Adobe Fonts vs Fontstand
Adobe Fonts
fonts.adobe.com
Fontstand
fontstand.comSide by side
| Figure | Adobe Fonts | Fontstand |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $4.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 8 |
| Spec score · Font Marketplaces | 9.1 (#1) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Spec score · Web Font Marketplaces | 9.0 (#1) | 8.9 (#2) |
| API and SDK | Adobe's opened Fonts documentation describes web-project embeds and CSS usage; it does not document a public Adobe Fonts API or SDK. | Official documentation describes hosted CSS generation for webfonts but does not provide a public API or SDK reference. |
| Font discovery | The font browser offers natural-language tags and filters for classification, x-height, width, weight, and language. | The service provides advanced filtering and examples showing fonts in use. |
| Founded | 1982 | 2015 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, USA | The Hague, The Netherlands |
| Support | Adobe's Fonts User Guide links users to the Fonts community and Adobe customer support. | The company lists [email protected] for licensing, technical, and general enquiries, and [email protected] for invoice or refund questions. |
| What it does | Adobe Fonts provides a library of more than 30,000 typefaces for use in creative projects through an Adobe subscription. | Fontstand is a font discovery and streaming service for trying, renting and subscribing to professional typefaces. |
Plans
Adobe Fonts
- Adobe Fonts FreeFree
- Adobe Fonts ProPrice not published
- Adobe Fonts StandardPrice not published
Fontstand
- 3-hour font trialFree
- Free font testingFree
- Fontstand Font Library for iPad$4.99 a month
- 30-day font rentalPrice not published
- Font rentalPrice not published
- Foundry subscriptionPrice not published
- Shared rentalPrice not published
- Unlimited iPad fontsPrice not published
In their own words
Adobe Fonts
Adobe Fonts is a font library for desktop software and supported web projects. It offers more than 30,000 fonts from over 150 foundries, with catalog access depending on subscription. Users can browse typefaces and add individual styles or full families. The free plan costs nothing and provides a basic library of about 5,500 fonts; Adobe Fonts is also included with eligible Adobe subscriptions. Desktop fonts are added through the Creative Cloud desktop app for macOS and Windows and become available in desktop software. For websites, Web Projects provide controls for styles, weights, language subsets, OpenType features, and font-display settings, with publishing through Adobe’s embed code. Adobe states that its library fonts are licensed for personal and commercial use. Web fonts must use the supplied embed code rather than self-hosting or uploading font files to a website platform. The license does not cover app embedding or server installation. Adding desktop fonts requires a named-user Adobe subscription in Creative Cloud.
Fontstand
Fontstand is a font discovery service for finding, trying, and using typefaces in design work, presentations, and websites. Its filters and font examples help users explore and test fonts. The same fonts can be used on desktop and iPad, and a rental can become a permanent license after 12 months. Options include free font testing, rentals, subscriptions to specific foundries, and an iPad plan for using every available font in the library. Rental pricing is 10% of a font’s real price per month; other amounts depend on the selected family and calculator inputs. The calculator also covers short trials, shared rentals, hosted webfonts, and an after-12-month paid-in-full option. Fontstand supports web licensing, variable fonts, WOFF, and WOFF2. It lists apps for iOS and iPadOS, desktop downloads for macOS and Windows, and web access. Desktop versions cover macOS 13 and newer and Windows 10 and newer, with legacy versions for older systems. Creating an account requires a valid email address.