Best Free Font Software For Mac

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Best Free Font Manager For Mac 2020
Best Free Font Software For Mac Computer
Best Free Font Manager For Mac

Utilities • May 24, 2018

As a designer, it is worthy enough to have as many fonts as possible, you know. You can create a variety of content by simply choosing the right font.

But, wait, how do you find the right font when you have thousands of them?

Well, trusting your memory doesn’t always work. Suppose you’re a busy graphic designer who does multiple projects a day. It doesn’t sound practical to keep all the fonts’ names in your mind.

And, that’s where font managers come in.

What is a font management app?

It’s an app that lets you manage all the fonts you’ve installed on your Mac and PC. A font management app should let you manage the fonts, not just show them. They would also have some of advanced features you need. For instance, you should be able to compare two fonts easily so that you can choose the best.

By default, both Windows and Mac come packed with a font management app. But, in the Mac, it’s not really that good. In this article, however, we are going to find the best font manager for Mac.

Who should get it

A font manager app would be a central place for all your font collections. If you are someone who uses many fonts on a day, you need such an app. We’d recommend this to any designer who uses typography. Well, a font manager app is useful for other people as well.

Even if you aren’t a professional designer, there are times you use tools like Photoshop. Be it a simple poster or a long-enough content, the font you select matters. For instance, don’t even try to use Comic Sans on an academic presentation.

If you ask us, everyone who creates content on a Mac should have a font manager app. Because, every single time, you need the RIGHT font.

And, no, you don’t randomly select a font manager — you do not.

What makes a good font manager?

Of course, there are a lot of things, but User Interface is the most important one. See, you are going to use this tool to manage hundreds or thousands of fonts. So, you should be able to find the font that you need at this moment.

Nothing beats a well-organized collection of fonts, you know. It’s much better than scrolling through 100s of fonts every day. So, a good font manager should let you create categories and labels to keep your fonts quite organized.

We also considered some other factors like Viewing option. The app must have an interface that makes font-by-font comparison easier. In addition, third-party software integration is a cool feature to consider in your list.

Last but not the least, a good font manager should be able to manage a huge number of fonts. This is where Font Book — the official macOS app — fails pathetically. So, obviously, we are looking for the professional-quality ones over starters’.

Now that you have an idea how we selected the best font manager apps out there, shall we actually get into the list?

Our pick – Typeface 2

It does not matter who you are — a professional designer charging $1000 per design or an upcoming one —, Typeface 2 is the best font manager for Mac. Instead of focusing on fancy features and cyborg interfaces, the app goes for something minimal. The result? You can manage all your fonts perfectly, no matter how big the collection becomes.

Getting Started

Despite its wonderful performance, Typeface 2 has a smaller footprint and a simple installation process. You can get started with the program in a few minutes, once installed. As soon as you open Typeface 2, it shows you an awesome list of all the fonts you have installed on your Mac. Now, it varies according to the person, but we had more than 700 fonts installed.

And, boom. Typeface 2 works without a glitch. It does not even take a second to preview the font when you are scrolling down. Getting a quick look on all your fonts is an easy thing when using Typeface 2. Simply click on a font and the app will show you detailed information and character list. Installing and getting started with Typeface 2 is easy as a piece of cake.

The 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 organization. From the left side, you can select the category of the fonts that you are looking for. What’s so fun is that you can select two categories is at once. For instance, if you want fonts that are both Modern and Fun, Typeface 2 has got it for you.

The Viewing modes are so customizable that you can decide how many fonts are shown on a page. This helps when you need a deeper look at the font instead of quick look — and vice versa. There is also a Dark Mode, in case you wanted to give your eyes less strain.

And, if you want to have more details on a single font, just give it a click. Typeface 2 will show you not only each and every character of the font but also details like language support and other specifications.

Altogether, the User Interface of Typeface 2 is designed for streamlined workflow. And, folks, it works.

Advanced features

Typeface 2 has focused on features that make font management easier. You can also have a good experience if you want to pick a font quickly.

