Free Font Manager For Mac

FontBase is a blazing fast, beautiful and free font manager for professional designers. All the features of a paid font manager — for free. Works with thousands of fonts. Freemium $ $ $ Mac Windows Linux. FontAgent 9.5.1 Welcome to FontAgent, the World's Smartest Font Manager. Built atop the planet's most robust viewing, searching, activation and metadata engines, the latest V9 edition of FontAgent adds sharable tags, macOS Mojave and Dark Mode support, nested sets, faster font rendering, smarter searching and set management, Monotype SkyFonts and Adobe Fonts support, auto-activation in the. Trusted Mac download Font Sleuth 2.4.5. Virus-free and 100% clean download. Get Font Sleuth alternative downloads. FontBase gives you all the stability, speed, and reliability of a paid font manager, but free and available on all platforms! Mac Font Manager Deluxe Easily preview and manage your font collections with Font Manager Deluxe! Preview Fonts in a grid or custom view, add and remove font collections, install and uninstall with a simple click, save your favorites, and download the current Google Fonts collection to add to the app. Includes 4 new commercial use OpenType font families.

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• Free Font Manager For Mac
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• Best Free Font Manager For Mac 2020

Utilities • Updated on Dec.10, 2020

Editor’s note: We’ve updated this guide with a new upgrade pick – Font Explorer X Pro. We also added a little information about our tips on managing fonts on Mac.

No matter what digital product you create, fonts make all the difference in the world. There is a reason why the New York Times and someone’s bio website do not use the same font. There is also a reason why you should not use Comic Sans on formal design.

What we are saying is this: fonts are essential. Picking the wrong font for even the right design can ruin the design altogether. But, how do you collect and manage the various fonts out there? If you use a Mac for your design workflow, you’re in the right place.

Basics on macOS fonts

Just like every other Operating System, macOS requires many fonts to function. The system ships with a wide variety of fonts, belonging to different categories. However, only some of them are the most essential for the OS and most third-party apps to function correctly.

The list includes fonts like AppleGothic, Arial, Comic Sans, Georgia, Impact, Tahoma, Times New Roman, and Verdana, etc. If you use the iWork suite, however, you need more fonts like Chalkboard, Optima, Baskerville, Papyrus, Futura, etc. As you can guess, these are some of the cleanest-looking fonts too.

So, on an ideal day, you should not remove the mentioned fonts from macOS. Well, you can’t remove most of them if you’re using macOS Catalina, though. But, as a designer, these fonts mean nothing. You can’t make the best design using these fonts alone.

Well, that’s why macOS allows you to install third-party fonts on your Mac. According to Apple,

macOS supports TrueType (.ttf), Variable TrueType (.ttf), TrueType Collection (.ttc), OpenType (.otf), and OpenType Collection (.ttc) fonts. macOS Mojave adds support for OpenType-SVG fonts.

So, if you have a font with the extensions mentioned above, you can install it on macOS. Double-clicking on the font file will handle the installation for you. Quite simply, if you ask us.

Best Font Program For Mac

But, you don’t always need all the fonts. You may have to disable, group, and manage fonts in general. That’s why you need a font manager in the first place.

Apple has Font Book. Do I need another font manager?

So, macOS ships with a decent utility called Font Book. This works as the native font manager for macOS as well, offering you a platform to access/manage the fonts one may have installed on the Mac. As you can see, the latest version of Font Book brings a lot of handy features.

You can not only see the list of System and User-installed fonts but also categorize them. When you select a single font, it also shows a preview of how it looks. You can also create smart collections using this utility. In the first look, you may think the Font Book is enough.

But, then, you should understand that a designer needs to handle hundreds of fonts at best. It’s when you’d start noticing some severe limitations with the Font Book utility. For instance,

• Font Book follows a traditional layout to list and preview fonts. At times, you need a comprehensive look at the fonts available on your device.
• At this point, there is no option to compare two fonts using the Font Book utility. It may be a massive limitation for many designers.
• You also get limited options while trying to manage an individual macOS font. As you can see, there are only two buttons: one to add fonts and the other to disable a selected font.
• Font Book does not work with web-based font libraries such as Google Fonts. When you are a web-based designer, this is a big let-down.

These are some of the reasons why many professionals prefer using a third-party font manager on Mac. It’s just that you should have the best of the best.

