The Best Free Calligraphy Fonts To Use In All Your Projects
We may earn a small commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this post. For more information go to our Privacy Policy.
Are you looking for the perfect calligraphy font to use in your designs and projects? It can be hard to choose just the right one with thousands of options available. Here are my top picks for the best free calligraphy fonts.
People frequently use the phrase “calligraphy fonts” in a general way to mean typefaces (or digital fonts) that have a handwriting or script appearance.
These fonts are inspired by calligraphers’ artistry instead of replacing the art of handwritten calligraphy. And they’re a lovely way to add a decorative handcrafted charm and vibe to your projects without knowing calligraphy yourself.
You can find awesome fonts in all shapes, sizes, and designs and use them to create different moods for your projects. Whether you want to present something casual, formal, romantic, retro, antique, or whimsical, there’s a calligraphy font that can easily help you do it.
What is not easy is finding the perfect font.
The popularity of hand lettering and calligraphy has exploded over the last few years. Similarly, calligraphy fonts have become increasingly popular, with people creating and publishing more every day.
At this point, there are thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of handwritten-looking fonts available to download and use. And that number increases every day.
With so many options available, choosing the right font for your projects can be challenging and overwhelming, to say the least! So, to help, I’ve gathered together a list of my top 25 free calligraphy fonts for you to use to add just the right touch to all of your designs.
Where To Find Free Calligraphy Fonts
Many sites offer a variety of free fonts that you can download. Whenever I’m searching for fonts, I limit my search to just a few sites that I trust because they have a good reputation for providing high-quality products. I can confidently recommend using fonts from:
- Dafont.com – You can find thousands of different fonts on this site, spanning a HUGE range of styles, with more fonts added regularly. All of them are free for personal use, and some offer commercial use rights for free, too (although some will require a fee for commercial use).
- Fonts.com – This site also offers a large selection of font styles for free download. Some fonts include commercial use, while others require an extra fee.
- Fontsquirrel.com – The high-quality fonts on this site are ALL free for both personal and commercial use.
- Fontfabric.com – This site offers a large selection of fonts, but you have to be careful about the licensing because you can often only find one variation of each font for free. Additional variations (bold, italics, etc.) cost a fee, and different types of licensing permissions cost a separate price as well.
- 1001fonts.com – The site with (maybe) the largest selection of fonts contains both free and paid fonts, so pay attention when you search. Some have free commercial licenses, while others require a fee for either the font or a separate commercial license. Another thing I like about this site is that you can type in a sample of your text and generate your words into the font you’re considering so you can see how it looks.
FAQs
Before we dive into looking at specific fonts, I wanted to take a moment to answer a couple of questions I see readers frequently ask about calligraphy fonts.
How can you use these fonts?
Thanks to the hard work of dedicated typeface designers, you can add that special handwritten touch to your designs digitally and without actually taking the time to learn calligraphy.
Download a variety of calligraphy fonts to your computer and use them for all your different projects, including (but not limited to):
- Planners
- Logos
- Graphic design
- Online publishing
- Printable wall art
- Decorations
- Elegant invitations or notes
- DIY wood signs
- And more!
What features should I look for in free calligraphy fonts?
Given such a large variety of options available, there are several characteristics to consider as you search for the perfect fonts. When you think about downloading a new font, think about the following:
- Is the site a trustworthy one that has a reputation for providing high-quality fonts?
- Does it offer a full alphabet in this style that works well on computers?
- Can you find a wide selection of styles (thick, thin, feminine, masculine, modern, retro, simple, elegant, swirly, etc.)?
- How legible is the font you like?
Do these free calligraphy fonts have free commercial-use licenses?
It depends. Many free calligraphy fonts offer only a personal use license for free and require a fee for a commercial license (so you can use the font on items you want to sell). Read closely about the type of license you receive when you download a font on EACH site.
In addition, if you want to use the font elsewhere, such as on a website, in ebooks, or an app, you will likely need to purchase another, more expensive license.
Make sure you read the fine print when you download fonts and know ahead of time that prices and free offerings can vary by site.
Must-Have Free Calligraphy Fonts
Now it’s time for the fun stuff! Let’s check out some of my top recommendations for free calligraphy fonts.
Note: There are thousands of fonts available for download, and most of them are incredible. Narrowing down that list to just 25 choices was difficult, but I wanted to pick a variety of great fonts that you can use for all your design needs.
1. Allura
When I want a typeface with a casual, handwritten feminine vibe, Allura is one of my go-to’s. It’s stylized but still easily readable and highly versatile so that you can use it for any and all projects.
Allura regular font is available for free for both personal and commercial use.
2. Joseph Sophia
This lovely brush script has varied thick and thin strokes and just enough flair to add a romantic vibe to your designs. It’s a perfect choice when you want to add a personal touch to invitations or other notes.
This font is free for personal use with an option to upgrade to a paid commercial use license.
3. Alex Brush
This classic brush style script provides a dramatic and elegant element to any project. It’s one of the most legible classic font styles because it has shortened ascenders and descenders and a good amount of space between each letter. This font’s legibility makes it versatile enough that you could use it in paragraphs or as a signature font.
It’s available for free for both personal and commercial use.
4. Black Chancery
Enjoy a medieval calligraphic font with a modern flair. This font is elegant and easy to read, making it perfect for use on many projects, such as titles or logos.
Grab the free personal and commercial licenses.
5. Deftone Stylus
Inspired by the 1940s’ and 1950s’ auto garage signs, this industrial script has eye-catching thick strokes that give a retro vibe and is perfect for headlines and brands (think: Harley Davidson).
It comes with free personal and commercial licenses.
