The days of fonts being created by hand are long gone. These days fonts tend to be created through the use of design programs and one of the most recent formats to reach the stage is OpenType-SVG which is a font format that has some or all of the components that it consists of presented as scalable vector graphics.
These SVG fonts feature gradients, patterns, or colors which are embedded in the characters themselves. Even with this, they still act similarly as regular OpenType fonts do. Because of their unique nature, we wanted to focus on this type of font and share our Best SVG Fonts for Designers but before we do, let’s take a look at a comparison between traditional fonts and SVG fonts.
SVG Fonts vs Traditional Fonts
If your using defined serif or sans-serif characters, using traditional fonts is the way to go because they are made from vector graphics in only one color. Yup, you guessed it. Black. However, hand-drawn lettering loses definition once they are vectorized into glyphs with a solid-fill and hard outline.
SVG fonts stand out because they can open up new horizons and typefaces that can contain full-color graphics and transparency. These new creations are most commonly used to create handmade fonts that look amazingly realistic and have all the detail that comes from a paintbrush or marker pen.
What’s the Rub?
Like anything else, there is always a downside and SVG fonts are no exception to the rule. SVG is an acronym for Scalable Vector Graphics but fonts made using SVG technology aren’t vector graphics at all, they’re embedded bitmap images. What this means is that the type with start to look pixelated if your font is scaled larger than its original bitmap size.
The best SVG fonts are made from high-resolution scans which is something to keep in mind if you’re working on a project that includes a large print design. Like traditional fonts, you can edit the size, tracking, and the OpenType features but you can’t change the color of the font itself. To do that, you need to apply a Color Overlay, Hue/Saturation adjustment, or a mask to alter the appearance.
Top 10 Free & Premium SVG Fonts for Designers
Before we get started, we wanted to give you a quick look at our top 10 choices of SVG fonts so that you can see what we consider to be the best of the best. We encourage you to look through all of our choices but these are the ones that stand out to us.
Brixton SVG Handprinted Fonts – $28
Chin Up Buttercup! Font Duo & Extras – $25
Onyx – Hand-Painted.SVG 6 Font Pack – $13
The Designer’s Font BUNDLE – $19
Handie Fonts – Over 1800 Glyphs – $14
Tangerine – Retro Font – $14
Microbrew Soft – $49
Hackney SVG – Bold Hand-painted Font – $24
Moonfrost Script – $16
Pure Heart – OpenType SVG Brush Font – $19
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Best SVG Fonts for Designers
Brixton SVG Handprinted Fonts – $28
Brixton, created by Ellen Luff, celebrates the letterpress styles’ originality with a bold, hand-printed type family that has all the imperfections that its inspiration had. With narrow shapes that have the strength to lend themselves to your stong designs, its authentic textures give it its voice. The typeface comes with two SVG letterpress styles: Wood and Lead. Both of these offer completely transparent textures and incredible detail. The set also comes with their vector counterparts, making it even more versatile.
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Chin Up Buttercup! Font Duo & Extras – $25
Chin Up Buttercup by Nicky Laatz is a playful font pair that also comes with a complimentary set of illustrations. Whether used together or apart in creative or casual designs, Chin Up Buttercup gives you what you need to make numerous typographic designs that can look stunning on anything you decide to use it on. The font duo is perfect for any number of projects from greeting cards, posters, and websites to window art, signs, and scrapbooking. The possibilities are endless!
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Onyx – Hand-Painted.SVG 6 Font Pack – $13
Created by SilverStag, Onyx was created as something different than what they normally design. The Onyx pack comes with six uncommon options that can provide you with everything you need if you’re looking for something unique and different from what you might regularly use. The six-pack includes 2 hand-painted SVG fonts in high-resolution, 2 outlined fonts, and if the software you use doesn’t support SVG, 2 standard fonts so you can use these as well. If you’re ready to do something different and step outside your comfort zone, give the Onyx – Hand-Painted.SVG 6 Font Pack a try.
