Font family
Source Serif 4 font
Source Serif 4 is Adobe's open-source workhorse serif, designed for long-form reading on screens. Its optical size axis allows it to perform from captions to headlines.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog 0123456789
Uppercase
Lowercase
Digits
Punctuation
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- 200Hamburgevons
- 300Hamburgevons
- 400Hamburgevons
- 500Hamburgevons
- 600Hamburgevons
- 700Hamburgevons
- 800Hamburgevons
- 900Hamburgevons
Font Details
- Designer
- Frank Grießhammer
- Foundry
- Unknown
- Source
- Google Fonts
- License
- OFL-1.1
- Category
- serif
- X-height
- medium
- Styles
- normal, italic
- Subsets
- latin, latin-ext, cyrillic, greek, vietnamese
- Weights
- 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900
- Variable
- Yes
- Popularity
- 78/100
- Tags
- transitional, body, readable, variable
- wghtmin 200max 900default 400
- opszmin 8max 60default 12
Character and Use Cases
Source Serif 4 , Source Serif 4 is Adobe's open-source serif designed for editorial reading. It combines classical serif proportions with contemporary screen-optimised details: a generous x-height, open counters, and carefully tuned stem widths that render crisply on pixel displays.
Source Serif 4 is purpose-built for long-form reading online. Use it for article body text, documentation, and anywhere serif typography adds credibility and readability. Its variable font implementation with the optical size (opsz) axis automatically adjusts letterform details for the current size.
Regular (400) is the primary body text weight. SemiBold (600) adds authority to subheadings. Bold (700) works well for pull-quotes and 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%20Serif%204:wght@200;300;400;500;600;700;800;900&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">Pairings using Source Serif 4
View allThe art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewSource Serif 4 + Inter
Source Serif 4 headings over Inter body, a quiet, professional pairing that scales from documentation to long-form articles. Both fonts have optical-size axes, so headings retain their crispness at any scale.
The art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewArchivo + Source Serif 4
Archivo headlines over Source Serif 4 body, a contemporary news-media pairing. Archivo's grotesque headlines carry weight; Source Serif 4 sustains long-form reading.
The art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewPlayfair Display + Source Serif 4
Playfair Display headlines over Source Serif 4 body, a refined all-serif editorial pairing. Display-grade contrast up top, reading-grade stability below.
The art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewFraunces + Source Serif 4
Fraunces headlines over Source Serif 4 body, an all-serif editorial pairing with personality. Fraunces' expressive optical sizing up top; Source Serif 4's stability below.
The art of typography
Good typography is the visible voice of design, quiet when it should be, loud when it must.
PreviewDM Sans + Source Serif 4
DM Sans headlines over Source Serif 4 body, a clean, modern editorial pairing. Calm geometric sans up top; stable serif below.
Source Serif 4 as a free alternative
Source Serif 4 appears in our alternatives guides for these commercial fonts. Each guide includes a similarity note and use-case comparison.
Garamond refers to a family of old-style serifs originating in 16th-century France. These open-source alternatives preserve the elegance of Garalde proportions.
Compare alternativesFrequently Asked Questions
- What is the opsz axis in Source Serif 4?
- The optical size axis (opsz) automatically adjusts stroke contrast, serif size, and spacing based on the font size. At display sizes, it produces higher contrast and more refined details; at text sizes, it reduces contrast and enlarges apertures for better legibility.
- How does Source Serif 4 compare to Merriweather?
- Source Serif 4 has more classical, book-inspired proportions with lower stroke contrast. Merriweather is slightly more rugged and high-contrast. Both are excellent for screen reading, but Source Serif 4's variable opsz axis gives it a rendering edge.
Test Source Serif 4 in the playground
Drop Source Serif 4 into the typography playground, mix it with another family, and check contrast on real text.