6. Dr. Sugiyama
This unusual font has long ascenders and descenders and dramatic stroke width differences. It’s inspired by hand lettering styles around World War II. As one of the more difficult-to-read fonts on this list, it’s best used sparingly to give your work an exotic element.
It offers both personal and commercial licenses for free.
7. Black Jack
This modern font is clean and artistic, making it an excellent choice for any project. Its unpretentious style is versatile enough to look incredible in both feminine and masculine designs. I recommend using it in small doses because its thick lettering can become challenging to read in long paragraphs.
You can get Black Jack for free for personal use, but expect to pay a fee for commercial (or other) use.
8. Ballroom
Here’s a light and airy thin calligraphy font style that gives the impression of gliding across the dance floor. It’s an easy-to-read upright style that screams versatility. Use it for printables, invitations, headings…anything!
It comes with a free personal use license but requires a fee for commercial use.
9. Arizona
The flowing letters from a sign painter’s camel hair brush inspired this eye-catching font. Its varying stroke thicknesses, wide letterform design, and slight Arabian influence give this font a lot of character. Use this font sparingly because it can be a little hard to read.
Download it for personal and commercial use free.
10. Italianno
This elegant script has clean connectors and traditional letterforms that are reminiscent of classic calligraphy. As a font that leans to the right, it has thin varying stroke widths and is easy to read, making it perfect for scrapbooking, invitations, and marketing.
Grab the free personal or commercial use licenses.
11. Bilbo
This font is an easy-to-read warm font with a masculine feel. Featuring minimal stroke width variance, its thin strokes have small flourishes to give it interest. Although it’s ideal for display and headline font, it also works for text body when necessary.
Grab the personal and commercial use licenses for free.
12. Anke Calligraphic FG
Here’s one of the quirkier free calligraphy fonts on this list. This font is geared towards everyday users because it mimics casual writing with a calligraphic nib.
You can download both personal and commercial use licenses for free.
13. Playball
Think back to the earlier days of baseball, and you’ll find the inspiration for this font. If you’re looking for a connecting script that goes easy on the swooshes and swashes but still looks lovely and stylized, this one is for you. It’s a cheery font that’s perfect for anything sports-related as well as other festive occasions.
Download both personal and commercial licenses use for free.
14. Dancing Script
The most notable feature of this casual modern calligraphy font is that the capital letters are large and dip below the baseline. Dancing Script is an excellent option for adding a handwritten, friendly, and personal touch to your designs without looking too formal.
You can grab both personal and commercial use licenses for free.
15. Stylish Calligraphy
If you’re looking for something with more swirls and swooshes, check out this font. It’s a modern, formal take on classic calligraphic handwriting. A little hard to read at times, this font is best when used sparingly.
Only the personal use license is free, but you can pay a fee for the commercial license.
16. Cookie
This sweet-looking brush font is a script style that pulls in some of the elements of writing from the 1950s. An upright font, Cookie is decorative and legible and brings to mind some of the nostalgic advertising of the time.
You can get both personal and commercial licenses for free.
17. Magic School
Calling all Harry Potter Fans – and anyone else who wants to add a playful yet mysterious element to their project! This font school has two variations of the font, and both variations are a twist of the blackletter style of calligraphy.
You can get both personal and commercial licenses for free.
18. Champignon
Few of the free calligraphy fonts on this list are as formal as this one. This handwriting-style font is perfect for invitations or other formal projects with its large swash caps and small, elegant letterforms.
You can download both the personal and commercial use licenses for free.
19. Hello Script
This calligraphy handwriting font has a bold style with a large amount of contrast between the strong downstrokes and thin upstrokes. In addition, you’ll find monoline-style terminals and swashes. This font is perfect for large print projects because the extra thick downstrokes can make it hard to read in small print.
The personal use license is free, but a commercial-use license for this font requires a fee.
20. Emily The Brush
This font feels like a cross between traditional calligraphy and modern handwriting. It’s a bold, upright font with high contrast between stroke widths that’s very easy to read. It will lend a modern and informal energy to your designs.
You can get the personal use license for free but must pay a fee for the commercial license.
21. Give You Glory
This mixed-case font is fun and quirky, yet it feels authentic since many of us float between cases in our everyday writing anyway. Use this legible font in all your projects.
You can download both the personal and commercial use licenses for free.
22. Fabfelt Script
Are you looking for a vintage-style font? This one might be exactly what you need with its neat and legible characters. Pair it with a minimal sans serif for an eye-catching look perfect for almost any project.
You can download both the personal and commercial use licenses for free.
23. Grand Hotel
Thanks to its condensed upright connect script, this is one of my favorite retro-style free calligraphy fonts. It features monoline strokes to make it legible even though it’s a bolder style than many other options.
You can download both the personal and commercial use licenses for free.
24. Sofia
A lovely upright script font, Sofia is one of the more feminine fonts I have included on the list. It has good variance between the thick and thin strokes, yet it’s very legible and endlessly versatile. Use it when you want to add a graceful touch to your design.
You can download both the personal and commercial use licenses for free.
25. Rochester
The inspiration for this classic font came from early Victorian and Art Deco calligraphy. With connected upright letterforms, this legible font has an elegant yet timeless feel that it lends to any project.
You can grab both personal and commercial licenses for free.
Final Thoughts About Free Calligraphy Fonts
I hope this list of free calligraphy fonts has been helpful to you! When you design projects, deciding which font to use can be overwhelming when you KNOW what style you want to use.
If you don’t know which style you want for a particular project, searching through the thousands of fonts available to download will eat up your time and raise your stress levels (which is the opposite of what designing should do!).
These 25 free calligraphy fonts will add style and character to your projects. This list covers a wide range of styles and offers versatile font options that you can use in many different projects.
Happy designing!