Top pick: Typeface 2

Typeface 2 is currently one of the best font manager utilities you can get for macOS. Compared to Font Book, this third-party font management app has a minimalistic and efficient interface to manage the system and user-installed fonts. You can use this comprehensive suite to manage almost every aspect of fonts on macOS.

Of course, there are so many reasons why we think this font manager is great.

Minimalistic user interface

The whole User Interface of Typeface 2 is powered by minimalism. The UI is split into two sections — one to preview fonts and one for organizing. From the left side, you can pick the category of the fonts that you need at this point. By double-clicking on an individual font, you can explore how each character in the font looks like. We’re sure the UI is the best to understand how your target text looks like.

Advanced customizability

Despite the minimal design, you can customize many aspects of this font manager. First of all, you can change the preview text and make it something that you want to see. For instance, I was trying new stylistics for our brand-name, TheSweetBits. You can enter your word, and Typeface 2 will turn all previews accordingly. This single feature can save a lot of time.

Easy organization

Typeface 2 makes it easy to organize fonts even if you’ve thousands of them. The app uses a system of Tags to classify fonts like Fun, Modern, PDF, and Web. There are also style-based categories, such as Monospaced, Ornamental, and Serif. As a designer, you can create tags to compile fonts for a particular project or a type of project. And, we loved how easily you can manage everything from the sidebar.

Comparison and web fonts support

Font comparison is one of the stunning features in the Typeface 2 package. Using the Quick View panel, you can compare two different fonts and how the same text looks with both fonts. When you select a font in the comparison menu, it becomes an overlay on other font designs. This font manager has one-click support for Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts as well.

Advanced options

There are also some advanced features that designers will love. Auto-activation is such a feature that can be a time-saver. Instead of activating fonts individually, apps can request access via Typeface 2. You can also do some other customizations, such as the Collection Priority mode and behavior control. While the core engine stays the same, you can optimize the performance as per your needs.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

We really couldn’t find any significant issues with Typeface 2.

In its own right, Typeface 2 is the best font manager for most designers. Having said that, if you are looking for advanced customization features and developer-mode stuff, Typeface 2 is not for you. There are also a few professionals who would rather have an ordinary UI.

But, as long as you fit the description, you are good with this app.

Availability and pricing

Typeface 2 is available for macOS only. You should be running macOS 10.11 or later to use this app. Although Typeface 2 offers a free trial, you have to pay $19.99 for the full version.

Alternatively, you can get the app as a part of the Setapp subscription, which comes at $9.99 per month.

The verdict

After testing the brand-new version of Typeface 2 on Catalina, we are even more confident to recommend the font manager to our readers. As we said, it’s an adequate choice for those who need a simple yet reliable way to manage various fonts on their Mac.

Upgrade pick: Font Explorer X Pro 7

Font Explorer X Pro 7 is a professional-grade font manager that is available for macOS. Coming from our top pick, this is an upgrade pick, and it brings a wide variety of advanced features. Font Explorer X Pro 7, its latest version, is more of a complete font management solution for most people.

Truly advanced UI

As a professional designer who needs complete access to the font collection, you will love the advanced User Interface of Font Explorer X Pro 7. As you can see, the sidebar itself houses so many options to classify and manage your fonts. You can even access online font stores using the app. In short, Font Explorer X Pro 7 can become the only tool you’d need for managing fonts.

Discovery engine

Discovery Engine is a unique feature of Font Explorer X Pro 7 that makes font organization easier. This super-intelligent engine can analyze different fonts and arrange them in an easily-accessible manner. Besides, the app can suggest pairing suggestions when you select an individual font. You can find the pairing options on the bottom part of the interface, making management more comfortable than ever.

Multiple viewing modes

Unlike Typeface 2, this advanced font manager is not restricted to a single viewing-mode. Depending on the focus material, you can choose between three viewing modes. One mode prioritizes the font preview while the other shows you as many fonts as possible. You can also change the template text and understand how the font looks in different environments — black and white.

Advanced font information

Because a professional engine powers Font Explorer X Pro 7, you get so much information about fonts and their properties. Because there is a dedicated window to manage these aspects, you can easily classify the fonts as per your needs. Although beginners may not use this feature much, professionals love how much they can do using Font Explorer X.

Extensive support

Because it’s a professional-oriented font manager, the reliability of the engine is just superb. We found many features that can increase your productivity in personal and team levels. The latest version supports plugins for Adobe Creative Cloud 2021. There is also a version called Font Explorer X Server, which enables intra-team collaboration when it comes to font management. Because you pay for the service, the technical/community support is excellent too.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Once again, we are delighted with the performance of Font Explorer X Pro 7 as an upgrade pick.