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The Designer’s Font BUNDLE – $19
With 200 elements and 95 fonts, the Designer’s Font BUNDLE truly is a designer’s dream as it has been described by its creator, KA Designs. With fonts that aren’t even available from the KA Designs shop, this bundle is like having a backstage pass at your favorite concert. Even though some of the fonts on this list may be familiar or even used by you currently, the sheer number of fonts that you can use is more than enough reason to pick this bundle up.
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Handie Fonts – Over 1800 Glyphs – $14
Sometimes using a font that is basic and easy to read is the best choice you can make. The Handie Fonts collection from Trailhead Design Co. comes in a variety of weights and widths that are simple to read at any size and come in both serif and sans-serif. You’re sure to find an excellent choice among the 18 different options that are great for both print and web design projects. Available in all web font formats meaning that even if your program doesn’t work with SVG files, you can still use this font to create amazing work.
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Tangerine – Retro Font – $14
Retro designed fonts can be a lot of fun and add new life to an old logo. The Tangerine – Retro Font from New Tropical Design looked to capture the good vibes of the ’70s without creating a clone of what was being created then. The result is a unique design that still has that feel of being from the 1970s while paying homage to the golden era of bell-bottoms and disco music. Perfect for creating vintage logos, the font comes with upper and lower cases as well as numbers, punctuation, and multilingual letters.
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Microbrew Soft – $49
As the latest addition to the extensive Microbrew font family, Albatross has created Microbrew Soft, named for the font’s soft edges and clean outlines while still keeping its retro feel. 27 styles along with a set of ornaments and catchwords help keep the possibilities as unlimited as possible. With a nice mix between wood type poster style and vintage letterpress, Microbrew Soft is a great choice for just about any subject from weddings and birthdays, to coffee shops and music.
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Hackney SVG – Bold Hand-painted Font – $24
Created by Ellen Luff, the Hackey typeface is a sans serif font that is completely hand-painted. This gives the typeface a raw, bold look that comes with imperfections as well as an earthy realism. By keeping the definition that comes from real painted strokes as a transparent texture, you can have a proper hand-painted effect without you ever touching a can of paint. An all caps font, there are two alternatives for every letter so that the custom made look is maintained. Hackney is a great font for any project you can think of and can add new dimensions to the work you’re already doing.
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Moonfrost Script – $16
With a smooth modern style but with a rough edge reminiscent of winter’s cold weather, the Moonfrost Script from JROH Creative is a hand lettering typeface that can be used for a wide variety of projects including signatures, logos, wedding invitations, and so much more. Featuring more than 400 glyphs, as well as specially coded fonts plus it comes with a ton of alternate character. If you’re looking to add a stylish, yet winter’s grasp to your next project, the Moonfrost Script might be in the forecast.
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Pure Heart – OpenType SVG Brush Font – $19
Created to be a hyper-realistic font that looks as close to hand-painted as you can get, Pure Heart by Greg Nichols helps you take your work to the next level, grabbing the attention of customers and designers along the way. Using brand new technology that makes the font look even more realistic, each letter has been carefully painted numerous times until its perfect, and then its edited so the texture is also perfect. Pure Heart is a beautiful font that will add a new level of realism and creativity to anything you use it on.
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Mourich Elegant Font – $11
An elegant serif font, Mourich from Arterfak Project comes with two styles that they recommend to get the stylish ad minimalist design you’re looking for. Designed carefully with attention to the strokes to achieve a medium contrast. The font is an all-caps font that also comes with small capitals which can be very useful for headlines or logos. With more than 500 glyphs that come with OpenType features, you can create amazing work from the start with this incredible font.
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Mafelo SVG Font – $23
Created by Graphicfresh, the Mafelo SVG font has been designed to specifically highlight its feminine side. Included with the font are two different versions. SVG and Vector Font, which you can use if you need the font in a traditional format. Perfect for posters, packaging, branding, advertisements and so much more, you can use the Mafelo font for all of your typography needs.
