Beautiful typefaces are usually an investment, but that doesn't mean you can't find affordable ones. I recently asked for recommendations on Twitter for completely free typefaces, and there was no shortage of options.
Here we curated our top 12 picks, along with a few honorable mentions. Thanks to those who shared their secrets!
Space Grotesk
Designed by Florian Karsten
Recommended by @eltidsgn
Florian Karsten is an independent type foundry with high-quality custom typefaces. Space Grotesk is designed as a grotesque modified version of Colophon's open-source typeface, Space Mono.
Geomanist
Designed by atipo foundry
Recommended by @chrisspowe
Atipo, founded by Raúl García del Pomar & Ismael González, is an independent type foundry and graphic design studio based in Gijón, Spain. Geomanist is a beautifully simple, geometric typeface.
Archia
Designed by atipo foundry
Another beautiful typeface created by atipo foundry. Archia is a square, sans-serif typeface with the charm of pure form.
Jost*
Designed by Owen Earl
Recommended by @viachaz
Owen Earl designed Jost* as a tribute to Futura, as a functional and modern typeface for the digital era.
AUTHENTIC Untitled
Designed by Daniel Stettner
Daniel Stettner is a multi-disciplinary designer who created many AUTHENTIC typefaces. AUTHENTIC Untitled is a blackletter typeface with plenty of character.
Bonkers
Designed by Fabian Korn
Fabian Korn is a creative director at Format Studio based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Bonkers is a funky, lighthearted typeface.
Miki
Designed by Kontrapunkt
Recommended by @pmrcunha
Kontrapunkt is a brand experience agency based in Denmark and Japan. Their Miki typeface is inspired by Kontrapunkt's Japanese connections, with smooth, playful curves.
Inria
Designed by Black Foundry
Recommended by @benlkeith
Black Foundry is a type design company based in France. Their Inria typeface comes as both a modern serif and a humanist sans-serif.
Messapia
Designed by Collletttivo
Collletttivo is a group of designers designing and distributing free open-source typefaces. Their headline-worthy Messapia type family comes with two styles: one inspired by an old 19th-century font, the other a sans-serif bold extended.
Emberly
Designed by Rajesh Rajput
UX designer Rajesh Rajput created this Didone-inspired typeface, which looks lovely in any weight.
Public sans
Developed by U.S Web Design System (USWDS)
USWDS is an active open source community of government engineers, content specialists and designers. Public Sans is a strong, neutral typeface for interfaces, text and headings.
Inter
Designed by Rasmus Andersson
Recommended by @Autre_planete, @bjnortier, @ChrisLSeymour, @edumicro & more
Rasmus, a Swedish designer working at Figma, created the instantly popular Inter font family as a legible text for computer screens.
Honorable mentions
Space Mono
Designed by Colophon Foundry
Recommended by Surya Anand
Colophon Foundry is an international award-winning type foundry based in London and Los Angeles. Inspired by science fiction, the Space Mono typeface family has a geometric foundation and grotesque details.
IBM Plex
Designed by Mike Abbink, Bold Monday
Recommended by Scott Raney
Plex was designed as a corporate font for IBM to honor its spirit and history. It's a neutral, yet friendly Grotesque-style typeface that includes a Sans, Sans Condensed, Mono and Serif for print and digital.
Fengardo Neue
Designed by Velvetyne Type Foundry
Recommended by @sbkwsk
Velvetyne Type Foundry designs and distributes open source typefaces. Fengardo Neue, to quote the foundry's site, "bears the marks of uneven and restless learning." It's a legible sans with a bit of softness and charm that makes it unique.
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Thank you to our intern, Man-Ping Wu, for curating these typefaces and creating feature graphics for each of them. We hope these free typefaces are helpful to your projects.
If you're looking for beautiful new typefaces for your collection (and don't mind paying for them) be sure to also check out Semplice's favorite type foundries and typefaces. They're worth every penny.