As you may have noticed, we have been releasing a few of our very own free grunge fonts. That got me thinking about the font industry in general. I have only bought a hand full of paid fonts in my life and donated a decent amount for commercial use of free fonts.
I guess my question is this….. How often do you buy or donate for fonts? What are your favorite paid fonts and how much did they cost?
14 Responses to “Discussion: Free or paid fonts?”
unfortunately never ..
I think you may use a poll and see
I’ve never paid for a font so far. Though I’ve seen some really great ones which I am willing to buy when I’ve got a (paid) project where I can use them.
Never, there are so many good free fonts.
I always try to use commercial font for professional projects and try to convince clients that they are worth the price. Type design is a hard work, its normal to pay for that work.
Also, if free fonts might be okay for display or fun use, they cant beat real professional very well designed typefaces.
All freebies so far. I agree with ferdinand, I have seen plenty that I would purchase, I just need the right job to justify it.
I haven’t paid for a font since the 90s. Considering the vast resources out there for fonts, I can typically find something similar or better for free that suits my needs when compared to a font for purchase.
That said, as Frank pointed out, if there’s something completely unique that must be had for a project, I’d spend the money. Hasn’t happened in recent memory however…
Free except for two fonts that I love and knew that I was going to use over and over again. If I know that I’m going to use it for numerous projects I have no problem putting down some money for it.
Freebies for me too.. As already told, I agree, there must be something outstanding to buy it.
Freebies, best…It’s the only way to expand them to all computers.
Recent Purchases:
Archer
Gotham
Gotham Rounded
All expensive… but its worth it for great typefaces.
All free fonts for me.
I’l make a donation for commercial use though.
I typically buy them. Although I am not a freebie snob. I’ll visit dafont for something unusual-but for the most part for fonts that I will use over and over again-I’l buy em.
It depends.
I think the application (or implied application) of a font is what should determine the price. Buro Destruct at http://www.typedifferent.com/ releases a lot of fonts for free or for $25-45. The free fonts are very specific, ie. an oblique version of a new font in one weight. It’s something that could only be used in a couple applications.
On the other hand, a font family like Meta should be very highly priced because it has such a range of applications as well as the opportunity to be used in multiple projects since it doesn’t stand out as much.
Free fonts have their uses, but I don’t think free fonts should be used in a lot of high end work. Take the $10-45 out of what you’re making on a project to go the extra mile to get something unique.
-Mike
@ Mike some nice thoughts there. You might have encouraged me to try a paid font on my next big project.