If you are into minimalistic designs, however, you may find the UI to be a little heavy. We think that should be improved in the long run. Also, some features like temporary font activation are not available on this app.

We also missed the option to one-click import fonts from sources like Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts. On the bright side, Font Explorer X Pro 7 supports a variety of commercial font libraries.

Free Font Manager For Mac

Last but not least, some people say Font Explorer X Pro 7 is expensive. Also, we found that it consumes too much system resources.

Availability and pricing

Font Explorer X Pro 7 is also available for macOS. You should be running macOS 10.13 or later to install this app.

As for the pricing, you have to pay 89.00€ for a single license of Font Explorer X Pro 7. Compared to our top pick, this is an expensive deal, indeed. However, you should keep in mind that you get a fantastic collection of features.

The verdict

If you think you need an advanced font manager with compelling features, Font Explorer X Pro 7 is the best choice for you. Although it consumes a lot of space and system resources, the advanced font management options are unparalleled.

The competition

Here are some of the other considerable font managers in the industry. Although they didn’t make it to the top position, you can rely on them at times.

FontBase

FontBase is a free font management app available for macOS. Just like our top pick, FontBase is powered by a minimalistic User Interface. Using the sidebar, you can explore the different fonts you have installed on a Mac. There are also options to sync your font library with online platforms like Google Fonts. At any point in time, you can add or remove font providers as well.

Thanks to the drag-and-drop interface, you can create multiple collections to manage individual fonts. When all things are considered, FontBase is pretty much convincing as well. The catch here is that you cannot get some features in the free version. For instance, you cannot compare fonts using the free version. For that, a premium subscription is required.

FontBase is free for the most part, but additional features are available upon a premium subscription.

RightFont 5

RightFont 5 is a feature-rich font management app that can compete with our top picks. This manager is also using a simple User Interface with a sidebar and the preview pane. The first thing we loved is that it supports web font libraries like Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, and SkyFonts. Of course, you can create personal libraries by importing fonts manually.

Some features make RightFont 5 a unique font manager. For instance, you can explore many icon fonts and uncommon font libraries. Despite the simple User Interface of the app, it integrates so well with professional software suites like Adobe Creative Cloud 2021, Sketch, Affinity Designer or QuarkXPress. You also get the standard comparison options in the package that are up to the mark.

RightFont 5 is also available for macOS. A single license costs $35, which is a little expensive, though.

Suitcase Fusion

Suitcase Fusion is a professional upgrade from minimal font managers we have seen. More importantly, the app cannot automatically arrange your fonts based on width or style. You will have to set up different folders all by yourself. So, the setup process itself will take a considerable amount of time, which isn’t so convenient for beginners.

Once you have set up the font manager, though, Suitcase Fusion becomes a haven for all your fonts. To start with, the app has a User Interface that combines simplicity and functionality. Just like other apps, you get a preview pane, but that’s it. But, the brilliance of Suitcase Fusion is in the details. You can see the difference when you select individual fonts.

Suitcase Fusion is available for macOS and costs $119.95, which is bonkers.

FontAgent

FontAgent fulfills the basic requirements of a font manager for Mac. However, compared to our top pick and upgrade pick, the app seems quite old-school. It comes with the necessary options like different viewing modes and easy loading, though. We would have loved to see some comprehensive previewing options in the package.

The thing about FontAgent 9.5 is that it focuses more on font metadata, rather than giving more importance to preview. Of course, you can preview the content using the same old ‘Quick brown fox’ text, but the individual comparison of glyphs doesn’t come right. Some other features include Adobe TypeKit integration, auto-activation functionality for Adobe CC 2021, Affinity applications, Monotype and Adobe Fonts, and more.

A standard license of FontAgent 9 is available for $99. If you need multi-device sync, that costs extra too.

Wordmark.it

Wordmark.it is a web-based font manager that you can use as an ad-hoc option. On any day, this site cannot replace the dedicated font managers we have covered above. Nevertheless, there are times when you want to handle basic fonts without installing an application. In those situations, you can count on Wordmark.it as it works well.

This is how the site works. You can open the website and enter a word/phrase that you want to preview. Its engine will then analyze the fonts installed on your Mac and preview the text in all those fonts. So, you see, you should have some fonts installed in the system. There are some additional options like integration with Google Fonts, but that comes only with a Pro account.

