Sift

Open Sans

by Steve Matteson ★★★★★ Sans-serif Variable Font
Optimize Now

Quick Answer

Open Sans is a variable sans-serif font with 2 adjustable axes (Weight, Width). Humanist sans-serif with excellent legibility. One of the most popular fonts on the web.

Performance Impact

93%
Size Reduction
200 KB → 14 KB
-380ms
LCP Improvement
Core Web Vitals boost
11ms
4G Transfer Time
After optimization
100ms
Max Render Block
With font-display: swap

Download Time by Network

Slow 3G (400 Kbps) 280ms
vs ~4000ms unoptimized
Fast 3G (1.5 Mbps) 75ms
vs ~1067ms unoptimized
4G LTE (10 Mbps) 11ms
vs ~160ms unoptimized

Optimization reduces Open Sans from 200 KB to 14 KB — making your site faster on every device.

Try Open Sans

Live Preview

Variable Axes
400
300 800
100%
75 100
Loading Open Sans...
Quick samples:

Variable Axes

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

wght

Weight

Controls weight from Light (300) to ExtraBold (800)

Range: 300 – 800 (default: 400)
wdth

Width

Controls width from Condensed (75) to Normal (100)

Range: 75 – 100 (default: 100)

How to Optimize Open Sans

1

Subset to Latin

Remove Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, and Vietnamese if not needed.

Savings: 65-75%

2

Convert to WOFF2

WOFF2 offers the best compression for web delivery.

Savings: 30-40%

3

Use variable font

One variable font file replaces multiple static weight files.

Savings: 40-60%

4

Use font-display: swap

Prevent invisible text during loading.

Savings: Performance

File Size Comparison

Open Sans Variable (full)
~200 KB
All weights, all scripts
Open Sans Variable (Latin)
~55 KB
Latin subset only
Open Sans Regular WOFF2
~18 KB
Single weight, Latin
Optimized with Sift
~14 KB
Subset + WOFF2 + optimized

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

CSS Implementation

CSS
@font-face {
  font-family: 'Open Sans';
  src: url('/open-sans.woff2') format('woff2');
  font-display: swap;
  font-weight: 300 800;
}

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

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

.custom-weight {
  font-variation-settings: "wght" 400, "wdth" 100;
}

Pro Tips for Open Sans

💡

Great for body text

Open Sans excels at body copy due to its high x-height and open letterforms.

💡

Pair with a display font

Combine with Playfair Display or Montserrat for headings.

💡

Use Condensed for tight spaces

The variable font includes condensed widths for navigation and labels.

💡

Skip italics if possible

Open Sans italics are rarely needed. Save bytes by excluding them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Open Sans? ▼
Open Sans was designed by Steve Matteson and commissioned by Google. It's a humanist sans-serif with open forms and a neutral yet friendly appearance. The letterforms have been optimized for print, web, and mobile interfaces, making it one of the most versatile fonts available.
Is Open Sans a variable font? ▼
Yes, Open Sans is a variable font with 2 axes: Weight, Width. This means you can continuously adjust properties for precise control.
How do I optimize Open Sans for web? ▼
To optimize Open Sans: 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 Open Sans use? ▼
Open Sans uses the SIL Open Font License 1.1 license.

Optimize Open Sans Now

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

Optimize Open Sans