What the Open Font License allows
Most entries here use the SIL Open Font License 1.1, or OFL. The official license text is short, and the official OFL FAQ answers practical questions.
You may:
- Use the fonts for any design work, including logos, books and packaging, with no extra permission (FAQ 1.1).
- Use them on websites through CSS
@font-face, served from your own server or from a web font service (FAQ 2.1). - Embed them in a PDF or other document, in full or as a subset. The document keeps its own license (FAQ 1.12 and 1.13).
- Modify them and bundle them with software, also commercial software (license text, Permission and Conditions).
You may not:
- Sell the font by itself. It may be sold only together with other software (condition 1, FAQ 1.5).
- Give a modified version a Reserved Font Name without written permission (condition 3). For example, the IBM Plex license reserves the name "Plex".
- Pass the font on without its copyright notice and license (condition 2), or put a modified font under another license (condition 5).
Credit is not required under the OFL (FAQ 1.1.2), though authors appreciate it. A foundry can still ask for it: Collletttivo asks you to credit the designer and the foundry when you publish work with its fonts.
Libraries and single families
A library hosts fonts from many designers, so the license can change from one family to the next. The Google Fonts file repository says most of its fonts use the OFL, some use Apache 2 and the Ubuntu fonts use the Ubuntu Font License. Bunny Fonts says some of its licenses require attribution when the fonts are redistributed, and Open Foundry says commercial use depends on each font. Hence "Depends" in the table.
A single family from its own foundry is simpler: one license file covers every weight. Browse in a library, then read the license of the family you finally choose and save it with your project.
Desktop use and web use
Desktop use means you install the font and set text in an app; what leaves your computer is an image, a print file or a PDF. Web use means the font file itself is sent to every visitor's browser. Under the OFL both are allowed (FAQ 1.1 and 2.1), but for any other license check that it covers the use you have in mind: print, web, app or logo.
Two web details matter. The OFL FAQ treats subsetting a web font as modification (FAQ 2.6) and says converting to WOFF or WOFF2 can count as one too (FAQ 2.2), so a family with a Reserved Font Name may need a different name in your CSS after you change it. And every weight is another file to download. A variable font holds a range of weights in one file; Inter, for example, has a weight axis from 100 to 900 (Inter). Check page weight with the website speed test and set sizes in rem with the PX to REM converter.
Self-hosting or a hosted font link
You can load fonts from a font service with one CSS link, or put the files on your own server. The Google Fonts repository says its fonts may be redistributed, so you can self-host them, and points to Fontsource for npm packages. Fontsource recommends self-hosting where possible and also offers a CDN through jsDelivr (Fontsource CDN docs). Bunny Fonts states that no personal data or logs are stored and that its CSS works as a drop-in replacement for the Google Fonts CSS API (Bunny Fonts FAQ).
With a hosted link, every visitor's browser connects to that service; with self-hosting, the files come from your server and you update them yourself. Ask whoever handles data protection for your site which one fits.
Common traps
- Fancy text is not a font. Styles from a fancy text generator are Unicode characters you cannot install.
- Download sites with no license file. Get the font from its foundry or library and keep the license file with it.
- Free for personal use only. Some fonts are offered free for personal use and cost money for commercial work. Every entry here allows commercial use; where the table says "Depends", check the license of the family you pick.
- Legibility. A free font still has to be readable. Fill a layout with the lorem ipsum generator, test colors with the color contrast checker and try a font on a photo with add text to image.
How we checked
On 2026-10-20 we opened the official license page or license file of every entry and wrote down only what it says. A few well-known font sites are missing because their license pages did not load for our check; we will add them once we can read their terms. Licenses change, so open the source link before a large project. For ready-made templates, see our freebies.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use an Open Font License font in a logo?
Yes. The official OFL FAQ (question 1.1) says you may use OFL fonts for logos, print and other design work without any additional license or permission. You only may not sell the font file by itself.
Do I have to credit the font designer?
Not under the OFL: its FAQ (question 1.1.2) says no acknowledgement is required, though authors appreciate it. Some foundries ask for credit anyway, Collletttivo for example, and some other licenses require attribution when you redistribute the fonts, as the Bunny Fonts FAQ notes.
Are Google Fonts free for commercial use?
Yes. Google's developer page for Google Fonts says all fonts are released under open source licenses and can be used in any non-commercial or commercial project. Most use the OFL, some use Apache 2 and the Ubuntu fonts use the Ubuntu Font License.
Can I sell a font I downloaded for free?
Not on its own if it uses the OFL. Condition 1 of the license says the font may not be sold by itself. It may be bundled and sold with other software, for example inside an app or a template pack that contains more than the font.
Can I put an OFL font on my website?
Yes. The OFL FAQ (question 2.1) explicitly allows web fonts through CSS @font-face, hosted on your own server or loaded from a web font service. If you subset or convert a family that has a Reserved Font Name, the FAQ treats that as modification, so check the naming rule first.
What is a variable font?
A variable font stores a range of styles, such as every weight from thin to black, in one file instead of one file per weight. In this list, the variable filter shows families whose own pages say a variable version exists, such as Inter, Recursive and Source Sans 3.