Wordmark.it is free to use for the most part, but additional features come at $2 per month.

Tips for picking a font manager

So, you have seen the best font managers for Mac. But how do you pick the right one for your needs? Well, here are a few tips that can help you. We have made these tips into a few questions you can answer — and decide.

• What kind of designer are you?
  Your expertise in the world of design matters a lot while choosing a font manager. If you’ve just started and need a place to organize your font collections, you’re better off with something like Typeface 2 or FontBase. On the other hand, if you want to delve into the world of fonts and customize every detail, you have to choose an advanced font manager like Font Explorer X Pro or Suitcase Fusion. You can always toggle these options, but we recommend a gradual upgrade.
• Which software do you use?
  Every design, be it graphics, UI, or web, has a preferred set of software for their workflow. If you are getting started, you may be adding software solutions to the list. Anyway, you have to consider this software while picking a font manager. In case you didn’t know, many font managers can integrate with software suites like Adobe Creative Cloud and iWork suite. Having a font manager that can work with these tools on-demand is a huge relief.
• How many fonts do you have?
  The size of your font collection — or the potential collection — also plays a role in deciding which is the best font manager for your needs. Because not all font managers are made alike, some of them can handle heavy-duty tasks better than others do. So, if you have a vast collection of fonts, say of 2000+ fonts, you need an advanced manager. On the other hand, if you have a well-curated collection, you can survive with the ultra-minimal font managers we have covered.
• Do you use web-based platforms?
  If you use web-based platforms, such as Google Fonts or Adobe Fonts, you need a font manager that offers support for both. For instance, Font Explorer X can work with several online font libraries, including the paid ones. Similarly, Typeface 2, our top pick, has a one-click import feature to download all the fonts from Google Fonts. If you value these features, you should ensure the support first.
• (How much) Do you want to pay?
  We have covered both free and paid font managers for Mac in this article. Even in the paid section, you can find products that vary between $20 and $150. Depending on the style and features that you prefer, you can pick any of these font management tools. Some advice here, though. The right font manager can boost your productivity like anything, just like an underpowered font manager can slow you down. So, we recommend understanding your needs and choosing the product accordingly.

On top of all these, you should also consider the basic concepts like security, privacy, and reliability. You can do this by choosing products from trusted developers, which is the case for all software suites we’ve recommended above.

Tips for managing fonts on Mac

If you have found the right manager, here are some font management tips for Mac that you can follow.

• You should always try to refine your collection of fonts. While it’s good to have thousands of fonts in your Mac, they also add load on the system. Even when you have tens of categories, finding the right font may take time. So, you should try to refine the collection by removing duplicate/similar fonts.
• Making the best use of smart collections is a great way. Most font managers have an option to create a smart collection, to which fonts are automatically added. This way, even if you forget to put fonts into categories, you will have the benefit of a well-organized font library.
• Using web fonts libraries is also an excellent way to keep font management under control. A simple sync with Google Fonts can give you a comprehensive collection of suitable fonts. This is way better than downloading and installing individual fonts from the web.
• Instead of using the predetermined directories on macOS, transfer your fonts to a new folder. This is going to help you in the smooth management of fonts, even without a dedicated manager. Even in the worst case, you can open up this folder and delete the files — thereby removing the fonts.

We hope these tips help you manage fonts well on your Mac.

Conclusion

We have shared everything that helps us effectively manage and use fonts on macOS. We have made even the product picks based on our months-long experience. And, we have been using many of these programs for years. This means we could see the font manager as a beginner and advanced designers.

Due to these factors alone, we are confident that Typeface 2 is an excellent font management solution for all of our readers. Even if you need advanced control, you can live with it. It’s just that there are some extra-feature-rich upgrades in the market.

As we have said, always choose a font manager that suits your needs. Getting an advanced font manager by paying more than $100 doesn’t make you’re a Pro at fonts. Understanding this, you should choose a manager that you need.

When you type something on your computer, it usually comes in a specific font. If you check the list of fonts that Word offers to you, you would notice that there are a number of professional and formal fonts. While these look great, you might want something more extraordinary, something cooler.

The only way to do that would be to create your own fonts. And to do that, you can take the help of font creator software.

FontForge

Font forge is another software that can be used for creating fonts. You can create all types of fonts with the help of this software, it could be something professional for your place of work or it could be for watermark for your images, it could even be something fun and hip for personal reasons.