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Black Caviar SVG Font – $16
Preserving all of the details of the original handwritten letters in high-definition, Black Caviar by Ivan Rosenberg uses OpenType SVG technology to create a truly realistic look. Included in the set are the OpenSVG font, the OpenSVG font Alt Alternates, All Caps, and a layered Photoshop file if you cannot access the OpenType SVG font. The Black Caviar font can add a touch of realism and professionalism to any project that you use it with, making it more than worth your money.
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Havana Sunset Font Duo + SVG – $11
The creation of Sam Parrett, Havana Sunset is an SVG font that mixes analog and digital, creating a trendy all-caps sans-serif font the is carefree and at the same time, a textured script font. This is the perfect contrast for creating fun, free, and stylish design work. While the font is more than enough already, it also comes loaded with extra features. Included are a full alternate set of characters, plus an additional SCG version that contains high-resolution textures. To give you a variety of layout options, it also includes a filled and outline version. If we had a font that was the best value on our list, this would certainly be it.
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Script Neon 3D Lettering – $15
Have you ever seen neon signs outside your local businesses? And no, Las Vegas doesn’t count. Neon can add an incredible look to any sign and the Script Neon 3D Lettering by TVartworks, you can add a retro style script to any of your projects. The set includes 3D letterings, color fonts, and even includes graphic elements as a bonus so you can create typography scenes of your own. The lettering is great for all types of projects including social media, posters, branding, phone cases, t-shirts, and blogs.
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Paris | Font Duo + SVG with Extras – $19
Created by the Jen Wagner Co, the Paris Font Duo is a beautiful font that features a pencil textured script. You can wonderfully create invitations, quotes, announcements, and more with a font that is as delicate as it is realistic. The font also comes with extras including a bonus pack of 16 gold elements that you can add to your work for even more beauty. The Paris font is as wonderful and beautiful as the city that it takes its name from. You cannot go wrong choosing this for your next project.
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Hello Bloomie – SVG Font Family – $25
A multilingual font family containing both serif and brush script fonts, Hello Bloomie by My Creative Land presents a font that presents itself with a realistic brush, ink, and paper texture. Complete with ligatures, alternates, and design elements, the font family provides you with the OpenType features that you can use to create amazing and unique designs that look like they were done with a brush. The set includes the Serif and Brush SVG options as well as regular Serif and Brush options if you cannot access SVG files.
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Victorian Fonts Collection – $19
There is something about the way Victorian script looks. Ripe with nostalgia, the Victorian Fonts Collection from Burntilldead gives you a font that you can use on your design project or even your website to give it a more Victorian feel. Stuffed with more than 1800 glyphs and OpenType features, the collections give you the tools you need to take your project back in time to a more civilized age.
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Lost In Space – Regular And Color Font (SVG) – $10
The Lost in Space font by Cosmic Store provides creatives with a modern font that has been created using a double exposure effect. Each letter has been uniquely designed and even given its very own cosmic backstory. The Lost in Space typography set is designed with fun in mind and with that in mind, the set includes both color fonts, regular fonts, as well as vector objects, elements, and backgrounds so you can let your imagination shine!
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Thunder Stone Font Duo – $18
Created by Get Studio, the Thunder Stone Font Duo, utilizing SVG font technology, provides you with a font that looks as realistic as it can get. Thunder Stone is a marker sans font as well as a handwriting script that is in perfect typographic harmony for you to use them fully in your design projects. These fonts are perfect for logos, branding, blog posts, quotes, advertisements, magazines, and product designs. There is no limit to the number of ways you can use the Thunder Stone font in your work.
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Best SVG Fonts for Designers
SVG fonts can add a new dimension of creativity, beauty, and innovation to your work. With our listing the best free & premium SVG fonts for designers, we hope that we’ve given you some insight into trying out these up and coming font designs, or if you already use them, maybe this can add some new tools to your toolbox.
