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Times New Roman Font

The newspaper serif that became the world's default

Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent · Transitional serif · 1932 · ! Bundled with Windows and macOS

Download Free Alternative

PT Serif · closest free match to Times New Roman

Times New Roman font poster: black serif headline on an aged newsprint backgroundTimes New Roman style type on a printed essay title page and a classic newspaper front pageTimes New Roman style character set: uppercase and lowercase alphabet, numbers and symbols

Illustrations of the Times New Roman style made for DaFontFonts. Letterforms are approximate; check the official specimen before you buy.

Download Times New Roman

License:
Bundled with Windows and macOS
Font Type:
System font
Download:
Free alternative: PT Serif (OFL-1.1)
Format:
TTF
Total Files:
4 styles + licence
Download Free Alternative

Times New Roman itself is not free to download. This button gives you PT Serif, the closest free match, licensed for commercial use. Times New Roman on Microsoft Typography

About Times New Roman

Times New Roman was commissioned by The Times of London, which first printed it in 1932. Stanley Morison, a typographic adviser to Monotype, led the project after criticising the paper for being badly printed, and Victor Lardent drew the letters. The goal was a serif that saved space on the page while staying sharp and readable on fast newspaper presses.

The result is compact and sturdy, with short ascenders, strong contrast and crisp, pointed serifs. Monotype's version became a standard in book and magazine printing, and Microsoft later made it the default serif on Windows and in Word. That is why Times New Roman is still the font many schools, courts and publishers expect for essays, legal filings and manuscripts.

Where Times New Roman works best

  • Essays and academic papers
  • Legal and formal documents
  • Books and manuscripts
  • Newspapers and print

Free alternatives to Times New Roman

Open-licence fonts with a comparable feel, every one verified free for commercial use and downloadable from DaFontFonts.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Tinos Serif · 4 styles ✓ OFL

Tinos, designed by Steve Matteson, is metric-compatible with Times New Roman, so every character occupies the same width and existing documents reflow identically. It is the standard drop-in on Linux systems and in Chrome OS.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
PT Serif Serif · 4 styles ✓ OFL

PT Serif is a transitional serif with similar economy and firm serifs, designed for demanding text use across many languages. It is slightly wider and more modern in finish than Times New Roman.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Noto Serif Serif · 18 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Noto Serif offers Times-like transitional proportions with enormous language coverage and consistent weights. Its larger x-height and softer details give it a friendlier, more contemporary tone.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Libre Baskerville Serif · 8 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Libre Baskerville shares the transitional classification but is optimized for screen body text, with a taller x-height and wider forms. It reads more open and literary than the compact, newspaper-bred Times New Roman.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Lora Serif · 8 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Lora is a well-balanced text serif with brushed curves and moderate contrast that covers the same essay-and-article territory. It is warmer and less austere, so it suits editorial sites better than formal documents.

Compare all Times New Roman alternatives

Times New Roman is a trademark of its owner. DaFontFonts does not host or distribute the Times New Roman font files; download and licence links go to the official source.

Questions

Is Times New Roman free?

It is free to use on Windows and macOS for documents and graphics you create. It is not free to redistribute, bundle in apps or self-host as a web font. Tinos is a free, metric-compatible alternative you can use anywhere.

Who designed Times New Roman?

Stanley Morison supervised its design for The Times of London, and Victor Lardent drew the letters. The newspaper first used it in 1932.

What is a free alternative to Times New Roman?

Tinos matches its character widths exactly, so documents keep the same layout. PT Serif, Noto Serif and Libre Baskerville are good choices for a fresher look.

Why do schools require Times New Roman?

It is installed on almost every computer, reads clearly in print and fits a predictable amount of text on a page, which makes page and word limits fair across students.

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