Narrow sans-serif fonts for tables and tight layouts
Condensed and semi-condensed text families that fit more characters per line in tables, sidebars, forms and mobile screens.
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Some layouts simply do not have the width. A table with eight columns, a sidebar, a mobile navigation bar, a form label that must stay on one line, a map crowded with place names: in each case a narrower typeface solves the problem more cleanly than a smaller size does. Shrinking text costs legibility quickly; narrowing it costs much less.
The families here are narrow text faces, which is different from condensed display type. A headline gothic can be squeezed hard because it is read large. A text face has to stay readable at 11 or 12 pixels, so the good ones are only moderately condensed, keep their counters open and loosen their spacing slightly to compensate. Many are the narrow width of a larger family, and that is a real benefit, because the regular width can set your paragraphs while the condensed width handles the tables, and the two will match in height and weight.
Check two things before committing. First, the figures: in a table, digits of equal width keep columns of numbers aligned. Second, the range of weights, since dense layouts depend on bold and medium to mark headers and totals.
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Roboto Condensed
Tall, compressed letters with straight-sided rounds, meant to be used next to its regular-width parent; nine weights with italics, Cyrillic and Greek.
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IBM Plex Sans Condensed
The narrow cut of a corporate grotesque with engineered details, for tight columns, tables and dense screens; seven weights with italics.
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Fira Sans Condensed
Compressed letters that keep open apertures and a tall lowercase, from a family tuned for phone screens; nine weights with italics, Cyrillic and Greek.
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Barlow Semi Condensed
A little narrower than normal, with the counters of a, e and g kept open and figures that stay easy to tell apart; nine weights with italics.
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Archivo Narrow
Condensed without being squeezed: rounded bowls, flat terminals and a tall lowercase, in four weights from Regular to Bold with italics.
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Asap Condensed
Tall, close-set letters with slightly rounded corners and numerals as narrow as the capitals; eight weights with italics.
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Encode Sans Semi Condensed
One step narrower than the normal width, mild enough that text still reads at an ordinary pace; nine upright weights from Thin to Black.
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Encode Sans Condensed
The narrow member of a five-width superfamily, so a layout can change width without changing typeface; nine upright weights from Thin to Black.
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Sofia Sans Semi Condensed
Saves space without the tightness of its two narrower siblings; nine weights with italics across Latin, Cyrillic and Greek.
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Sofia Sans Condensed
Tall letters with flat-flanked ovals, covering Latin, Cyrillic and Greek in nine weights with italics, with several figure styles and arrows.
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Cabin Condensed
A humanist sans that keeps slightly oval, pen-influenced rounds at a narrow width; four upright weights from Regular to Bold.
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Reddit Sans Condensed
Compressed but not rigid, with round bowls, open apertures and a two-story a; eight upright weights from ExtraLight to Black.
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Cuprum
A narrow grotesque with flat-sided ovals and a tall lowercase, in four weights from Regular to Bold with italics and Cyrillic.
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PT Sans Narrow
Keeps the open shapes of its parent family at roughly four fifths of the width, for economical setting; Regular and Bold, with Cyrillic.
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Pragati Narrow
A tightly fitted Devanagari and Latin sans developed for screens, in Regular and Bold.
Samples load a basic Latin subset of each family. Every family here carries an open license; its page states the terms and offers the original files.
Questions about narrow sans-serif fonts for tables and tight layouts
Is it better to use a condensed font or a smaller size?
For a modest saving, a condensed width usually keeps text more readable than dropping the size. Below about 11 pixels on screen, neither helps much and the layout itself needs rethinking.
Can I mix a condensed width with the regular width of the same family?
Yes, and it is the cleanest pairing available: the two share proportions and stroke weight, so the change reads as a change of density, not of typeface.
Are these fonts free to use in commercial apps and reports?
They are under open licenses that allow commercial use and embedding. The license text is included in each download.