Font choice can make or break a design project. The wrong font can cause confusion for your audience or put your business in an unprofessional light. So it is always great to have some free font resources in your back pocket.
Like the right color palette, a font instantly conveys psychologically relevant information to your customer. Think of your font selection as picking a compliment-winning outfit for your project. The floor-length sequin dress worn to a black-tie wedding is going to get serious side-eye if worn while hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Your font should be easy to read, flexible enough for your project, and cohesive with the rest of your brand.
The font resources below make finding fonts free for commercial use easy. This means the font is free to use on most projects, but make sure to read the guidelines on each site below for full licensing details.
My Favorite Free Font Resources (and one bonus!)
1. Google Fonts
Google Fonts has made it a snap to get on-brand fonts functioning on your website, sales, and landing pages. Beyond being open source and free, many Google fonts come available with popular site platforms like Squarespace and ready to use in WordPress builders like Elementor and Divi.
Because the fonts are all open-source, they’re licensed for use on any type of design project. You can easily browse fonts by style, put in some sample text, and test out popular pairings.
2. Font Finder Chrome Extension
While this doesn’t provide font files, this handy extension tool quickly identifies the fonts on your favorite websites. Use it during research to understand what font types appeal to you. Or, avoid repeating choices overdone in your industry.
3. Font Squirrel
Font Squirrel has done the hard work to collect hundreds of commercial-use free fonts. Many are SIL Open Font License, which helps support creativity across the internet.
You can find fonts by standard family types like Serif or Sans Serif, or more emotive categories like Grunge or Elegant. Love a font you used on Canva? Many of them can be found and downloaded from Font Squirrel.
4. DaFont
If you need a unique and eye-catching font, DaFont may be a good place to search. Not all font options on DaFont are free, so search using the “more options” tab and check “Public domain / GPL / OFL.”
BONUS RESOURCE Adobe Fonts
You can load new fonts to your Creative Cloud programs with one-click ease and browse curated font packs for ideas and inspiration. (I’m currently digging Retro Glamping).
