Lora
CyrealSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 4 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Free transitional fonts
The eighteenth century serif that sits between old-style and didone: upright stress and sharper contrast, but still bracketed.
About transitional typefaces
How to recognise it
- Upright stress: the thin parts of the o sit at twelve and six.
- More contrast than an old-style, less than a didone, with serifs still bracketed.
- Ball terminals on the a, c, f and r in many designs.
- A larger lowercase than an old-style, which is why it holds up better on screen.
Transitional or didone?
A didone snaps its hairline serifs onto the stem at a right angle with no bracket at all. A transitional keeps the curve. Zoom into where the serif meets the stem — that single junction decides it.
Didone fonts →Where it works
Body text that should read as considered rather than old: editorial, documentation, formal correspondence.
Where it does not
Very small sizes in rough print, where the sharper contrast starts to break up.
Source Serif 4
Frank GrießhammerSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 8 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Libre Baskerville
Impallari TypeSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 4 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Merriweather
Sorkin TypeSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 7 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Newsreader
Production TypeSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 7 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Gelasio
Eben SorkinSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 4 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Vollkorn
Friedrich AlthausenSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 6 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Domine
Impallari TypeSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 4 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Petrona
Ringo R. SeeberSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 9 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Frank Ruhl Libre
Yanek IontefSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 7 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Spectral
Production TypeSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 7 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Literata
TypeTogetherSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 8 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Caladea
Carolina Giovagnoli, Andrés TorresiSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 2 weights · OFL · Türkçe
PT Serif
ParaTypeSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 2 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Baskervville
ANRTSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 4 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Neuton
Brian ZickSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 5 weights · OFL
Noto Serif
GoogleSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 9 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Piazzolla
Juan Pablo del Peral, HT FontsSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 9 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Roboto Serif
Commercial Type, Greg GazdowiczSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 9 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Andada Pro
HT Fonts, Carolina GiovagnoliSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 5 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Manuale
Omnibus-TypeSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · Variable · 6 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Noticia Text
JM SoléSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 2 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Martel
Dan ReynoldsSphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 7 weights · OFL · Türkçe
IBM Plex Serif
Mike Abbink, Bold MondaySphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
Serif · 7 weights · OFL · Türkçe
Questions
- What is a transitional font?
- The eighteenth century serif that sits between old-style and didone: upright stress and sharper contrast, but still bracketed. Upright stress: the thin parts of the o sit at twelve and six.
- When should I use a transitional typeface?
- Body text that should read as considered rather than old: editorial, documentation, formal correspondence. Where it does not work: very small sizes in rough print, where the sharper contrast starts to break up.
- What is the difference between transitional and didone fonts?
- A didone snaps its hairline serifs onto the stem at a right angle with no bracket at all. A transitional keeps the curve. Zoom into where the serif meets the stem — that single junction decides it.
- Are these transitional fonts free for commercial use?
- Yes. All 26 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.