NEW USER

GUIDE
 WHAT IS “COMMERCIAL USE” ANYWAY?
Welcome to Font Squirrel! We know that You probably noticed that right under the squirrel we say “100% free for commercial
diving into the world of fonts can be a use.” The part most people focus on is FREE, but the most important part is
bit daunting. There are so many choices! COMMERCIAL. There are many free font sites out there, many with great free fonts,
but the vast majority of them focus on personal use fonts, not commercial use. So,
Fortunately, you have this handy guide to
what’s the difference? In simplest terms, commercial use fonts are used for a business
get you started. Here we'll run you through
purpose, as in the pursuit of making money. Whether you are a mega corporation or
the basic steps needed to get some a single user, if you are doing commercial work, you need a commercial license. Many
awesome free fonts. We’ll start with a few free fonts on the internet unfortunately are only good for "personal use." The last
font style choices, as well as what fonts thing your business needs is to be breaking license agreements, so you want to make
are popular, and end up with some tips sure you’re using commercial fonts. And of course, if you’re using these fonts for per-
on getting them up and running. Before sonal reasons, then you are covered by default.
we begin though, a quick word about
Commercial use doesn't solve all font licensing questions however. Some limit how a
licensing... font can be used commercially. Sometimes web use or app use requires an addtional
fee. Fortunately, we’ve included a link to the license for each font on our website.
Reading it will insure your usage fits the license, and you’re cleared to do what you
want with the font.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s get started!

Alegreya
display font great for logos or headers. There’s
a reason everyone makes sure they have a few.
Font Squirrel has a cornucopia of fantastic Sans
families, you’ll want one or two that have a vari-
ety of weights. Our recommendations:
Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Fira Sans AaBbCcDdEeF fGgHhIiJj KkLlMm

A SERIF
Most of the time, a sans font works great for
Source Sans Pro
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPp
your text. There are other times, like in print,

Fira Sans
where you'll need a serif font to fulfill these du-
ties instead. Keeping a couple in your tool belt
is very important, you never know when you’ll
need them. Note that slab serifs don’t really fall
into this category, we’ll be talking about them AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPp
later.
Our recommendations:
Alegreya, Andada, Merriweather

A HEADLINE
We’re taking two very popular categories and
ostrich sans
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Andada
putting them together in this section. The first
is Display Sans, specifically condensed display
sans. These fonts can pack a lot of info in a title
without seeming crowded, and are popular for a
reason. The other is Slab Serif. These are gener-
ally used much differently than their other serif AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOo
brothers and sisters, and instead have a display-
like feel, great for titles on web and software
specifically. Grab one of each of these, and you
can separate your title text from the rest as easy Merriweather
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOo
as pie. Our recommendations:

Open Sans
Bebas Neue, Steelfish, Ostrich Sans

EVERYTHING ELSE
After this, it really depends on what kind of AaBbC cDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoP

SteelFish
clients you have and how you’re filling out your
repertoire. Need some scripts for invitations or
other fancy occasions? Try out Great Vibes or
Alex Brush. Making some trendy new artwork
for new businesses, bands, restaurants, or other
cool things like that? Download Pacifico or Nexa
Rust. This is the stage where you really start fill-
ing out with unique fonts.
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz
I HAVE SOME FONTS. NOW WHAT? enough material to keep you reading for the rest of your life.
Don’t be afraid to try new fonts that you wouldn’t otherwise,
Download the fonts that’s the best thing about free fonts.
This is pretty self explanatory. Go to the page, download the
TTF or OTF font that comes with it. These fonts are sometimes I NEED HELP!
downloaded right from Font Squirrel, but sometimes you have We have a fantastic help section that covers everything from
to head over to outside sources like our sister site Fontspring to installing desktop fonts, to embedding and troubleshooting
download them. Once they’re on your computer, you can head webfonts. It’s definitely the place to get started. If that doesn’t
to step 2. help, you can always check our our Forums, or send an email to
[email protected] and we’ll give you a hand.
Install the fonts
Installing the font is usually as simple as unzipping the files
you downloaded from Font Squirrel, then double clicking the I WANT MORE FONTS!
OTF or TTF font, and hitting “install.” After that, just open your We are always on the lookout for high quality free fonts. Please
program (make sure it was closed while you installed the font) share with us any you find. And while we have an extensive list,
and off you go! If you have some issues, ask us for help! you may not find exactly what you need. We recommend that
you head over to our sister site Fontspring.com. Fontspring has
Have fun! thousands of great fonts for every use, in a variety of prices,
Go design cool stuff, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Head with easy to understand licensing. It’s the next step for when
to your favorite design tool or word processor and get crack- you have a budget and a need for top quality, fantastic looking
ing! Once you get here and you need actual design advice, the fonts. Go give it a try!
world is your oyster, as a simple google search will give you