Arial Narrow vs Liberation Sans Narrow: The Free Metric Clone
Last reviewed by the ArialNarrow.com editorial team
Short answer
Liberation Sans Narrow is a free, open-source font with the exact same character widths as Arial Narrow. Text breaks in the same places, so documents keep their layout. The letter shapes differ slightly up close, but at normal reading sizes most people can't tell them apart.
Each box shows its font only if it's installed on your device.
Why this font exists
Open-source office suites had a problem: millions of documents asked for Microsoft's fonts, which Linux could not legally include. Red Hat started the Liberation project to fix that, and Oracle later contributed the Narrow version. It gives every character the same width as Arial Narrow, so the files open with their layout intact.
The letters themselves were drawn independently, so they are not traced copies. You'll see the difference in details like the tail of the Q, the shape of the G, and some curve endings. At 10–12 pt in a table, the difference almost disappears.
| Feature | Arial Narrow | Liberation Sans Narrow |
|---|---|---|
| Character widths | Reference | Identical |
| Letter shapes | Monotype original | Independent design, very similar |
| License | Proprietary (Monotype) | Open source (GPLv2 with font exception) |
| Cost | Included with Office; otherwise paid | Free |
| Styles | Regular, Bold + italics | Regular, Bold + italics |
| Pre-installed on | Windows PCs with Office | Many Linux systems |
| Web embedding | Needs a paid web license | Allowed |
How to install Liberation Sans Narrow
- Windows and Mac: download the release from the Liberation Sans Narrow GitHub page, unzip it, and double-click each TTF to install.
- Linux: it often comes preinstalled. If not, follow the commands in our Linux install section.
When to choose which
- Liberation Sans Narrow for sharing editable files with people who don't have Office, for Linux, and for free web use.
- Arial Narrow when a client or brand guide asks for the original, or you work entirely in Microsoft Office.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "metric-compatible" mean?
Every character takes up exactly the same horizontal space as its match in the other font. Swap one for the other and each line breaks in the same place, so pages, tables and forms keep their layout. The letter shapes can still differ.
Can I use Liberation Sans Narrow on a website?
Yes. It is open source, so you can self-host it with @font-face. Put it second in your font stack, right after Arial Narrow, so visitors without Arial Narrow get matching widths.
Why does LibreOffice show Liberation Sans Narrow when I open my Word file?
LibreOffice replaces Arial Narrow with Liberation Sans Narrow automatically when the real font is missing. Your document is fine. When you send it back, the file still asks for Arial Narrow, and Word on Windows shows the original font.