Sift

Montserrat

by Julieta Ulanovsky ★★★★☆ Sans-serif Variable Font
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Quick Answer

Montserrat is a variable sans-serif font with 2 adjustable axes (Weight, Italic). Urban typeface inspired by Buenos Aires signage. Great for headings and display text.

Performance Impact

88%
Size Reduction
250 KB → 30 KB
-420ms
LCP Improvement
Core Web Vitals boost
24ms
4G Transfer Time
After optimization
100ms
Max Render Block
With font-display: swap

Download Time by Network

Slow 3G (400 Kbps) 600ms
vs ~5000ms unoptimized
Fast 3G (1.5 Mbps) 160ms
vs ~1333ms unoptimized
4G LTE (10 Mbps) 24ms
vs ~200ms unoptimized

Optimization reduces Montserrat from 250 KB to 30 KB — making your site faster on every device.

Try Montserrat

Live Preview

Variable Axes
400
100 900
0°
0 1
Loading Montserrat...
Quick samples:

Variable Axes

Montserrat includes 2 variable axes, giving you fine-grained control over the font's appearance.

wght

Weight

Controls weight from Thin (100) to Black (900)

Range: 100 – 900 (default: 400)
ital

Italic

Toggles between upright and italic styles

Range: 0 – 1 (default: 0)

How to Optimize Montserrat

1

Subset to Latin

Remove Vietnamese and Extended Latin if not needed.

Savings: 50-60%

2

Limit weight range

Most projects only need weights 400-700. Remove Thin through Light and ExtraBold through Black.

Savings: 30-50%

3

Convert to WOFF2

Essential compression for web delivery.

Savings: 25-35%

4

Use font-display: swap

Critical for above-the-fold headings.

Savings: Performance

File Size Comparison

Montserrat Variable (full)
~250 KB
All weights, all scripts
Montserrat Variable (Latin)
~85 KB
Latin subset only
Limited range (400-700)
~45 KB
Most common use case
Optimized with Sift
~30 KB
Subset + limited range

Sift optimizes your fonts for maximum performance with 90%+ size reduction

CSS Implementation

CSS
@font-face {
  font-family: 'Montserrat';
  src: url('/montserrat.woff2') format('woff2');
  font-display: swap;
  font-weight: 100 900;
}

body {
  font-family: 'Montserrat', sans-serif;
}

For variable fonts, you can use font-variation-settings to control axes:

.custom-weight {
  font-variation-settings: "wght" 400, "ital" 0;
}

Pro Tips for Montserrat

💡

Best for headings

Montserrat's geometric forms shine at large sizes. Pair with a more readable body font.

💡

Use negative letter-spacing

Montserrat often looks better with slight negative letter-spacing at large sizes.

💡

Try alternates

Montserrat Alternates offers stylistic variations worth exploring.

💡

Pair with Source Sans

Source Sans Pro provides excellent readability for body text.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Montserrat? ▼
Montserrat was inspired by the old posters and signs in the traditional Montserrat neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The font captures the beauty of urban typography from the first half of the twentieth century. It has become one of the most popular fonts for modern web design, especially for headings and branding.
Is Montserrat a variable font? ▼
Yes, Montserrat is a variable font with 2 axes: Weight, Italic. This means you can continuously adjust properties for precise control.
How do I optimize Montserrat for web? ▼
To optimize Montserrat: 1) Convert to WOFF2 format for smaller files, 2) Subset to only the characters you need, 3) Use font-display: swap to prevent invisible text, 4) Preload critical font files. Sift can automate this entire process.
What license does Montserrat use? ▼
Montserrat uses the SIL Open Font License 1.1 license.

Optimize Montserrat Now

Convert to WOFF2, subset to Latin, and add font-display: swap in seconds.

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