Raleway Font Family Free Download

Raleway started life in 2010 as a single, whisper-thin display weight — and grew into one of the most-used elegant sans-serifs on the web. This download includes both the full static family and the variable font version, so you can grab whichever fits your workflow.

From One Thin Weight to a Whole Family

Raleway was originally drawn by Matt McInerney and released in 2010 through The League of Moveable Type — the first open-source type foundry, the same collective behind League Spartan and League Gothic. In its first form it existed only as a single thin weight: an elegant, geometric display face meant for large, airy headlines and nothing else.

The font’s real life began in 2012, when Pablo Impallari and Rodrigo Fuenzalida expanded that lone thin cut into a full nine-weight family, with spacing and kerning engineered by Igino Marini’s iKern process. Italics and a thorough review followed in 2016. That community-driven growth — one designer’s display face, expanded by others under an open license — is about as pure an example of what open-source type can do as exists, and it’s why Raleway now ships in 18 styles on Google Fonts plus a variable version. There’s even a decorative sibling, Raleway Dots, built from the same skeleton.

What to Know Before Using It

Two quirks catch people off guard. First, Raleway’s default numerals are old-style “text figures” — they rise and dip like lowercase letters rather than standing at uniform height. It’s a deliberate, bookish touch, but if your design needs conventional lining numbers (prices, tables, dashboards), they’re available as an OpenType feature rather than the default. Second, the distinctive crossed “W” — Raleway’s most recognizable letterform — divides opinion; the font includes a stylistic alternate with a conventional W for designs where the crossed version feels too decorative.

Raleway’s thin and light weights are where its personality lives: elegant, fashion-adjacent, made for generous headlines with room to breathe. The middle weights work fine for interface text and subheadings, though the design remains display-first — for long body copy, something built for reading like Open Sans or Source Sans will serve better. The heavier weights hold their own in posters and banners without losing the family’s refined character.

Font information

Font name: Raleway
Style: Elegant, modern, geometric, clean
Original designer: Matt McInerney
Expanded by: Pablo Impallari and Rodrigo Fuenzalida
Kerning: Igino Marini
Expanded family release: 2012
Italic and review update: 2016
License: Open Font License

Included Files

• Static family: 18 styles — Thin through Black, each with italics (TTF)
• Variable font: full Thin-to-Black weight axis in a single file, plus its italic companion

The static files are the safe choice for print work and older software. The variable version is the better pick for the web: one file covers every weight, keeps page load light, and lets you set any in-between weight rather than choosing from fixed steps.

Similar Fonts

If you like Raleway’s elegant-geometric character, Montserrat and Poppins cover nearby ground with rounder, friendlier proportions; Josefin Sans leans further into thin Art Deco elegance; and Jost offers stricter Futura-style geometry. For the same refined feel with better long-text readability, Nunito Sans and Lato are the natural next stops — all free on Google Fonts.

License Notice

Raleway is released under the SIL Open Font License and is free for personal and commercial use, including websites, branding, print, and digital products. The font files can’t be sold on their own, and the OFL terms apply to any redistribution or modification.