Fontwell

Specimen & licence desk for open fonts

Sheet of 1,950 families Proofed 15 Oct 2026 google/fonts @ 9430147

Sans Serif · UFL 1.0 · No. 0017

Is Ubuntu free for commercial use?

Yes. Ubuntu is under the Ubuntu Font Licence 1.0, which allows commercial use in documents, websites and software. If you modify and ship the font itself, its renaming rules apply.

  1. 300 Light
  2. 400 Regular
  3. 500 Medium
  4. 700 Bold

Specimen served by the Google Fonts CSS API at view time.

What the UFL 1.0 lets you do with Ubuntu

Verdicts are our plain-English reading of the Ubuntu Font Licence 1.0; the right-hand column names the clause each one rests on. This is not legal advice.

Ubuntu · Ubuntu Font Licence 1.0
UseVerdictBasis
Use it on a website (self-hosted or via the Google Fonts API)Yes. Each copy of the font must contain the copyright notice and licence (font metadata qualifies). Documents such as web pages are not required to be under the UFL unless their primary purpose is distributing the font.with conditionsCondition 1 (notice and licence in each copy); Preamble on documents.
Print, packaging, posters, PDFs and other documentsYes. Documents created using the font are unaffected by the licence, as long as the document is not a vehicle for distributing the font.yesCondition 4 and Preamble (documents).
Set a logo or wordmark in itYes. A logo is a document made with the font. The UFL grants no trademark rights in the font’s own name, which does not affect your logo.yesCondition 4 (documents); “This licence does not grant any rights under trademark law.”
Put it on products I sell (T-shirts, mugs, book covers)Yes. Products carrying artwork set in the font are documents created with it.yesCondition 4 (documents).
Bundle the font file inside an app, game or software I sellYes, with conditions. Every copy you ship must contain the copyright notice and the UFL text, and the font must stay under the UFL.with conditionsConditions 1 and 4.
Modify the font (add glyphs, change shapes, subset) and ship itYes, with strict naming rules. Substantially changed versions must drop the original name entirely; lightly changed versions must keep it and append “derivative X”. Modified fonts stay under the UFL.with conditionsCondition 2(a)–(c) (naming) and condition 4.
Sell the font file on its own (or in a font bundle)The UFL’s definition of propagation includes distribution “with or without charging a redistribution fee”, and it has no OFL-style ban on standalone sale. The licence and notice must travel with every copy and the name rules still apply.with conditionsDefinitions (“Propagate”); conditions 1, 2 and 4.
Use it in video, broadcast, social posts or adsYes. Rendered output is a document created using the font.yesCondition 4 (documents).

How Ubuntu compares in the library

Ubuntu is No. 17 of 1,950 families in Google Fonts’ own popularity order and No. 15 of 722 sans serif families (snapshot 15 Oct 2026). It offers 8 styles, as static files only. Its 6 subsets give it broader script coverage than 92% of sans serif families. It was added to Google Fonts on 15 Dec 2010 and its files were last updated on 2 Sept 2025.

Which fonts pair with Ubuntu?

Computed from metadata, not taste: each body face shares Ubuntu’s scripts, has a usable weight range for text and sits close in line-height. How the score works.

  1. Domine for body text — sans serif heading over a serif body gives clear contrast; 2 shared subsets (latin, latin-ext); Domine is variable (wght 400–700). Proof this pair
  2. Roboto Slab for body text — sans serif heading over a serif body gives clear contrast; 6 shared subsets (cyrillic, cyrillic-ext, greek, greek-ext, …); Roboto Slab is variable (wght 100–900). Proof this pair
  3. Bitter for body text — sans serif heading over a serif body gives clear contrast; 4 shared subsets (cyrillic, cyrillic-ext, latin, latin-ext); Bitter is variable (wght 100–900). Proof this pair

How do I add Ubuntu to a website?

Paste the embed into your <head>, then use the family in CSS. The URL requests the 4 published weights; trim it to the weights you actually use.

<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=Ubuntu:wght@300;400;500;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
font-family: 'Ubuntu', system-ui, sans-serif;

To self-host instead (often preferred for privacy, see self-hosting and GDPR), download the files from the specimen page and declare them yourself. The UFL 1.0 allows redistribution with the licence kept alongside:

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Ubuntu';
  src: url('/fonts/ubuntu-400.woff2') format('woff2');
  font-weight: 400;
  font-style: normal;
  font-display: swap;
}

Ubuntu: licence questions

Can I use Ubuntu in a logo?
Yes. A logo is a document made with the font. The UFL grants no trademark rights in the font’s own name, which does not affect your logo.
Can I bundle Ubuntu in an app or game I sell?
Yes, with conditions. Every copy you ship must contain the copyright notice and the UFL text, and the font must stay under the UFL.
Can I sell the Ubuntu font file itself?
The UFL’s definition of propagation includes distribution “with or without charging a redistribution fee”, and it has no OFL-style ban on standalone sale. The licence and notice must travel with every copy and the name rules still apply.
Which scripts does Ubuntu support?
On Google Fonts, Ubuntu ships 6 subsets: Cyrillic, Cyrillic Extended, Greek, Greek Extended, Latin, Latin Extended.

Similar sans serif families

Sources