Best Free Fonts

Up until a year or so ago, I had not considered downloading fonts. As far as I was concerned, handwritten was always best for putting on invitation design, social media banners, and other creations.

However, the truth is, there are several free fonts on the web that are truly kick-butt. You just have to know where to look and in what context to use them! You can find any sort of font you like, too. If you’re into pop culture, Men in Black Credits font is available at DaFont.com, as is True Blood and Harry Potter!

Because of my font love, I wanted to share the best free fonts on the web. I have rated these purely on decorative value; not on utility. Before you use a font in a design you plan to sell, you should always make sure that it is available for commercial use. If you are unsure how to install a font, never fear — we’ll go over that at the end of this blog post!

FFF Tusj is a wonderfully made font; a handwritten rendition of Georgia font (Georgia is a bit like Times New Roman — very standard). FFF Tusj ranks first on my list of the web’s best free fonts because it’s so darn fun to look at. Plus it’s free for commercial use! You can see this font in action on the header of the Oh She Glows blog.

Janda Stylish Script is a very well put-together loopy cursive font. It’s only a $5.00 donation for a commercial license. I know it might look a little campy in the example, but see in in glorious action on the Shrimp Salad Circus webpage to see how well it can complement the artsy/DIY vibe (see the gray bars on the right).

I use Rosewood for everything I make that needs a western vibe. You can rasterize the text in Photoshop and use your paint bucket tool to fill white or black Rosewood letters in with color. It’s a fun font based on old western posters. I believe this is free for commercial use as it was created by Adobe.

Bellerose is a very pretty font, especially used in smaller materials (I like to use it in my save the date bookmarks). As fair warning, though, note that you may need to use punctuation from other fonts. The periods, quotation marks, and commas are so small that they are nearly indetectible.

Lauren Script is a fun font, although it does lack several special characters ($*#@, etc.). It is available for commercial use for $5.00, which can be sent to its author. Author Mike describes himself as a “grumpy guy” and owner of “DeNada Industries, one of the slowest growing non-corporate entities in all of North America.” If you have time and want a laugh, read the DeNada Industries terms of use page. The “Read Me” is especially good.

For some reason, Chicago House reminds me of Russian nesting dolls. It’s fun and kitsch. Note that the free version does not include any special characters or numbers; though you can buy the full font for $15.00 to get the whole nine yards.

Porcelain is so pretty. It’s my favorite cursive font because it’s elegant, but a little bit messy as well. Also, the author grants permission for anyone to use it commercially!

Installing fonts is a lot easier than you would think. You just click “download” at whichever font size you are on (dafont, Font Squirrel, 1001 Fonts, etc.), unzip the file, and double click the .ttf file that is in that zipped folder. A pop-up should appear giving you the option to install. Then, next time you are on Word, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., you should be able to use the font. Of course, if you need more direction, go to Google!

These are my choices for the best free fonts — what are yours? Do you have a font you love to use?

I hope everyone is gearing up for a good weekend! Here at TPK, we’re nearing the end of our drawing for this month — on April 15th, one subscriber will win the print of his or her choice! So if you’re not part of The Postman’s Knock Family, please join us by subscribing. There could be a print in it for you!