# Free fonts for commercial use: where to find them safely

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/free-commercial-fonts)

A font that says "free" is not always free for your business. Here is where to find typefaces you can genuinely use on products, logos and ads, and the two minute check that keeps you out of trouble.

## The short version

- The safest free fonts for commercial use are released under the SIL Open Font License, which allows use in logos, products, websites and apps.
- Google Fonts is the largest library of fonts free for commercial use, and nearly all of it is under the Open Font License or the Apache License.
- A font marked free for personal use usually cannot be used for a business, a client or anything you sell without buying a commercial licence.
- The Open Font License lets you use and embed a font freely but does not let you sell the font files on their own.
- Always download a free font from its designer or an official library and keep a copy of the licence file with your brand assets.

The safest **free fonts for commercial use** are ones released under the SIL Open Font License (OFL), and the easiest place to find them is [Google Fonts](https://fonts.google.com), where nearly every family is under the OFL or the Apache License. Both let you use the font in logos, social posts, packaging, websites and apps without paying or asking. The danger is the other kind of "free": fonts labelled *free for personal use*, which are common on download sites and are not licensed for anything a business does.

## What free for commercial use actually means

A font is software, and you never own it; you hold a licence that says what you may do with it. Free fonts come with several kinds of licence, and only some of them cover a business. Read the licence, not the label on the download button.

| Licence | Commercial use | Logos | What to watch |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SIL Open Font License (OFL) | Yes | Yes | You can't sell the font files on their own |
| Apache License 2.0 | Yes | Yes | Keep the licence notice with the files |
| Public domain or CC0 | Yes | Yes | Rare for fonts; confirm the source is genuine |
| Foundry free licence | Usually | Check | Each foundry writes its own terms |
| Free for personal use | No | No | Needs a paid commercial licence for any business use |
| Demo or trial version | No | No | Often missing characters on purpose |

The licences you will meet on free fonts. Only the top three are reliably safe for a business without further reading.

*Commercial use* is wider than people expect. Social posts for your shop, a menu, a client's flyer, a YouTube thumbnail on a monetised channel and a logo on a product label are all commercial. If money or a business is anywhere near the design, treat it as commercial.

## Where to find free commercial fonts safely

- **Google Fonts**: well over a thousand families, open licences, and every font page shows its licence. Download from fonts.google.com or the designer's own repository.
- **Fontshare**: a library from the Indian Type Foundry with its own free licence, which it says covers commercial use. Read its terms once.
- **The League of Moveable Type** and **Velvetyne**: small open source foundries publishing distinctive display faces, mostly under the OFL.
- **Font Squirrel**: a curated directory that lists fonts it considers free for commercial use, with each licence linked. Still open the licence for logo use.
- **Fonts bundled with a service you pay for**: Adobe Fonts comes with Creative Cloud and is licensed for commercial work, but you can't pass the font files to anyone else.

### Risky

- A download site where the licence is a one line note
- "Free for personal use, donate for commercial"
- A font file a friend or client emailed you
- Renamed copies of famous paid typefaces
- Fonts ripped from another brand's website

### Safe

- Google Fonts, with the licence shown on the page
- The designer's or foundry's own site
- A licence file inside the download (OFL.txt)
- Foundries that state commercial use in plain words
- Fonts included with a service you already license

## How to check a free font in two minutes

1. **Find the original source** Search for the font's name and its designer. Download from them or from Google Fonts, never from a mirror site.
2. **Open the licence file** Look for OFL.txt, LICENSE or a licence page. If there is no licence anywhere, assume you have no rights.
3. **Search for three words** "Commercial", "personal" and "logo". They take you straight to the clauses that decide whether your use is covered.
4. **Check what you plan to do** A website, an app or a product you sell may need rights a basic licence leaves out. [Font licensing](https://gradiently.design/guide/font-licensing) explains desktop, web and app licences.
5. **Save the proof** Keep the licence file with your brand assets and note where and when you downloaded the font. If anyone asks later, you have the answer.

> **Free for personal use means no business** Under most personal use licences, a birthday invitation or a school project is fine, but your shop's Instagram, a client job or a logo is not, even if you never sell the design itself. The exact terms vary, so read the licence that came with the font.

## Good free commercial fonts to start with

You don't need hundreds. A small brand is well served by one strong headline face and one calm body face, both under the OFL. These are dependable pairs from Google Fonts that cover most needs.

| Headline | Body | Feels like |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fraunces | Inter | Warm, editorial, a little playful |
| Space Grotesk | IBM Plex Sans | Technical, clear, modern |
| Playfair Display | Source Sans 3 | Classic, refined, magazine |
| Bricolage Grotesque | DM Sans | Friendly, characterful, current |
| Archivo Black | Archivo | Loud, sturdy, one family throughout |

Five pairings, all free for commercial use under open licences. [Font pairing](https://gradiently.design/guide/font-pairing) explains why they work, and [Google Fonts pairings](https://gradiently.design/guide/google-fonts-pairings) has many more.

A portrait bakery post with a large headline about fresh sourdough and opening hours in smaller type

A bakery post built on a two font system: a characterful headline, a plain line of details. Both can be free for commercial use.

A square product update post announcing version 2 with a short detail line underneath

A software update needs a cooler pairing, such as a grotesque headline over a technical sans.

## Using free fonts on your website

Open licences let you embed fonts on a website. You can load them from Google's servers or host the files yourself. Many sites in Europe self host for privacy reasons, so visitors' browsers don't contact a third party just to draw text. Self hosting also gives you full control over loading and caching, and it survives any change on the font service's side.

```css
/* Self-hosted OFL font: keep OFL.txt in the same folder */
@font-face {
  font-family: "Fraunces";
  src: url("/fonts/Fraunces.woff2") format("woff2");
  font-weight: 100 900;
  font-style: normal;
  font-display: swap;
}

h1 {
  font-family: "Fraunces", Georgia, serif;
}
```

A self-hosted variable font. One woff2 file covers every weight from 100 to 900.

## Free fonts in your design tool

Whatever tool you design in, keep your chosen pair consistent across every post so the type becomes part of how people recognise you. [Brand fonts](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-fonts) covers choosing them, and [fonts for social media](https://gradiently.design/guide/fonts-for-social-media) covers what reads well on a phone. In Gradiently, the brand kit (part of Pro) holds a heading and a body font and you can [upload font files](https://gradiently.design/guide/custom-fonts-upload), so an OFL pair you've chosen follows you into every design.

## FAQ

### Are Google Fonts free for commercial use?

Yes. Nearly all Google Fonts are under the SIL Open Font License or the Apache License, which allow commercial use, including logos, websites and printed products.

### Can I use a free font in my logo?

Under the Open Font License, yes. For other free licences, read the terms and search them for the word logo, since some foundries restrict it.

### What does free for personal use mean?

It means you can use the font for private, non commercial projects only. Any business use, including social posts for a shop, needs a commercial licence.

### Can I sell designs made with OFL fonts?

Yes. You can sell posters, shirts or templates that use an OFL font. What you can't do is sell the font files themselves.

### Do I need to credit the designer of an OFL font?

No, the licence asks nothing of the designs you make. If you distribute the font files, for example in an app or a template pack, include the licence with them.