Licensing

SIL Open Font License

Also called OFL

The OFL is the licence almost every free font worth having is released under: use it for anything, including commercial work, modify it, and pass it on — as long as you do not sell the font file by itself.

It was written by SIL International specifically for typefaces, because the software licences that existed did not fit something that is both a program and a design. What it grants is broad: you may use the font in any project, commercial or not, embed it in a document or a website, modify it, and redistribute your modified version.

What it asks in return is short. The font file itself may not be sold on its own — bundled into something else, yes; as the product, no. A modified version must be given away under the same licence and must not use the original’s reserved name. And the licence text has to travel with the file, which is why every download on this site has it inside the zip.

The thing people get wrong is thinking the OFL restricts what you make with the font. It does not. A logo you set in an OFL face belongs to you and you can register it as a trademark; the licence governs the font file, not the artwork.

See it in real type

Every one of these is free for commercial work. Set them in your own words on their pages, or side by side in the comparer.

  • Inter

    Rasmus Andersson

    SIL Open Font License

    Sans-serif · Variable · 9 weights · OFL · Türkçe

  • EB Garamond

    Georg Duffner, Octavio Pardo

    SIL Open Font License

    Serif · Variable · 5 weights · OFL · Türkçe

  • Mona Sans

    Tobias Bjerrome Ahlin, Degarism Studio, Sebastian Carewe

    SIL Open Font License

    Sans-serif · Variable · 8 weights · OFL · Türkçe

Compare these 3 side by side

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