Font Compare is perhaps the best feature you’d find in Typeface 2. It lets you compare two fonts like a Pro. You can multiple-select two fonts and choose Compare from right-click menu. It puts a font over another so that you can tell even the slightest differences.

Now, this is a feature you’d love: you don’t have to preview fonts with some random phrase or word. Using Typeface 2, you can input the word/phrase that you want to preview. This works best if you want to find a great for branding or logos.

Coming to font management, importing fonts is as easy as it can get. Instead of dragging-and-dropping your fonts — duh, Apple —, Typeface 2 lets you select a directory. Once everything is imported, Typeface 2 would actually create a different folder.

The controls are much better when you have to activate or deactivate font(s). We are sure that advanced features like these will make your life easier.

Availability and pricing

As of now, Typeface 2 is available for macOS only. If you have a device running macOS 10.11 or higher, you can download and install this program. As far as the pricing is concerned, Typeface 2 is $19.99 from the Mac App Store, or $9.99/mo on Setapp. We think the price-tag is completely reasonable, compared to the features you get. If you are still unsure, you can check out the free trial before purchasing.

After testing Typeface 2 for quite some time and comparing it with competition, we still believe that it’s the best font manager for everyone. It has design and features that work for newbies and professionals alike.

Upgrade pick — Suitcase Fusion

While our top pick is for everyone, Suitcase Fusion is not. This is a professional upgrade if you are looking for some cool features. You may not get all the benefits of having Typeface 2 in Suitcase Fusion, but an upgrade is still an upgrade. Let’s start with the UI.

Suitcase Fusion does not have the most minimal UI, but it keeps everything in good position. For instance, it cannot automatically arrange your fonts based on width or style. You will have to set up different folders all by yourself. This is a big loss, if you need quick selection.

However, Suitcase Fusion rocks the stage when it comes to third-party integration. Its plugins are available for tools like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and After Effects. Depending on the tool you use, you’d be able to install the plugins.

Another impressive feature we found was Google Fonts sync. Suitcase Fusion can download Google fonts to your Mac and keep them in sync. This actually brings more than 2500 fonts into your Mac without a hassle. You can also count in TypeSync, an in-built cloud sync for keeping your fonts secure.

Although Suitcase Fusion offers a detailed Font Preview option, it’s not as intuitive as that of Typeface 2. But you are getting a lot of professional features like, glyph-based details. It also packs a tool called DoctorFont to make sure that your fonts are not corrupted.

We’d recommend Suitcase Fusion to professionals who need more features and third-party integration. It’s priced at $119.95, using which you can register on three Macs. The price seems quite high, but you can get industry-level support and compatibility.

The competition

Competitor #1 — RightFont

RightFont 4 was one of the biggest competitors in the list, since it’s quite popular. However, we found that the tool has an oversimplified design. Because of this, you may not have proper access to the font previews. That having said, RightFont 4 focuses on some productive features and options.

For instance, just like Typeface 2, you can categorize fonts based on the type and writing style. In addition to that, RightFont supports multiple lists as well. There is even a pre-built search function that lets you find the fonts you’re looking for, using tags.

Syncing might be another area where RightFont can excel, since it lets you sync font data via platforms like Google Drive, Box, Amazon Drive, Dropbox and more. You can count in one-click activation and program-based activation into its notable features.

Despite all these, RightFont does not give the Pro feel that we found in Typeface. The filtering system is kind of smart, but not smart enough to make your life productive. But, if you think you need syncing and external features, you should give it a try.

RightFont has been designed for macOS, and there is even a remote app for iOS. A single RightFont license is available for $39, which is quite a practical price tag. The program offers a fully-functional free trial for 7 days as well.

Competitor #2 — FontAgent 8

FontAgent 8 may check out the basic requirements of a font manager for Mac. However, compared to our top pick and upgrade pick, the app seemed quite old-school. It comes with the basic options like different viewing modes and easy loading, though.

