How to Install Fonts on Windows, Mac and Phone (Free Fonts, 2026)

Want your documents, slides or designs to stand out with a new typeface? Learning how to install fonts takes less than a minute on Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android, and thousands of good fonts are free and legal to use. This guide shows where to download safe free fonts, how to install them on each device, and how to make sure your chosen font still looks right when someone else opens your file or visits your website.

Quick answer: Download a font file (.ttf or .otf) from a trusted source such as Google Fonts, unzip it, then on Windows right-click the file and choose Install (or Install for all users). On a Mac, double-click the file and click Install in Font Book. Restart open apps and the font appears in their font menu. To share documents, embed the fonts or export to PDF.

Where to download free fonts safely

Stick to well-known sources. Random “free font” sites often bundle adware, broken files or fonts copied without permission.

• Google Fonts (external site): over a thousand open-source font families, free for personal and commercial use. See our guide to using Google Fonts on your website.
• Font Squirrel (external site): hand-picked fonts that are free for commercial use, plus a webfont generator.
• The League of Moveable Type (external site): a small collection of open-source display fonts.
• Adobe Fonts (external site): included with Creative Cloud plans, synced to your computer through the Creative Cloud app.

For more options, see our list of the best sites to download free fonts.

Check the font licence

“Free” can mean free for personal use only. Before using a font in a logo, product or client work, read its licence. Fonts under the SIL Open Font License (most of Google Fonts) can be used commercially; many fonts on download sites are “personal use only” demos.

Font file types explained

• TTF (TrueType): the classic format, works on Windows, Mac and Linux.
• OTF (OpenType): the modern standard, can hold more characters and typographic features such as ligatures. Install OTF when both are offered.
• Variable fonts: one file that contains a whole range of weights and widths.
• WOFF and WOFF2: compressed web fonts for websites. You don’t install these on your computer.

How to install fonts on Windows 11 and 10

1. Download the font and, if it is a .zip file, right-click it and choose Extract All. Fonts can’t be installed from inside a zip.
2. Double-click a .ttf or .otf file to preview it, then click Install.
3. Or right-click the file and choose Install (just for you) or Install for all users (needs admin rights). On Windows 11 these may sit under Show more options.
4. You can also drag font files onto Settings > Personalization > Fonts.
5. Close and reopen Word, PowerPoint or your design app so it picks up the new font.

To remove a font, open Settings > Personalization > Fonts, click the font and choose Uninstall.

How to install fonts on a Mac

1. Unzip the download in Finder.
2. Double-click the font file. Font Book opens a preview.
3. Click Install. Font Book checks the font for problems and adds it to your user fonts.
4. Restart open apps to see the font in their menus.

Fonts on iPhone, iPad and Android

• iPhone and iPad: install font apps from the App Store (for example Adobe Creative Cloud), then manage them under Settings > General > Fonts. They work in apps that support custom fonts, such as Pages and Keynote.
• Android: most phones don’t support installing system fonts directly. Some brands, such as Samsung, let you change the system font style in Settings > Display, and apps like Google Docs offer their own font menus.

Working smart with fonts: sharing files and websites

A font you install only exists on your device. If you send a Word file to someone who doesn’t have that font, their computer swaps it for a default such as Calibri or Times New Roman, and your layout can break.

• Embed fonts in Office files: in Word or PowerPoint on Windows, go to File > Options > Save and tick Embed fonts in the file. This makes the file bigger and only works with fonts whose licence allows embedding.
• Export to PDF: for a CV, invoice or poster, save as PDF. Fonts are embedded and the file looks the same everywhere.
• Use common fonts for shared editing: for documents others will edit, choose fonts everyone has, or Google Fonts in Google Docs.
• Websites: load web fonts with CSS (@font-face) or a service like Google Fonts so visitors see the same type, and set a fallback from our web safe fonts list.

What changed since 2005

When we first wrote this in 2005, we recommended a collection called Essential Fonts for Designers with 300 free TrueType fonts sorted into display, sans serif, serif, script, handwriting, antique and fun styles, and installing a font meant going to Control Panel > Fonts > File > Install New Font in Windows XP. We now point to the trusted sources above instead, but those categories are still how font libraries are organised today. Installing is now a right-click, OpenType has largely replaced TrueType, and the “trick” we promised for showing custom fonts on websites became standard: web fonts loaded with CSS work in every modern browser.

FAQ

Why doesn’t my new font show up in Word?

Close Word completely and open it again. If it still doesn’t appear, check that you extracted the zip and installed the .ttf or .otf file, not just opened it.

Are fonts from Google Fonts really free for commercial use?

Yes. Google Fonts are open source, mostly under the SIL Open Font License, so you can use them in commercial projects, logos and websites.

Should I install TTF or OTF?

Choose OTF if both are offered; it supports more features. Don’t install both versions of the same font, as that can cause duplicates and conflicts.

Can a font file contain a virus?

Plain font files are low risk, but downloads from shady sites can hide malware in zip files or fake installers. Download from trusted sources and never run an .exe that claims to be a font.