FontCompass answers one question about well-known fonts: which styles can you download for free from the people who made them, and what does that free license actually let you do?
Many popular commercial fonts, such as Gilroy, Museo and Coolvetica, have one or more styles that the designer gives away. Search for a free download and you mostly find sites that re-upload the files, mix up personal-use demos with free commercial styles, or leave the license out entirely. We point you to the official source instead, and explain the license in plain English with the license text quoted.
How we check every font
- We download the free package from the official source: the designer’s or foundry’s own website, or a distributor the foundry names as authorized. Each article records the date of the check and the file version.
- We read the license that ships with the files, not someone else’s summary of it, and quote the parts that decide what you can do: commercial use, logos, websites, apps, redistribution.
- We open the font files and record what is really inside: the exact free styles and the character set.
- We render our own specimen images from the free files where the license allows it. We do not copy images from other websites.
- We list current prices for the styles that are not free, by license type, so you know what the rest of the family costs before you design around it.
- Where it helps, we measure the font against similar free Google Fonts, so you can judge a free alternative on numbers rather than looks alone.
Foundries change licenses and prices. The license that comes with the file you download is always the one that counts, and our check date tells you how current the article is.
What we don’t do
- We don’t host or re-upload font files. Every download button goes to the official source or to the store that sells the font.
- We don’t call a font free when only a personal-use demo is free. If a free style cannot be used commercially, the article says so near the top.
- We don’t give legal advice. Our license summaries are a reading guide. For a logo you plan to trademark, an app, a product for sale or any use you are unsure about, read the full license or ask the foundry.
How FontCompass is funded
Links to MyFonts are affiliate links: if you buy a font license through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Links to designers’ own download pages are not affiliate links and earn us nothing. When a free style is all you need, the article says so. The full details, including how this affects which fonts we cover, are in our Affiliate Disclosure.
Corrections
If a download link breaks, a license changes or a price is out of date, please tell us through the Contact page. We re-check the source and update the article with a new check date. Designers and foundries can also ask us to correct or remove a page.