The thing about FontAgent 8 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 individual comparison of glyphs doesn’t come right.

Coming to other features, FontAgent 8 leaves enough space for organization part. You can use the complete sidebar for creating different folders and getting all your fonts in one place. While the performance seemed quite okay, it doesn’t perform well with a huge number of fonts.

Some other features include Adobe TypeKit integration, auto-activation feature for Adobe products, a better font search engine and additional features like FontAgent Sync. Most of these need to be additionally paid for, but we can count them in.

As far as the pricing goes, FontAgent 8 for Mac is available for $99 and you will have to pay another $59 for FontAgent Sync subscription that lasts 12 months. Compared to the other programs we listed here, we found FontAgent 8 as something unreasonably expensive.

Competitor #3 — FontBase

FontBase is in the competition list for a lot of reasons. First of all, it’s the one and only free software in this list of Mac font managers. Despite being free to use, FontBase can compete with most of the apps we have mentioned above.

It in fact brings a lot features like Google Fonts support, Nested Folders and Styling support to enhance the overall font management experience. It actually works smoothly when it comes to bringing Google Fonts for local use.
Coming to the User Interface, FontBase has kept it as simple as it can. However, we thought its Preview part could have been better. Still, the app does a great job when it comes to importing and managing fonts. You can simply drag and drop font files/folders to import them.

FontBase also leaves some space for customization, in the UI department. For instance, you can decide how many fonts are shown in a page and how you like to preview the content. That having said, Grid View — a basic feature — is restricted to the Pro version.

As we said, FontBase is completely free to use, and it’s available for Mac, Windows and Linux. It would have been our choice if the program had better viewing options and did not restrict Multiple Views. However, if the lack of viewing options isn’t a problem, free feel to go for FontBase.

Competitor #4 — FontExplorer X Pro

Compared to the abovementioned apps, FontExplorer X Pro is a different kind of font manager app for Mac. It focuses more on the metadata of a font, rather than previewing a lot of versions. If you are that kind of a designer who chooses fonts based on common opinion, FontExplorer X Pro is for you.

As far as the UI is concerned, FontExplorer X Pro has kept everything old-school. You can have a huge list of all your fonts and double-click on them to launch more info. Of course, there are detailed preview options in the individual view, along with organization options.
The problem here is that you cannot use FontExplorer X Pro for a quick-view of your fonts. You will have to open individual fonts and see how they look like. However, compared to other tools, FontExplorer X Pro can offer some enterprise-level features.

For instance, you can sync all your fonts and back them up for better security. If you are in a serious business where fonts matter than the content, you should consider getting FontExplorer X Pro. It might be the most feature-rich font manager app for Mac.

FontExplorer X Pro is macOS-only and it comes at a price of 89 Euros. We have a middle stand here, since the features are more enterprise-oriented. It’s hard to decide whether individual designers would need one tool like this.

Wrapping up

We hope now you know why we picked Typeface as the best font manager for Mac. It packs almost all the features every designer wants, with incredible speed and performance. So, the next time you have too many fonts to take care of, go for Typeface 2. Make sure that you share this post so your designer friends don’t end up using a crappy font manager.

Are you looking for a good looking Font Manager Application for Mac? There are a number of Free Font Managers for Mac and this article will help you pick the best font manager software for your MacBook.

The macOS has its personal font management software, Font Book, introduced to its users by default. Windows downloads fonts to a particular folder and Linux usually doesn’t preload fonts on a system thus negating the necessity for a font management software. Default font manager is useable but somewhat fundamental. For users who use various fonts, graphic designers and web designers, there’s a necessity for more advanced software.

Contents

2 5 Best Font Manager for Mac

Why a Mac Font Manager is Necessary?

Managing with hundreds or thousands of fonts present the user with a number of hurdles not least being able to obtain the correct font for the correct reason at the appropriate moment. Font management software guards system fonts to block accidental deletion and regulate the activation of the fonts needed. So, these software sorts, renames, searches, views, fixes or deletes damaged fonts.

