Fontello vs FontMaker

Fontello is a free web and API service for turning vector artwork into icon webfonts for websites. It can reduce glyph collections and combine symbols from multiple fonts into one generated file. The web app includes open-source artwork and accepts custom SVG icons or SVG fonts by drag and drop. Generated files arrive in a single ZIP archive, with a config.json file that can be imported later to continue editing. Its API can create a session from a font configuration, reopen that project, and download the resulting font; API sessions remain stored for 24 hours. Fontello lists Makefile, Node.js, Ruby, and Grunt integrations for workflow automation. It does not offer accounts for project storage, so archives should be kept in version control. Generated font icons are single-color. The code is MIT-licensed, while embedded fonts retain their own licenses.

FontMaker turns handwriting, drawings, SVG files, and images into downloadable fonts. Users can photograph a handwritten page, draw characters with a mouse, finger, or stylus, or import files. It traces PNG, JPG, GIF, and WebP images into vector glyphs. Each glyph can be adjusted for baseline, size, and left and right spacing, with a live preview while typing. Export formats are OTF, TTF, and WOFF; the maker lists Photoshop, Word, Canva, Figma, and Procreate as compatible uses, and says WOFF is for websites. FontMaker says processing happens in the browser and that fonts and files are not uploaded to its servers. The free plan costs nothing and exports 26 lowercase or uppercase characters for personal use. FontMaker Pro Monthly costs $3.99 a month; FontMaker Pro for life costs $19.99, paid once. Both paid plans allow all characters and commercial use. FontMaker Studio is described as available for iPhone, iPad, and Android, with drawing, scanning, and TTF export.