What is FontLab used for?

FontLab is a commercial family of font editing and conversion apps for Mac and Windows, led by FontLab 8 for designing OpenType, variable, color and web fonts. It is a good fit for designing a new typeface from scratch, extending a font family with new weights and converting fonts to web formats.

How much does FontLab cost?

FontLab is a paid product with no free plan. FontLab 8 is sold as a lifetime license at $499 or a Starter plan at $97 for 3 months; student pricing and upgrade discounts are also listed.

Is FontLab open source?

No. FontLab is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Design category, open-source options include Synfig Studio, Penpot and Graphite.

FontLab: features, pricing and alternatives

About FontLab

FontLab is a vendor of professional type design software for Mac and Windows. Its flagship app, FontLab 8, is a font editor for creating fonts from start to finish, whether the job is a simple design or a complex multi-style project.

FontLab 8 handles OpenType, variable, color and web fonts for any Unicode writing system, including Latin, Greek, Arabic, Indic and Chinese scripts as well as emoji and symbols. Users can adjust spacing, kerning and hinting, convert between font formats and add weights or styles to existing families.

The company also sells Fontographer and TypeTool as more compact font editors, TransType as a converter for OpenType and web font formats, and Vexy Lines for turning pixel images into vector artwork. FontLab is commercial desktop software rather than a hosted service.

Key features

Edit OpenType, variable and color fonts
Support for any Unicode writing system
Spacing, kerning and hinting controls
Convert between font formats
Add weights and styles to existing families
TransType converter for web fonts

Good fit for

→Designing a new typeface from scratch
→Extending a font family with new weights
→Converting fonts to web formats

Tags: font-editor; type-design; typography; opentype; variable-fonts; desktop; design

FontLab: questions and answers

What is FontLab used for?: FontLab is a commercial family of font editing and conversion apps for Mac and Windows, led by FontLab 8 for designing OpenType, variable, color and web fonts. It is a good fit for designing a new typeface from scratch, extending a font family with new weights and converting fonts to web formats.
How much does FontLab cost?: FontLab is a paid product with no free plan. FontLab 8 is sold as a lifetime license at $499 or a Starter plan at $97 for 3 months; student pricing and upgrade discounts are also listed.
Is FontLab open source?: No. FontLab is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Design category, open-source options include Synfig Studio, Penpot and Graphite.
What are some alternatives to FontLab?: FontLab competes with Glyphs.