The best free typewriter fonts can be just the ticket for adding a vintage feel to all kinds of designs. Typewriter typefaces evoke images of the past, of reporters hammering away in exotic locations to efficient secretaries taking down dictation in Mad Men-esque offices. The great news is there are lots of free typewriter fonts out there. Not all of them are very good, but we've picked out our favourites to save you some time.
The free typewriter fonts below cover a range of distinctive looks and feels, from really rough and grungy typewriter type to cleaner, more modern options that prioritise legibility. We hope you'll be able to find what you need for your project (if you have some budget available, we also have a pick of paid-for typewriter fonts).
Do note that with any free font, and indeed any font at all, always check the licence conditions. Some may be free for personal use only, while others are free for commercial use. For more font supplies, check out our roundups of free fonts, graffiti fonts and handwriting fonts. And we recommend checking out MyFonts for all you font needs (see below).
The best free typewriter fonts
01. Orange Typewriter
The creator of Orange Typewriter, Lukas Krakora, has various typewriter fonts, plenty of which are worth looking at it, but Orange Typewriter is our favourite. It has extra detail around the letters, which makes it stand out from the rest. This font is free for non-commercial use, but you can write to the designer to get information about commercial licence cost.
02. Harting
We love the wonky feel of the letters in Harting, which gets the typewriter feel by looking in places like it is running out of ink. This free typewriter font is free for personal use in your projects and was created by David Rakowski.
03. TT2020
Described by creator Fredrick Brennan, as "an advanced, open source, hyperrealistic, multilingual typewriter font for a new decade", TT2020 is a modern free typewriter fonts that tackles the issue of authenticity head on. As Brennan points out, in the days of analogue typewriters, damaged and misaligned letters meant that they were incapable of producing the same output every time. The regularity of digital fonts runs at odds to this, a problem he spotted on supposedly typewritten documents featured in the movies Joker and The Irishman.
His solution is pretty technical: if you're interested you can delve into it here. Most importantly, TT2020 is free and open source, can be used in both commercial and personal projects and comes in a variety of weights and styles.
04. Rough Typewriter Font
Rough Typewriter Font does exactly what it says on the tin. It's one of those free typewriter fonts that's a bit rough around the edges; great for times you want a touch of stylish imperfection. It comes in four versions including bold and italic and is free for personal use, but requires a commercial licence.
05. Silvery Tarjey Font
A slightly softer aesthetic, rounded and verging on bubble-like in places, this is one of the most standout free typewiter fonts available today. Created for a personal project by Cumberland Fontworks, it's free for personal use and you can contact the author if you'd like to discuss using it for wider distribution.
06. Conspiracy
This font makes us imagine secret government files full of covertly written letters about Area 51. Slightly quirky and lots of fun, this is one of the most popular free typewriter fonts around, amassing over 71,000 downloads to date.
07. Stampwriter-Kit
Stampwriter-Kit was created from a typewriter style stamp kit and has that lovely smudgy-stampy feel. One of the most authentic designs we've seen among the pantheon of free typewriter fonts available today, it comes in upper-case letters only, for that perfect 'branded' stamp effect.
08. RM Typerighter old font
RM Typerighter old font is one of those free typewriter fonts that looks old and worn out... in the best possible way. We love its sketch-like quality, which brings an artistic feel to the clogged up aesthetic. It comes in a complete set of alphabetical and numercial characters and is free for both commercial and personal use.
09. Trashtype
Trashtype is one of those free typewriter fonts that emulates Courier, but with a distressed twist. Beautifully eroded, it looks awesome on textured paper and has a weathered feel to it. The 179 characters include a Latin supplement. It's free for personal use, but please do contact designer David Kerkhoff if you want to use if commercially.
10. Gabriele
Named after a popular series of typewriters in postwar Germany, Gabriele has a distinctive texture that evokes old typewriter ribbons. This monospaced font requires no kerning, and it's free for commercial use.
