Best Fonts for Websites: 25 Free Fonts for Websites
The best fonts for websites are not the ones you’ll see in a magazine or newspaper. These fonts, which are typically sans-serif, are optimized in the different ways people view websites today.
Long gone are the days when all of us were viewing websites on the same size CRT monitor. Some of your visitors will be reading your posts on smartphones while others may be viewing them on large, 50-inch LCD panels. Fonts need to be optimized for legibility at various screen sizes before they’re optimized for style.
We hope you enjoy this list of 25 best fonts for websites.
1. Open Sans
Open Sans is a sans-serif font designed by Steve Matteson, a prominent American typeface designer, and commissioned by Google. Google has stated this font was designed to be “optimized for legibility across print, web and mobile interfaces.” The font comes in 10 different formats and is licensed under Version 2.0 of the Apache License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
2. Quicksand
Quicksand is a sans-serif font by Andrew Paglinawan, a graphic designer with years of experience in the logo design, print design, and packaging design industries. The font comes in 7 different styles on Font Squirrel and is licensed under Version 1.1 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
3. Roboto
Roboto is a sans-serif font designed by Christian Robertson and commissioned by Google as the primary typeface for the Android operating system. The font comes in up to 18 different styles depending on where you download it from and is licensed under Version 2.0 of the Apache License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
4. Aller
Aller is a sans-serif font designed by Dalton Maag, Ltd., a London-based typeface design company who has been in business since 1991. The font comes in seven different styles and is licensed under Version 1.00 of the Aller License, the company’s own Free License Agreement.
5. Raleway
Raleway is a sans-serif font originally designed by Matt McInerney of The League of Moveable Type and later expanded by Pablo Impallari and Rodrigo Fuenzalida of Impallari Type. The font comes in 18 different styles and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
6. Lato
Lato, the Polish word for “summer,” is a sans-serif font designed by Warsaw-based designer Łukasz Dziedzic. The font was published by Dziedzic’s company tyPoland with support from Google. The font comes in over 18 different styles on Font Squirrel and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
7. PT Sans
PT Sans was designed by Alexandra Korolkova, Olga Umpeleva and Vladimir Yefimov of ParaType. It was developed as part of the Public Types of Russian Federation project, which celebrated the 300-year anniversary of the Civil Font, released by Peter the Great sometime between the years of 1708 and 1710. The font comes in 8 styles on Font Squirrel and is licensed under Version 1.00 of the ParaType PT Sans Free Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
8. Oswald
Oswald is a sans-serif font designed by Vernon Adams. The font is a revamped version Alternate Gothic style and has been optimized for digital use. The font comes in 15 different styles on Font Squirrel and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
9. League Gothic
League Gothic is a sans-serif display font designed by The League of Moveable Type. The font is a revival of the design team’s favorite classic font Alternate Gothic No.1, which was released in 1903. The revival not only opens the font up for use in the open-source world, it also makes it compatible for the digital era. The font comes in four styles and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
10. Caviar Dreams
Caviar Dreams is a sans-serif font designed by Nymphont, a freelance web and graphic designer by the name of Lauren Thompson. The font comes in four styles and is licensed under Version 1.00 of the Nymphont License.
11. Source Sans Pro
Source Sans Pro is a sans-serif font designed by Paul D. Hunt and commissioned by Adobe for use on user interfaces. It was designed as part of Adobe’s first open-source typeface family. The font comes in 12 styles and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
12. Titillium
Titillium is a sans-serif font designed as part of an ongoing open-source project “inside the Accademia di Belle Arti di Urbino as a didactic project Course Type design of the Master of Visual Design Campi Visivi.” The font comes in 15 styles on Font Squirrel and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
13. Montserrat
Montserrat is a sans-serif font designed by Julieta Ulanovsky. The designer drew inspiration from 20th century posters and signs in the urban neighborhoods of Buenos Aires to design this typeface. It comes in 8 styles on Font Squirrel and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
14. Museo Slab
Museo Slab is a slab-serif font designed by Exljbris. It comes in two styles and is licensed under the Exljbris Font License.
15. Exo
Exo is a “contemporary, geometric, sans-serif typeface” designed by Natanael Gama. The designer combined futuristic and elegant styles to create this font. It comes in 18 styles and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
16. Walkway
Walkway is a sans-serif font designed by GemFonts. The font comes in nine styles and is licensed under Version 1.00 of the Freeware License.
17. Colaborate
Colaborate is a sans-serif font designed by Ralph du Carrois of Carrois Type Design. The font comes in five styles and is licensed under the designer’s own free license.
18. Sansation
Sansation is a sans-serif font designed by Bernd Montag. It comes in six styles and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
19. Sofia Pro
Sofia Pro is an upgraded version of the Sofia sans-serif font, designed by Mostardesign. It has an elegant style and was designed combine modern, round trends with a harmonious flare. It comes in a single style and is licensed under Version 1.30 of the Fontspring License.
20. Existence Light
Existence Light is a sans-serif font by Yeah Noah. It comes in three styles and is licensed under the designer’s own free license.
21. Slabo
Slabo is a slab-serif font by Tiro Typeworks. It comes in two sizes—27px and 13px—and is meant to be used as a heading or advertising font. It’s licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download 27px Version from Google Fonts | Download 13px Version from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
22. Droid Sans
Droid Sans is another sans-serif font designed by Steve Matteson and commissioned by Google. It’s optimized for user interfaces due to its intent to be used with the Android operating system. It comes in two styles and is licensed under Version 2.00 of the Apache License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
23. Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a set of sans-serif open fonts designed by Dalton Maag, Ltd. and funded by Canonical, Ltd. The font comes in nine styles on Font Squirrel and is licensed under Version 1.00 of the Ubuntu Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
24. Arimo
Arimo is another sans-serif font designed by Steve Matteson. This one was designed as an “innovative, refreshing sans-serif design metrically compatible with Arial.” It comes in four styles and is licensed under Version 2.00 of the Apache License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
25. Cabin
Cabin is a sans-serif font designed by Pablo Impallari of Impallari Type. It was designed as a modern twist on typefaces designed by Edward Johnston and Eric Gill. It comes in eight styles and is licensed under Version 1.10 of the SIL Open Font License.
Download from Google Fonts | Download from Font Squirrel
Final Thoughts
We hope this list of 25 best fonts for websites has made your quest for the perfect font a little shorter or gave you access to a few new fonts you’ve never heard of at the very least.
If you’re a graphic designer in need of a few new fonts for logos, check out this list of 22 premium fonts for logo designs.
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