You find a beautiful font but wait, can you use it on your site without a license? So what is a Font License anyways?

Font licensing can feel a tad bit intimidating or complex but hopefully, I can break it down a bit better for you.

what’s the difference between a FONT and a TYPEFACE?

 A typeface is a family of fonts that share visual characteristics, while a font is a subset of characters in a specific size, weight, and style. 

For example, Arial is a typeface but Arial also comes in italic, and bold font.

Now that we understand what a Font is, let’s dive into the licensing types!

Font licensing types explained

EULA/ Desktop License:

(End User License Agreement) The most common license covers most commercial font usage.

You can install the font into your fonts folder on your computer, and use it in any of your favourite applications that contain a font menu such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

You can also create and print documents, as well as make static images (JPEG, TIFF, PNG), graphical designs (logos, or signs), and also on products (shirts, hats, mugs).

Alwaysssss check for the number of end products, and the number of users allowed to use the font before purchasing.

Personal Licensing:

This is usually for side projects you do for fun, for personal use, but you can not create a product to sell with it.

You cannot create a logo to sell to a client with only Personal Licensing.

There is usually a limit on how many websites or social media platforms you may use the font on.

Commercial Licensing:

Most desktop licenses do allow you to create end products for your client but it’s always a smart move to triple check!

Buying a commercial license may be used for client work, or for products that will be for sale.

This license will usually have a limit on how many products you may use this on.

Example – May be used on 5,000 end products. So if you plan to sell a product using their logos, ensure to select the proper Commercial Licensing plan.

E-Pub License:

With this license, you may use the font in electronic publications such as an eBook, or an eMagazines that are sold to end-users.

The number of eBooks you can create depends on the number of publications or e-book titles you select at the checkout page of where you plan to purchase your font from.

If you plan to use the same font for your website, you will need to purchase a Webfont license to do so.

Webfont License:

You would typically purchase a Webfont license when you want to use the font on your website.

The cost will vary depending on the amount of traffic your site can bring. Is your website bringing in 100 views a month? or is it bringing 100k views?

Key tips for font licenses!

First, never resell a font! that’s a HUGE no-no!

if you ever use a font for a client, ensure to note what font was used and leave a link where they can purchase or download it to their device on their own.

Secondly, buying fonts for your business is ideal to avoid any legal issues down the road. You can buy beautifully designed fonts from sites like creativemarket and designcuts.

PRO TIP** If you’re not sure if your font is free to use you can search your font file name in a search engine (like Google), and check if it is free for use.

To avoid any confusion you can download fonts from well-trusted resources such as Google Fonts.

Happy Font Hunting! 💃