What are the best font editors?

Question

UtilitiesTypographyFonts

What are the best font editors?

9

Options
Considered

257

User
Recs.

Jan 4, 2024

Last
Updated

9 Options Considered

Best font editors	Price	Platforms	Last Updated
50 FontForge	Free	Windows, Linux, Mac	Jan 4, 2024
-- Glyphs	€249.90	Mac	Jan 4, 2024
-- FontCreator Professional	$199	Windows	Sep 21, 2023
-- BirdFont	Free	Windows, Linux, Mac	Jul 12, 2023
-- FontStruct	Free	Web	Oct 26, 2023

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score 92 · Answer 1

FontForge

Top Pro

All platforms

Windows, Mac, and Linux. See More

NiceIxtab's Experience

Astonishingly awkward navigation menus See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac

Top Pro

Supports multiple formats

TrueType and OpenType are among the supported formats. See More

GutsyHuitztlampaehecatl's Experience

Unnecessary complexity to achieve simple results. And it seems to be designed to be as unintuitive as possible. See More

Top Pro

Open source

Source code written in C available on GitHub. See More

solomuzzle's Experience

this one is great, haven't tried anything else See More

Top Pro

Good documentation

See Manual. See More

See All

score 18 · Answer 2

Glyphs

Top Pro

iOS viewer app

There is a Glyphs Viewer app for iOS which allows you to use your iPhone or iPad as a second preview screen via WiFi. See More

Top Con

macOS only

There is no version for other operating systems. See More

Trond Grøntoft's Experience

Very easy to get started, even if you have little background knowledge. See More

Specs

Platforms:Mac

Top Pro

Powerful

Many professional type designers as well as big names in the font industry use Glyphs. It has all features that professional font designers need, such as smart components, interpolation, kerning, hinting, even beta support for variable fonts. See More

Top Con

Glyphs dictates your workflow

You should stick to the principles that Glyphs sets for you. For example, if you try to use your own glyph names, all the automatic features won't work correctly. See More

Top Pro

Good support

There is a support forum on the website and the developers are very responsive. Cutting edge updates are released frequently. Support questions are often answered within hours and if relevant, often followed up with an updated version of the app. See More

Top Con

Cutting edge versions sometimes unreliable

You can opt in to receive cutting edge updates, which are released every couple of days. These contain new features, but often introduce new bugs or change your data without being aware of it. Better stay with the official stable releases. See More

Top Pro

Beginner-friendly

Top Pro

Very good documentation

An extensive PDF manual can be downloaded from the website. In addition there are in-depth articles on the website covering a large number of subjects. See More

Top Pro

Text based font files

Fonts are stored as a plain text file that can easily be put in a source control system like Git or Mercurial. See More

Top Pro

Discounted price

If you are a student, teacher or school you can get discounted licenses. If you don't need all features of the full Glyphs version, there is also a cheaper ‘Glyphs Mini’ available. See More

Top Pro

Automatic functions

A lot of things Glyphs does automatically for you if you stick to its rules, like OpenType feature code, building accented letters based on position anchors, ... See More

Top Pro

Language support

Glyphs contains character sets for nearly all languages. If you're not sure what characters are required e.g. for Arabic, Glyphs can tell you the requirements. See More

Top Pro

Plugin support

There are a large number of useful and free plugins from third party developers available through the built-in plugin manager. There are also some commercial plugins. See More

See All

score 31 · Answer 3

FontCreator Professional

Top Pro

Easy to learn and use

Free eval version and the licensed version both are quite straightforward and easy to use. One can pick it up when one needs it and carry on from the previous time without having to spend time coming back up to speed, which is perfect. See More

Top Con

A better instruction manual world be nice

Maybe even an online tutorial on YouTube would work. See More

ThoroughHanXiangzi's Experience

I am not a professional, but FontCreator has been very good for my tasks. By far it has the best interface with a very convenient set of functions that are easy to grasp. By now it's been several years since I've started using it and it really feels like the best tool for any font-related tasks. The developers are also really nice and offer all the support any client would require in casy of any troubles with the software. I recommend the FontCreator to anybody who needs an easy but powerful tool for working with fonts. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows

Top Pro

Stellar support

Erwin Denissen is at the front of the pack among the hundreds of support people with whom one may deal. See More

Top Con

Not available for Mac

Sergio Bonfiglio's Experience

Well, I have to say that this "piece of ccde" have found me when I mostly needed. I had to create a very complex font full of graphics to replace icons and drawings, and the usage of this app was just as easy! Most of all, all these drawings had been created with Illustrator and importing these designs into FontCreator was a snap. very few times I have been so happy for the purchase of a professional version of a software. For sure this is one of these times. This is a great "swiss army knife" program that every serious designer should have. See More