Bit Font Maker

This software is a bit font maker and would be a great way to come up with amazing new fonts. You would get tons of samples which can come in handy. Also, you would be getting round the clock support that would help if you face troubles while downloading or using your software. You can create your fonts once you download it.

Type light

Type light Software is one of the most popular free font creator software applications. It allows you to create any font that you like. You can take the help of samples if you’re stuck with a creative block or run out of ideas. You can even come up with fonts that are entirely your own creation. This font creator software allows you to experiment with fonts.

Bitmap Font Editor

If you’re looking for font creators that are easy to use, you should definitely try out Sofia. Most font creators would require some sort of technology related knowledge before you proceed but not this. Even beginners can try this. It has been developed specially to make font creating something that everyone can try!

Font Creator Software for Various Platforms

The fonts that are already there on your device are compatible with your platform – Android, Mac or even Windows, whichever you’re using. Now you can even create different kinds of fonts but you need to make sure that the fonts are compatible with your platform. To do that, you must make sure the software you’re downloading runs on your device.

Free Font Creator Software for Windows – FontCreator

This is one of the most popular font creator software in the market at present. It is a kind of font manager and can be a great way to create your own and cool fonts. You can come up with different kinds of fonts, and even manage them through this software. You can use them to write anything on your device.

Windows allows you to use different kinds of font creator software to create cool new fonts. Now if you’re looking for the best font creator software for windows, you should try out High Logic . This software is a font manager developed specially for Windows and would be of great use to you. It also allows you to create your own fonts.

Free Font Creator Software for Android – Raster Font Editor

Raster Font Editor is also another popular font creator software. The best part about this software is that it is exceptionally easy to use. Also, this software has received top ratings on renowned websites and you can rest assured, you would get safe, easy to use and innovative fonts with the help of this font creator software.

Android users too have their fair share of font creator software applications. All these applications like Raster Font Editor have been developed keeping the needs of Android devices in mind. This software runs equally well on all three platforms although the integrated system of Raster Font Editor is particularly compatible with Android.

Free Font Creator Software for Mac – Font Constructor

If you’re talking of the most popular and one of the best font creator software, you cannot afford to miss out on Font Constructor. It would allow you to create any kinds of fonts that you want and even experiment with them as you please. You can come up with numerous kinds of fonts and use them for your writing.

When we’re talking about Mac users, they have limited choices when it comes to font creators. Yet, the software applications that you have in store are really great and would allow you to create top notch fonts. For that, you could try out something like Font Constructor.

Most Popular Font Creator Software in 2016 – Font Lab

Font lab should be your ultimate destination when it comes to font creator software. There are numerous different versions of the application and all of them have something to do with fonts. There are font format converters, font editors, commercial font creators and so on. They have different kinds of software that could be used on fonts.

If you’re asking about the best and most popular font creator software in 2016, we would have to suggest the amazing font creating software named Font Lab. There are numerous kinds of subdivisions in this particular program, all of which allows you to freely experiment with your fonts. You would not only be able to create new fonts, but also convert formats and edit them.

What is Font Creator Software?

Even as you’re reading this now, you would probably be able to identify the format it has been written in. After all, this is one of the most popular ones that are used. But then again, these are the conventional formats that have been used since time immemorial.

Naturally, you might want to try your hand at creating brand new formats which you could use to write your texts. These font creator software applications would allow you to come up with new and innovative fonts which you could use, along with the standard ones that come with your device. All these fonts are really easy to use and manage, so you wouldn’t have a tough time figuring it out.

How to Install Font Creator Software?

Installing font creator software is really easy. All you have to do is get your hands on a wonderful and easy to use font creator software that can help you out. While downloading font creator software, make sure you only use the official website of the software. You should also check the variations of the software and make sure you’re getting the current version.

Benefits of Font Creator Softwares

Are you tired of the same old fonts that have been used ever since the inception of computers? Then you could try to create your own fonts. If you think the fonts on your device aren’t good enough, you could take the help of font creator software. These applications would allow to create a range of fonts which can be used by you.

You could create professional fonts or even funky ones. If you create your own fonts, you would surely be leaving a lasting impression on the minds of the readers. The best part about these font creator software applications is that they do not take up too much of space on your hard disk and are really easy to use.

Best Free Fonts For Mac

There are countless benefits of using font creator software. You would be able to use the fonts that you’ve created along with the fonts that are already available. You would be able to write all the text you’re required to in the fonts that you’ve created using such software. These software applications would be a great way to use your creativity skills.

Best Free Font Manager For Mac 2020