look best at large display sizes. Try Newsreader at 700 for headings and 400 for text.
Where Newsreader Works Best
Newsreader is at its best on news sites, blogs, magazines, newsletters and long articles. The optical sizes let one family handle both body text and large headlines, so it can run a whole editorial site on its own. It also suits book and author sites. For dashboards or app interfaces, a sans serif is usually a better fit, with Newsreader kept for longer passages.
Fonts That Pair Well with Newsreader
Newsreader works well under a geometric or grotesque sans heading, which adds contrast and a modern edge to its editorial tone. Each of these has its own page:
- Manrope and Newsreader, clean modern headings over a reading serif
- Jost and Newsreader, geometric headings over an editorial serif
- Space Grotesk and Newsreader, technical and current
- Inter, a neutral sans for headings and labels
- Albert Sans, clean and geometric
Newsreader as a Times New Roman Alternative
Newsreader fills the same role Times New Roman once did for newspapers: a serif built for reading lots of text in narrow columns. It was drawn for screens rather than newsprint, so it reads more comfortably on phones and laptops, and its optical sizes and seven weights give far more range. It does not share Times New Roman’s widths, so text will reflow. For other free options, see Fonts similar to Times New Roman.
How to Use Newsreader on Your Site
Load Newsreader from Google Fonts with the CSS in the Use This Font panel, then set it as the font for your body text. List Georgia and serif after it, so text still looks good while the font loads. Browsers apply the optical size axis automatically based on font size, so large headings get the display forms without extra code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about Newsreader.
Is Newsreader Free for Commercial Use?
Yes. Newsreader is released under the SIL Open Font License, so you can use it on commercial websites, in apps and in print without paying.
Who Designed Newsreader?
Newsreader was designed by Hugues Gentile at Production Type, with original art direction by Jean-Baptiste Levée. It was commissioned by Google Fonts.
What Is the Best Font to Pair with Newsreader?
A geometric sans such as Jost or a grotesque like Space Grotesk gives it a modern partner. Both pairings have their own pages on this site.
Pairings with Newsreader
These pairs each have their own page, set in their two fonts.