Top Pro

Great for making changes

For FontCreator interface is so friendly it is easy to get work done even though you're not a Pro user. A book designer may find it great for changing things inside a font so it will fit one's needs. Sometimes you use a nice font that has some mistakes of design in it - so it is the best tool for it. See More

ArticulatePhraPhrom's Experience

I am Ahsun Al Mahfuz, professional font developer. I use Font-Ceator over 5 years, I want to share my opinion about Font-Creator: User Friendly. Free evaluation version for student. Managed Opentype Feature. Official Tutorial and guideline. Variable font making facilities. Official quick support. Eye catching Interface etc. Thanks a lot High logic team for provide us this awesome Software. See More

Top Pro

Easiest learning curve and the most powerful font editor EVEN for differently abled software developers

Yeshurun Kubi's Experience

FontCreator is a great program for all means. It is easy to learn and use, supports all features of font creating, and the price is great as well. Also I am not a pro designer of fonts - I know some pro designers that use only font creator, and the results are amazing. See More

Top Pro

Font Creator has a beautiful and super-easy Bézier curves system for editing

It is so easy to edit the glyphs that a non-skilled designer can achieve great results in not a lot of time. See More

RealisticDelbaeth's Experience

Splendid experience. And today is such a rare thing to say. See More

Top Pro

Very compact software

Doesn't slow everything down. See More

MellowHauhet's Experience

FontCreator had been my first choice for getting started in no time and producing satisfactory results. I had tried FontForge before but paying the price for FontCreator was really worth every penny. This software just makes things easy and quick. Also enables you create Color fonts without hassle and wasting no time. See More

Top Pro

Super-easy auto-check of metrics

Font Creator has an incredible wizard that makes the process of checking the font metrics a piece of cake. See More

איתמר נתן's Experience

As a FontCreator user for many fonts for many years, I can clearly say for sure, after looking at all the alternatives and software available on the market, for Windos and Mac, I can say for sure, FontCreator is the best software on the market in terms of reliability and simplicity, fast performance and zero Bugs, easy and convenient to use and especially intuitive Thanks to the creators of FontCreator, you give us the power and engine to create more and more letters. See More

Top Pro

Management of the "deep" font data is super-easy

All the font parameters are located into structures, easy to find and to manage. Also many of the most "obscure" font properties have wizards for auto-completion. See More

Inclusive Fonts's Experience

I have been using this software a while now and it really is very good. I do my preliminary work on a tablet, then transfer onto my main computer where I touch up with PS Elements, then I move onto a simple font creator. Now I have my font I then use Font Creator, here I open the font and there is my entire font set ready for either major surgery or just tweaking. It also takes care of all the technical stuff such as kerning and spacing etc. I am now designing fonts for Monotype. It also has very good customer support, had a few minor problems whic Erwin Denissen sorted straight away. Great product. See More

Top Pro

Font Creator can import Adobe Illustrator designs in a snap

If there is an important vector designer, it's Adobe Illustrator. Also Corel Draw is great. Whichever is your favorite, just export your design from Illustrator and import it in a snap into Font Creator. As easy as that. See More

ProudTlaloc's Experience

Working for many years as a Book designer. Using FontCreator for creating simple SIGNS and re-changing a font to fit my needs. See More

Top Pro

You can create COLOR fonts 🤩

You can create from scratch or convert any normal Black and white Fonts to color fonts easily. FontCreator is the first choice Font software for anyone who wants to get started developing color fonts that work with multiple palettes. See More

EarnestAtropos's Experience

At the time I first bought a license -- 2004 -- there weren't many alternatives: mainly Fontographer. FontCreator was comparatively inexpensive, and from what I could see just as powerful and well-designed. I'd also been using MainType -- HighLogic's font manager -- for several years at that point, and my experience with both that program and the author of the software were confidence-inspiring. See More

Top Pro

The functional MIX is great

These application has an astonishing functional MIX. Is really this which makes the app great. Not only it is easy to learn and use, but has A LOT of features that make the working on fonts really a piece of cake. For example ther auto check of metrics, which is a pain for every serious font pro what works easy and fast. If could be possible to check all the points here above I had it done, but it's not, so I add a new point here. The MIX. this is what makes this appe a real "Swiss army knife" in the toolbox of every serious pro. And last but not least, the price, which is MORE than competitive. A real must have for those who want to manage/create/work with fonts. See More

ResponsibleNinshubur's Experience

I am a blind software developer creating specialized software for students and teachers. I had previously used FontCreator 11 Professional and LOVED IT! I have tried a few other Font Editors but found them much harder to learn and use. I have come back to FontCreator 14 Professional. See More

WiseMetis's Experience

Easy to use. Their next version is supposed to include support for Font Variables (Variations). See More

LoyalMacha's Experience

Font Creator is the most efficient, easiest to learn, font editor I've used. Customer Support is 11 on a scale of 0-10. See More