Also, the font management tool subsists in order to shield system performance and endurance. Supporting thousands of fonts on a PC undermines the performance of the PC. Activating fonts, only when needed has clear advantages.

5 Best Font Manager for Mac

So, here are the best font Managers for Mac.

1. FontBase

Possibly the best font manager for Mac, for most users, is also a free font manager. FontBase is additionally a cross-platform for macOS, Windows and Linux devices. Developed for designers by designers, the proposition behind FontBase are font activation and deactivation. Activate particular fonts when needed for certain projects then deactivate them so that they don’t harm the system. Fonts are deactivated on their own when the FontBase app is terminated.

When the app is accessible and the font is lost for a particular design report, the font is activated on its own. Fonts can be organized into groups, thus presenting the management of a large selection of fonts even more easygoing.

2. Suitcase Fusion 8

The best-known font manager and font organizer for macOS and Windows is Suitcase Fusion 8. Fusion 8 is created with adaptability in mind to help profession workflows from Adobe Creative Cloud 2018 and QuarkExpress 2018 and involves syncing, via the cloud, with the free app TypeSync. Also, this nullifies matters about lost fonts while working.

FontDoctor is also incorporated for defective font checking. Fusion 8 has a FontSense technology that examines and recognizes fonts to assure the correct font is always practiced. Again, fonts are activated and deactivated as needed and the application allows browsing, previewing and organization of various fonts.

3. Typeface

Having a minimum interface settling the focus on fonts, Criminalbird’s Typeface is a wonderfully designed font manager for Mac. Typeface allows easy browsing, including live customization of preview and size of each font—both default system downloaded and saved fonts—free from distress. A manageable and easy to use tagging method adds a different way of managing particularly large font libraries. Through pointing Typeface to a directory in macOS, any recently downloaded fonts are appended automatically on refresh. These fonts can be manually activated and deactivated and there is a font auto-activation highlight currently under construction. Font compare supports font professionals to detect minor differences among similar fonts with overlays to analyze both.

Font filters assist designers to discover the ideal font for any job by improving the searching process. Pick bold, serif or other features of the desired font to determine those that resemble.

4. RightFont

RightFont is a lightweight, fast font manager that declares to be the best font app. This app enables you to preview, synchronize and organize fonts in any place without the need to download them. Fonts synchronize on its own from Adobe Typekit and Google Fonts. Enabling and disabling of fonts is probable with a single click, despite location which saves the font. Fonts activates on its own for other software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Sketch.

RightFont, a font manager helps to separate fonts by a given order such as serif, sans serif, script, width, weight and so on. It is probable to search for fonts using keywords and is possible by placing fonts as favorites or producing custom font lists. What’s more, this app provides full access to font metadata info.

Importing and exporting new fonts is as simple as drag-and-drop to and from RightFont. It also owns huge performance benefits over Apple’s Font Book and competitor app. RightFont comprises of a free iOS app to download and preview any font from email attachments, AirDrop sharing, and iCloud Drive. It is an application for macOS 10.11 and higher for which you need to purchase a license, though it does appear with a free trial that it is to install without prior registration.

5. FontExplorer Pro X

Designed for professionals, FontExplorer Pro X is a Mac font manager that is optimized for Retina Displays and carries Dark Mode. It is the perfect font management tool with the font set by organizations, and it automatically activates and deactivates fonts to protect the system. Mainly important when handling many hundreds of typefaces over tons of projects.

FontExplorer Pro X is an application for OS X 10.9 and above and macOS for which needs a permit. It is likely to download a 30-day free trial as it does ask for prior registration.

List of 9 Free Mac Font Manager Apps

Best Free Font Manager For Mac 2020

Here is the final list of all Free Font Managers for Mac.

FontBase
Suitcase Fusion 8
Typeface
RightFont
FontExplorer Pro X
FontExpert
NexusFont
Wordmark.it
Flipping Typical

Final Verdict