Silkscreen
Jason KottkeSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Display · 2 weights · OFL
Free pixel fonts
Drawn on a visible grid of squares, from the era when a screen could not do curves.
About pixel typefaces
How to recognise it
- Every curve made of square steps.
- Drawn to a fixed grid, so it is sharpest at exact multiples of its design size.
- Strokes one grid unit wide, with no smooth curves anywhere in the drawing.
Pixel or sci-fi?
Sci-fi faces are squared and modular too, but drawn with smooth outlines. A pixel face is built out of the squares themselves.
Sci-fi fonts →Where it works
Game interfaces, retro technology branding and small labels that want an eight-bit feel.
Where it does not
Sizes that are not a multiple of the grid — the squares smear into uneven blocks — and any body text longer than a line or two.
Pixelify Sans
Stefie JustprinceSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Display · Variable · 4 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Jersey 25
Sarah Cadigan-FriedSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Display · 1 weight · OFL · Türkçe
VT323
Peter HullSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Monospace · 1 weight · OFL · Türkçe
Doto
Óliver LalanSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Display · Variable · 9 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Press Start 2P
Cody BoisclairSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Display · 1 weight · OFL · Türkçe
Questions
- What is a pixel font?
- Drawn on a visible grid of squares, from the era when a screen could not do curves. Every curve made of square steps.
- When should I use a pixel typeface?
- Game interfaces, retro technology branding and small labels that want an eight-bit feel. Where it does not work: sizes that are not a multiple of the grid — the squares smear into uneven blocks — and any body text longer than a line or two.
- What is the difference between pixel and sci-fi fonts?
- Sci-fi faces are squared and modular too, but drawn with smooth outlines. A pixel face is built out of the squares themselves.
- Are these pixel fonts free for commercial use?
- Yes. All 6 of them are published under licences that permit commercial use — the SIL Open Font License, the Apache License 2.0, the Ubuntu Font Licence or a release into the public domain — with no fee and no credit required. Every download on this site includes the licence file inside the zip.