Frequently Asked Questions

1. Font Squirrel? Is that really the best name you could come up with?

Umm, yes...we’re kinda stuck with it now.

2. Are all these fonts really free for commercial use?

As far as we know, yes. Please read the license on each font before you use them to be sure. And if you happen to find one that you think is not commercial, then please tell us. Also, some licenses may allow more uses than others. We have tried our best to mark fonts for different common uses. Read FAQ #9 below about embedding for more info.

2b. But really, are they free?

We understand that font licenses are difficult to understand and filled with legalese. We’ve done our best to verify that the fonts we add to our site have free for commercial use licenses. As far as we know, all the fonts on the site have free desktop licenses, meaning they can be used in commercial graphics and images free of charge. Are you designing a logo with the font? That’s fine. Using it on a T-shirt? Also fine. Please read the license for more information on what you’re allowed to do with the fonts.

2c. Can you give me some kind of guarantee or assurance that it’s free?

Sorry, we can’t. We’re not lawyers, nor do we play them on TV. To the best of our knowledge the fonts on our site can be used commercially free of charge. If there’s a font we have available that doesn’t have a free commercial license, we want to hear about it. If downloading a font from the internet and using it for your business still makes you nervous, we’ll gladly sell you a font license at our sister site, Fontspring.

3. Can these fonts be embedded in web pages, PDFs, eBooks, or Applications?

Each font has an row of symbols indicating what typical uses we think it allows for free. Please read the license though on any font you plan to use just to make sure. The symbols look like this: ZYMm. If the symbol is dark, then we think it can be used legally, if it is light then we think it can't. Keep in mind that we may have missed something, so if you REALLY like a font, read the license for yourself. If you aren't sure, contact the designer and ask.

• Z Commercial Desktop Use - Create commercial graphics and documents.
• Y @font-face Embedding - Embed the font in your websites with CSS.
• M Ebooks and PDFs - Embed font in eBooks and portable documents.
• m Applications - Embed font in applications and software..

4. I have a sample of a font I want identified. Can you help?

An amazing tool for solving those mysteries is our free Font Identifier. Simply upload an image to the Identifier and it will do it's best to match fonts from Font Squirrel, Fontspring, and MyFonts, with more to come soon! If the Font Identifier can’t find your font, we suggest asking the good people at fontid.co. They’re super helpful and if they can’t ID a font for you, no one can.

5. What are the fonts you used for Font Squirrel?

The logo uses a font called MEgalopolis Extra by the SMeltery foundry and the headers use a font called Fjalla One by Sorkin Type Co. Both are available for free on our site!

6. Can I just download all these in one shot?

No, not at this time because: Some of the fonts we feature here have a restriction in the license that prohibits us from redistributing the fonts. In those cases we send users to the foundry's website to download.

7. Why are some fonts not allowed through the generator?

Fonts are blacklisted from our Webfont Generator for one of three reasons:

• A font foundry asked for their fonts to be blacklisted. Don't get angry. Read more info about why.
• It is corrupt, incompatible or incomplete.
• It is a free font that internally appears to be a foundry-blacklisted font, but isn't. (Yuck!)

If a known free font gets snagged in our blacklist, email us a copy of the font and we'll add it to our whitelist.

If you have an @font-face license: You should contact the company with whom you purchased the @font-face license. You can obtain your webfonts from them. If you need to purchase an @font-face license, you can do so at our sister website Fontspring.com. Most of Fontspring's vendors sell @font-face licenses and none of Fontspring's vendors have asked to be on the blacklist.

8. I've downloaded the fonts, now how do I install them?

Our sister site, Fontspring, has a great guide to installing fonts. If you're still having problems after reading that guide, let us know.

9. I get an error when I try to install the font. Is it safe to use?

Both Windows and Mac haven't tightened up their standards for fonts and many older fonts are being flagged for various reasons. When these operating systems flag a font, they make it seem like the end of the world if you continue with the installation. Here is our opinion: WE CANNOT guarantee that the font IS safe. However, the word on the street is that everyone is ignoring these warnings. We have yet to hear of any problems as a result of ignoring errors. So, for what it is worth, we think that you can continue using the older fonts. Keep in mind, that this is just an opinion and please let us know if you find any information to the contrary.

Have a question that isn't answered here? Ask us via our contact page. We'll get back to you.