Font family
Source Sans 3 font
Source Sans 3 is Adobe's open-source UI sans-serif, designed for legibility in user interfaces. The '3' denotes a redesigned, more neutral cut.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog 0123456789
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- 200Hamburgevons
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- 900Hamburgevons
Font Details
- Designer
- Paul D. Hunt
- Foundry
- Unknown
- Source
- Google Fonts
- License
- OFL-1.1
- Category
- sans-serif
- X-height
- high
- Styles
- normal, italic
- Subsets
- latin, latin-ext, cyrillic, greek, vietnamese
- Weights
- 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900
- Variable
- Yes
- Popularity
- 82/100
- Tags
- ui, neutral, professional, body
- wghtmin 200max 900default 400
Character and Use Cases
Source Sans 3 , Source Sans 3 is Adobe's open-source sans-serif designed for UI and body text. It has a humanist structure with excellent readability across sizes, a wide weight range, and exceptional language coverage including extensive Latin-extended characters.
Source Sans 3 is a professional workhorse suitable for interfaces, documentation, and long-form body text. Its neutral-but-not-boring character makes it a reliable default when you need a typeface that does not compete with your content. The Regular, SemiBold, and Bold weights form a complete three-step hierarchy.
Regular (400) is the primary body text weight. SemiBold (600) works well for UI labels and subheadings. Bold (700) creates strong emphasis in dense layouts. The lighter weights (Light 300, ExtraLight 200) are useful for large display text.
Production Code
Copy-paste into your project. No build step required.
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Source%20Sans%203:wght@200;300;400;500;600;700;800;900&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">Pairings using Source Sans 3
View allThe art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewNunito + Source Sans 3
Nunito headlines over Source Sans 3 body, a friendly, balanced pairing. Nunito's rounded forms warm up headings; Source Sans 3 keeps body neutral.
The art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewArchivo + Source Sans 3
Archivo headlines over Source Sans 3 body, a confident news-and-brand pairing. Archivo's grotesque headlines have presence; Source Sans 3 keeps body copy neutral.
The art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewSource Sans 3 + Lora
Source Sans 3 headings over Lora body. A humanist sans sets the section titles and a calligraphic serif carries the prose. The direction is reversed from the usual serif-heading layout, which gives pages a writerly feel.
The art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewPlayfair Display + Source Sans 3
Playfair Display headings over Source Sans 3 body. A high-contrast display serif sits on top of a warm humanist sans. Used for magazines and editorial brands that want grand titles without losing readable body copy.
The art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewMontserrat + Source Sans 3
Montserrat headings over Source Sans 3 body. A geometric sans with wide forms for titles and a humanist sans for body. A common choice for marketing sites that want bold hero text and readable supporting copy.
Source Sans 3 as a free alternative
Source Sans 3 appears in our alternatives guides for these commercial fonts. Each guide includes a similarity note and use-case comparison.
Helvetica is the canonical neo-grotesque sans-serif, used ubiquitously in signage and corporate identity. These open-source alternatives approximate its neutral, structured character with varying fidelity.
Compare alternativesFrequently Asked Questions
- What is the difference between Source Sans 3 and Source Sans Pro?
- Source Sans 3 is the actively maintained successor to Source Sans Pro. It adds new weights, extends language support, improves the variable font implementation, and fixes known rendering issues. You should use Source Sans 3 for all new projects.
- Does Source Sans 3 support variable font axes?
- Yes. Source Sans 3 ships as a variable font with a weight axis (wght) ranging from ExtraLight (200) to Black (900).
Test Source Sans 3 in the playground
Drop Source Sans 3 into the typography playground, mix it with another family, and check contrast on real text.