Adobe Fonts vs Google Fonts
Adobe Fonts
fonts.adobe.com
Google Fonts
fonts.google.comSide by side
| Figure | Adobe Fonts | Google Fonts |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 2 |
| Spec score · Font Marketplaces | 9.1 (#1) | 8.6 (#5) |
| Spec score · Web Font Marketplaces | 9.0 (#1) | 8.5 (#5) |
| Self-hosting | Adobe's web-font terms require serving fonts through Adobe's provided embed code rather than hosting the font files yourself. | The official repository provides downloadable font files and supports serving them from your own infrastructure. |
| Support | Adobe's Fonts User Guide links users to the Fonts community and Adobe customer support. | The Google Fonts repository directs users to its issue tracker for font-file problems and future-development requests. |
| What it does | Adobe Fonts provides a library of more than 30,000 typefaces for use in creative projects through an Adobe subscription. | Google Fonts is a web directory and delivery service for downloadable and embeddable typefaces. |
Plans
Adobe Fonts
- Adobe Fonts FreeFree
- Adobe Fonts ProPrice not published
- Adobe Fonts StandardPrice 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.
Google Fonts
Google Fonts is a catalog of fonts for websites, released under open-source licenses for commercial and non-commercial use. A website can use a font by linking a stylesheet and referencing the font in CSS. Developers can also query the REST-based Google Fonts Developer API for font metadata in JSON; each request requires an API key. The API supports sorting by alphabet, date, popularity, style count, and trending growth, plus filters for family, subset, and category. It can return variable font files and axis-range metadata when capability=VF is requested. For projects that need specific characters, the text parameter can reduce a requested font file’s size by up to 90%. Native Android apps can use the Font Provider in Google Play Services, supported from Android Jelly Bean API level 16 onward. Fonts can also be self-hosted for redistribution under their license terms. Google says the Web API is designed to limit data collection, storage, and use, and is not used to create end-user profiles or for advertising. The catalog is free at free.