11. Xerography Font
Looking for a free typewriter font that recreates the shape of old-fashioned typewriter hammers? Complete with wonky rectangular borders, Xerography is your go-to. This most evocative of free typewriter fonts makes great use of negative space, so it should work on any background colour you choose.
12. Love Letter
Love Letter harks back to a time when typewriters were used to spill out our feelings for our loved ones. Reach for this most amorous of free typewriter fonts if you want to put a bit of old school passion into your designs.
13. CarbonType
Thick and bold, CarbonType is one of the few free typewriter fonts that's perfect for typewriter headlines and large straps. It might prove difficult to use this in body copy, though, so we'd reserve it for larger typography projects.
14. Special Elite
Special Elite takes the vintage style of free typewriter fonts and moves it closer to the digital age. Developed by the team at Astigmatic, this design is perfect if you're looking for the impression of a strong keystroke.
15. Type Keys Font
This coolest of free typewriter fonts was developed by Ronna Penner. Free for personal use, the download comes complete with a full set of upper case letters, numbers and other characters you might find on a typewriter.
16. Sears Tower
This dirty, distressed typeface comes courtesy of Michael Tension. The design, one of his most popular free typewriter fonts, comes with 196 glyphs and is free to use for both personal and commercial work.
17. L.C. Smith 5 Typewriter
the Creator of L.C. Smith 5 Typewriter, Georg Sommeregger, has a passion for typewriters, collecting, repairing and generally sharing information on them. In addition to this, he's also created this most elegant of free typewriter fonts, and offers it free for use in personal projects.
18. Veteran Typewriter
Looking for a more traditional take on free typewriter fonts? This design created by Koczman Bálint of Magique Fonts includes every character you're ever likely to need, and it's beautifully authentic to boot.
19. Last Draft Font
Designer Andrew Hart has a ton of free fonts, all of which are available on his website. But we particularly like this fanciest of free typewriter fonts. Free for personal use, the download includes a full set of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.
20. Teletype 1945-1985
This typewriter-based, serif, mono-spaced typeface was designed by E.V Norat. It replicates exactly how characters were once printed on teletype machines, which were used throughout the world for communications and weather reporting and transmission purposes.
21. My Underwood
A clear fan of the grunge style, My Underwood is another of the brilliant free typewriter fonts from Michael Tension. The Canadian-based artist has 20 fonts available online, which have been downloaded over three million times in total.
22. F25 Blackletter Typewriter
German 'Schwabacher Fraktur' Typewriter Font was created by designer Volker Busse. Black Letter fonts were common in Germany before the Second World War, and thus widely associated with the Nazis, so typewriters with Black Letter monospaced fonts are practically lost today. The creator explains that 'to rescue the odd' they created a digital computer font.
23. Brenton Scrawl Type
Brenton Scrawl Type enables you to replicate the look of a typewriter in serious need of a service. This free download includes a full set of capital and lower case letters, as well as the figures 1-9, which includes a backwards 5.
24. Metacopy
Metacopy was created by designer Yoshiki Kita. The cracked, distorted, small print is one of the most popular free typewriter fonts around, having been downloaded over 36,000 times now. It includes a full set of numbers, letters and special characters.
25. Courier Prime
Designed by Alan Dague-Greene, this Google Fonts typewriter font is a more modern and refined take on IBM's classic Courier which was designed by Howard Kettler way back in 1956. Compared to the original courier, the serifs are crisper and less rounded and the counters are subtly wider, aiding readability.
That's because this monospaced family was designed specifically for ease of reading in screenplays. It's too clean and sleek to pass as authentic typewriter type, but it can be more practical when readability is a priority.
Cutive Mono is enough clean Google Font typewriter typeface to consider if you're looking for something along these lines. It was inspired by several typewriter typefaces, including IBM's Executive and Smith-Premier.
26. Telegraphem
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play..... Don't worry, my keyboard hasn't got stuck. It's just that this free typewriter font is reminiscent of the old-school typewriter font used in Kubrick's film of Stephen King's thriller, The Shining.
For more font inspiration, see our guide to font types. We also have round ups of the best graffiti fonts and the best free handwriting fonts.