SALAMA Youssef's Experience

FontCreator Pro is a font creator designed to help you create your own signature, logo and handwriting, or a font to install and use on your computer. FontCreator Pro is a powerful tool that allows you to accurately create and design your own fonts. It can be used by both novices and experts. Designing fonts isn't easy, but FontCreator Pro simplifies the process with an intuitive interface and tons of features. Its specialized drawing tools allow you to design glyphs one by one. If you're not patient enough to start from scratch, it's easy to import an existing TrueType (TTF) font and start editing every detail. You can also convert images to glyphs, which allows you to turn a logo or your handwriting into a custom font. That said, it's the bonus utilities that elevate FontCreator Pro to the pro level. Glyph Transformer allows you to instantly bold, rotate, or change every character in a font. You can also set kerning, change character-to-glyph mapping, and validate fonts to find common issues. FontCreator Pro rich features and recently improved ease of use make it a great choice for character designers of all skill levels. First-time users will probably have a hard time getting around this software, but they should read the help file with confidence. It does not take a long time to learn how to use FontCreator Pro, and its comprehensive feature set is explained in detail in the available documentation. We have not encountered any problems during our tests. In addition, FontCreator Pro uses a small amount of CPU and resources. The fact of the matter is that the software is great for building and designing fonts. You can also search for a glyph by its postscript name and by its mappings, set bookmarks in the Glyph Overview and Glyph Edit window, change glyph properties, copy and paste glyphs, add a new character, use glyph metrics to help you design the font, and more. Wonderful, productive, productive software for any typographer who likes to tinker with design and not all the rattling around. Absorbing and innovative software that is designed excellent and constantly improving, and also great service, I highly recommend !! Review of FontCreator Professional by Youssef SALAMA See More

ExcellentPhorcys's Experience

High logic is the best of best. The application itself is very comprehensive. It abates all the hurdles and gives you an excellent user interface. The clout factor in the application gives an excellent feeling to design a font. I highly recommend. I can not even think of any other application. See More

Ellisa's Experience

Using this software was my first experience with font making. Despite the uneasiness of trying something new, I found FontCreator and was pleasantly surprised. The interface was straightforward and understandable and I was able to create my font to the perfect degree. Now, I have found a love for font making and owe it to this software. See More

See All

score 35 · Answer 4

BirdFont

Top Pro

Open Source

Top Con

Free version doesn't export fonts to ttf/otf without the SIL Open Font license

RickZeeland's Experience

Free font editor written in Vala (programming language inspired by C#). See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac

ColorfulCipactonal's Experience

one created font, good program See More

See All

score 11 · Answer 5

FontStruct

Top Pro

Easy to use

Specs

Platforms:Web

score 7 · Answer 6

Glyphr Studio

Top Pro

Free

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac, Web

Top Pro

SVG fonts

See All

score 12 · Answer 7

Type light

Top Pro

Free version

A free limited version is available. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Design, edit and convert OpenType TrueType and PostScript fonts. The light version is free for personal and limited commercial use. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac

Top Pro

Supports color fonts

Color fonts are supported in Windows 8.1 and higher. See More

See All

score 4 · Answer 8

Alphabix

score 2 · Answer 9

FontArk

Top Pro

Free

Free while in open beta. See More

Specs

Platforms:Web

9 Options Considered

My Recommendation for FontForge

My Recommendation for FontForge

All platforms

Supports multiple formats

Open source

Good documentation

My Recommendation for Glyphs

My Recommendation for Glyphs

iOS viewer app

macOS only

Powerful

Glyphs dictates your workflow

Good support

Cutting edge versions sometimes unreliable

Beginner-friendly

Very good documentation

Text based font files

Discounted price

Automatic functions

Language support

Plugin support

My Recommendation for FontCreator Professional

My Recommendation for FontCreator Professional

Easy to learn and use

A better instruction manual world be nice

Stellar support

Not available for Mac

Great for making changes

Easiest learning curve and the most powerful font editor EVEN for differently abled software developers

Font Creator has a beautiful and super-easy Bézier curves system for editing

Very compact software

Super-easy auto-check of metrics

Management of the "deep" font data is super-easy

Font Creator can import Adobe Illustrator designs in a snap

You can create COLOR fonts 🤩

The functional MIX is great

My Recommendation for BirdFont

My Recommendation for BirdFont

Open Source

Free version doesn't export fonts to ttf/otf without the SIL Open Font license

My Recommendation for FontStruct

My Recommendation for FontStruct

Easy to use

My Recommendation for Glyphr Studio

My Recommendation for Glyphr Studio

Free

SVG fonts

My Recommendation for Type light

My Recommendation for Type light

Free version

Supports color fonts

My Recommendation for Alphabix

My Recommendation for Alphabix

My Recommendation for FontArk

My Recommendation for FontArk

Free

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