40 Free Fonts That Everyone Should Own
Font choice is the key to any and all tasteful design – it communicates instantly and can be the lasting impression. Of course, fancy font software packages can be expensive. As a result, we have decided to put together an offering of the web’s most popular and peer recommended free fonts. Browse the gallery and feel free to download what you want.
Carnivalee Freakshow
Created by Livin Hell and made free to the public in April of 2005 -gritty and playfully demonic.
Arab Dances
Created by CybaPee Creations circa 2004 – dynamic and ethnic.
Dirt2 SoulStalker
Created by Dirt2.com, this newer font was created and made public in 2009 – grungy and bold.
Impact Label
Created by Michael Tension in December of 2008 – vintage and 3D.
Jellyka, Saint-Andrew’s Queen
Created by Jellyka Nerevan in early 2009 – handwritten and classic.
28 Days Later
Created by Filmhimmel and first seen on DaFont in September of 2005 – crumbling and horrifying.
The King & Queen
Created by Brän at Fractal Eye and made public in January of 2007 – classic script with character.
Green Piloww
Created by Billy Argel in 2008 and released as free soon after – raw and retro.
Alba
Created by Fontalicious in 2001 – vintage and round.
Beyond Wonderland
Created by Chris Hansen and submitted for public use on Christmas of 2004 – a Gothic fairytale.
Jane Austen
Created by Pia Frauss and made free in August of 2005 – sleek and natural.
Cold Night for Alligators
Created by Billy Argel in 2006 and made free to the public later that year in September – chilling and grotesque.
FFF Tusj
Created by Magnus Caderholm in May of 2008 – hand-drafted and creative.
Outlaw
Created by Billy Argel in early 2009 – vintage and western.
James Fajardo
Created by Himasf in June of 2005 – sleek and handwritten.
Trashco
Created by Loosydesign and made public in August of 2007 – bold and punk.
Cheri
Created by Fontalicious before 2005 – playful and cutsie.
Grenadier
Created by Nick Curtis in July of 2001 – modern and clean.
Street Soul
Created by Endie before 2005 – hand-crafted and street.
Scriptina
Created by Apostrophic Labs in late 2001 – flowing and clean.
Cloister Black
Created by Dieter Steffmann and made public in 2006 – official and editorial.
Indigo Joker
Created by Phillip Cavette circa 2004 and made free to the public in 2005 – playful and bold.
Ballpark Weiner
Created by Mickey Rossi circa 2005 – extra bold script.
Bleeding Cowboys
Created by Last Soundtrack in 2007 and made free to the public soon after – Gothic and Western.
New Republic
Created by Shywedge in 1999 – crisp and modern.
Anonymous Clippings
Created by Centric Studios and released for free public use in 2008 – dark and schizophrenic.
Aaaiight!
Created by JW Type and submitted for free use in 2007 – free-hand graffiti.
Freebooter Script
Created by Graham Meade circa 2004 – elegant and light script.
Black Chancery
Created by Earl Allen & Doug Miles circa 2004 – classic and flowing.
Carbon
Created by Ray Larabie in 2001 – bold and sleek.
Celtic Garamond
Created by Levi Fonts circa 2004 and posted for public use in 2005 – classic and Celtic.
Waltograph
Created by Justin Callaghan in February of 2003 – light-hearted cartoon.
Dream Orphans
Created by Ray Larabie circa 2004 and released for free in 2005 – versatile and crisp.
One Fell Swoop
Created by Penny Fonts in July of 2003 and released for private use in 2005 – calligraphy with an edge.
Astigma
Created by Eric Oehler in March of 2006 – bold and punk.
Traveling Typewriter
Created by Karl Krull in September of 2006 – classic and raw.
Airstream
Created by Nick Curtis circa 2001 and made public in 2004 – bold and aerodynamic.
Times New Roman
Created by Stanley Morison, Rj Gladysiewicz and Victor Lardent at the English branch of Monotype in 1931 – simply classic.
(Image)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 2:43AM
I love you, I love you, I love you.
In bold italicized 48 point Times New Roman.
Wait, underlined too.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 5:52AM
95% of those fonts are useless to real professionals. Very poor collection of free fonts if you're looking to do work outside kindergarden.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 6:15AM
you spelled kindergarten wrong. lol. stupid dave
Monday, September 14, 2009 12:01PM
Good font starter kit, would not recommend for using professionally, but for personal use and school-work not a bad collection.
Monday, September 14, 2009 3:43PM
Would any of you 'professionals' care to actually comment on WHY these should not be used? Or maybe you could provide links to better resources since you are so enlightened?
Monday, September 14, 2009 4:11PM
Some are better than others … a few are outstanding. Almost all of them are display faces — but that shouldn't surprise anyone, as fonts appropriate for setting body copy are require a great deal of time and talent — and so are rarely available free.
One complaint: the link for ST ANDREWS QUEEN is broken (link to a JPG and not the FONT file).
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 9:19AM
This is a nice collection. Well, I could easily add about 50 more to the list, but then, it would have lost its pithy attribute. Some of these fonts are very high quality and I'm sure, in the right hands, they can be put to great use. Thanks for the post.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 12:05PM
Here's a link to the font file: http://www.fontcubes.com/Jellyka-Saint-Andrews-Qu...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 1:19PM
These generally aren't good for professional use because they're not good for setting type in. They're display fonts mostly, and are too graphic for even that purpose most of the time. If you're making a poster for a band, fine, but in 90% of professional work, you'll never get to use these. And Professional doesn't just mean "Bank Websites" and "Pharma Brochures", I mean anything that needs some level of legibility. A good typeface is versatile, and these are decidedly not. Additionally, especially the more tame ones (I'm looking at you 'Dream Orphans) – these aren't well crafted. A professional designer can spot awkward type a mile away – these are the kinds of faces you find people using on those spec logo sites.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 4:33PM
Just as a counterpoint, I used Bleeding Cowboys to make several posters for a Novartis western-themed summer party and everyone loved it. Obviously they are not going to use it (or any of these other fonts) in their Annual Report or marketing materials anytime soon, but for a one off, internal event, these types of fonts are excellent.
Sunday, September 20, 2009 6:06AM
There are some really nice fonts here and some not so nice ones. I have been looking for the font Outlaw for ages. I also have used “alba” before.
Thanks for the post!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 10:30PM
I have most of these installed already but there were a few I didn't have. Thanks for posting this!
Thursday, September 24, 2009 10:34AM
Nice font collection. I have used some of the fonts in my designs. Thanks a lot
Thursday, September 24, 2009 11:28PM
I don't see how any font can be deemed as "not for use by professionals". As always it depends on the application and, more importantly, the client. It's a matter of taste and if your client wants a font that is a bit tricky to use it's your job to make it work. I'm a professional and I believe the really skilled people are those who can take a font that the critics hate and tweak it to suit a fresh medium.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 10:03PM
The point about "not for use by professionals" is not their quality or applicability but that most of the fonts can't be used for commercial work.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 5:42AM
Regarding the "not for use by professionals" comment: that's actually mostly correct.
While many of these fonts are quite nice, only a few would ever be used semi-regularly by a designer. The rest are only rarely useful at best.
For comparison, take a look at the free fonts of The League of Movable Type:
http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/
Fonts like Chunk and Goudy Bookletter 1911 will come in useful time after time.
Or, if you're willing to pay for fonts, give House Industries a look:
http://www.houseind.com/fonts/
A font like Neutraface is more useful by itself than a few dozen gimmick fonts put together, since it can be used numerous times to create a unique, professional look.