Compare Fonts → Sans Serif → Montserrat vs Lato

Montserrat vs Lato

Both are sans serif faces on Google Fonts. Montserrat has the larger x-height, so it looks bigger at the same size. Montserrat takes more horizontal space.

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Montserrat

Handgloves & Quartz Jockeys

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs, then ship it to 1,842 Grove Street by 9:30 AM.

Lato

Handgloves & Quartz Jockeys

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs, then ship it to 1,842 Grove Street by 9:30 AM.

Measured differences

Measured from the font files. Heights and widths are shown as a share of the font size, so they compare directly at any point size.
Measurement	Montserrat	Lato	Difference
x-heightHeight of lowercase letters, as a share of the font size. Higher reads larger at the same point size.	52.5%	50.6%	1.9%
Cap heightHeight of capitals, as a share of the font size.	70.0%	71.7%	1.7%
x-height to cap ratioProportion of lowercase to uppercase. Higher feels more modern and open.	0.75	0.71	0.04
Stroke weightMeasured thickness of a vertical stroke. Higher is heavier on the page.	7.2%	9.2%	2.0%
Stroke contrastHorizontal stroke divided by vertical. 1.0 is even; below 0.5 means strong thick-thin modulation.	0.87	0.76	0.11
Average character widthMean lowercase advance. Higher takes more horizontal space.	57.4%	49.5%	7.9%

Where they diverge most

Average character width: Montserrat measures 57.4%, Lato measures 49.5%. Mean lowercase advance. Higher takes more horizontal space.
Stroke weight: Montserrat measures 7.2%, Lato measures 9.2%. Measured thickness of a vertical stroke. Higher is heavier on the page.
Stroke contrast: Montserrat measures 0.87, Lato measures 0.76. Horizontal stroke divided by vertical. 1.0 is even; below 0.5 means strong thick-thin modulation.

At a glance

	Montserrat	Lato
Category	Sans Serif	Sans Serif
Weights	9	5
Variable axes	1	None
Language subsets	5	2
Designer	Julieta Ulanovsky	Łukasz Dziedzic