The 36 greatest free web fonts

It's time-consuming to cut through the ocean of mediocre free fonts online, especially web fonts, to find the real gems that punch above their (zero) price tag. With this in mind, we've rounded up the greatest free web fonts from around the web to get you started.

There are various methods to source and license web fonts, including subscription-based models such as rules for using web fonts that some designers forget!

01. Montserrat is inspired by the urban typography of the region in Buenos Aires

Julieta Ulanovsky created this font because she wanted to preserve the beautiful typography she saw on the street signage in Montserrat, Buenos Aires. As the area is developed, the old posters and signs are lost. This font is distributed under an open source license and goes some way toward preserving the urban typography of the historic region.

02. Perfect for arresting headlines

Abril Fatface is part of a big type family that has 18 styles designed for all kinds of uses. Fatface has a strong, elegant presence that makes for striking headlines. It's commonly paired with Lato, Open Sans and Droid Sans.

03. Playfair Display

Great for squeezing into tight spots

With its extra large x-height and short descenders Playfair Display is particularly suited to headlines, especially if space is tight. It works well with Georgia, and you'll also see it used with Oswald, Lato and Arvo.

04. GT Walsheim is a popular choice for design blogs

Used by many design blogs these days, GT Walsheim is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Noël Leu and released in 2010 through Swiss foundry Grilli Type. You have to pay for the full font family, but Grillit Type kindly offers GT Walsheim as a free trial, so you can try before you buy.

05. Merriweather

A good choice for long reads on screens

If readability on screens is a priority in your project you might reach for Merriweather, which was designed especially for this purpose. Merriweather is always evolving, and you can request features and stay up to date by checking creator Josefin Sans captures something of the Swedish design style

Josefin Sans was drawn with vintage Swedish design in mind, and has a geometric, elegant aesthetic. The letter z has a distinctive 'haircut', which was inspired by New Universal Typeface Newut from André Baldinger.

07. Gravitas One

This web font will be perfect for headers and tabs

Designed by Riccardo De Franceschi, Gravitas One is modelled on the 'UK fat face' – a heavy advertising type created during the industrial revolution in England. This is a font that'll look great in a medium to large scale; perfect for headers, tabs and striking titles.

08. Jura comes in four different weights, so will work well almost anywhere!

Daniel Johnson wanted to create a Roman alphabet using the same kinds of strokes and curves as the Kayah Li glyphs. Jura was born and has been expanded to include glyphs for the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets. It's available in light, book, medium, and demibold weights.

09. League Gothic

The League of Moveable Type deliver another stellar web font

Originally designed by Morris Fuller Benton for the American Type Founders Company in 1903, League Gothic has been given a new lease of life thanks to The League of Moveable Type. Thanks to a commission from WND.com, it's been revised and updated with contributions from Micah Rich, Tyler Finck, and Dannci, who have contributed the extra glyphs.

10. Fjord

Fjord is perfect for content on the web

Fjord is a serif typeface, originally designed with printed books in mind, and particularly intended for long texts in small print sizes. This will look great for your longer content on the web as it features sturdy construction, prominent serifs, low-contrast modulation and long elegant ascenders and descenders relative to the 'x' height.

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