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FontLab 8

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Mac & Windows font editor

Design & edit OpenType, variable, web & color fonts

FontLab 8 is an integrated font editor for Mac and Windows that helps you create fonts from start to finish, from a simple design to a complex project, and brings a spark of magic into type design. Try FontLab 8 for free for 10 days, and start making fonts today!

FontLab 8
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WHAT TYPEFACE DESIGNERS SAY

“amazing and innovative”
Eduardo Tunni

“worthy of a master”
Vassil Kateliev

“best drawing tools”
FÁBIO DUARTE MARTINS

“more advanced than the competition”
Tobias Kvant

“wonderful, very addictive”
Yves Michel

“excels in new features and innovations”
Robert Strauch & Alexander Haberer

“without FontLab,
I could do just about nothing”

Dave Lawrence

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Create. Develop. Complete. Deliver.

Make world-class

fonts with FontLab 8

Turn letters into art

Express your imagination, prototype and experiment. Draft glyphs with bitmap autotracing and live calligraphic strokes.

Draw and edit beautiful, smooth, consistent glyphs in fractional or integer precision, with the help of intelligent snapping and live numeric and visual measurements.

Refine your drawings: create overlaps, simplify paths, equalize stems. Scale while keeping stroke thickness, globally adjust weight and width, find & fix imperfections.

Make words look good

Build and assemble glyphs from variable components or from self-adjusting segment or corner skins. Add accented glyphs with a simple double-click.

Space and kern in multi-line tabs or windows that feel like a text editor.

Add typographic smartness like ligatures, small caps, old-style numerals with automatically-generated OpenType features, and test them in the integrated state-of-the-art complex-script text engine.

Give text a voice

Explore new directions with color and variation. Extend and complete any font in FontLab, or in mix with other font editors.

Create, open, extend, test and export font families, variable OpenType fonts, color fonts and web fonts for any Unicode writing system.

Interchange with other font editing apps like FontForge, RoboFont or Glyphs. Supercharge your workflow with powerful add-ins and Python 3 scripts.

700 REASONS TO LOVE FONTLAB 8

The boldest upgrade

FontLab has been the go-to app for professional typeface designers to make smooth and consistent curves, comfortably tweak, space and kern a typeface, and then export technically solid fonts in any format. With FontLab 8, we’ve revised and modernized every aspect of our powerful, versatile font editor. NEW FontLab 8.3 has 400 improvements over version 8, and 800 improvements over FontLab 7: it’s easier to learn and use, it’s better, and it’s faster.

Discover the new dark UI theme, adjustable Stroke and Brush sketching, polished drawing and editing, non-destructive transformations with Delta, visual and numeric measurement, glyph building with Skin and variable components, spacing and kerning with mouse and trackpad, right-to-left kerning, batch font export and Actions sets, revamped color and gradients, plus support for .glyphs 3, FontForge, COLRv1, and Python 3.

EXPLORE & PREPARE NEW
Relax your eyes with the new dark or refined light interface theme. Group panels into a vertical infinite, scrollable panel dock, and intuitively navigate between the panels.
Adjust numeric values with sliders and calculations. Boost your productivity with up to 8× improved performance.
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DRAFT & DRAW NEW
Draw calligraphic letterforms with new Power Stroke or improved Power Brush. Modulate thickness visually with Thickness tool.
Draw fluently with Pen and Rapid toolbox sub-tools. Draw polygons and stars with Rectangle tool.
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EDIT & REFINE NEW
Make slanted selections, keep selections as you switch masters, and store them in Selections panel. Use toolbox for hands-free Power Nudge, handle Nudge and Lever precision dragging, and for easier curve cleanup with Eraser.
Adjust curve tension numerically. Align and collapse points. Reverse contours with Fill tool. Sort contours. Paste to replace selection. Fine-tune individual ink traps and smart corners.
Read More
CONSISTENCY & PRECISION NEW
Study the numeric values of your stem widths, segment lengths, curve tensions and corner angles with Auto-meter, or hold G to temporarily view these in Guides tool along with quick measurement and master relations.
View relative node offsets. Snap to continuation lines, perpendicular lines and centerlines. See coordinates for key nodes only. Edit visual TrueType Hinting like never before.
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Build & ASSEMBLE NEW
Convert selections to components or elements. Add decoration and attach shapes to nodes or segments with updated Glue filter, or with .glyphs-compatible Skin filter in segment, dash, corner and cap modes.
Use Fusion for live non-destructive Boolean pathfinding. Use text shapes to re-use scaled words or phrases from your font in existing glyphs.
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METRICS & KERNING NEW
Use your mouse or trackpad to adjust metrics and kerning with high-precision Lever dragging.
Hide or reduce the visibility of spacing controls for distraction-free spacing and kerning.
Auto-space and auto-kern with one click or tap.
Edit kerning for right-to-left scripts like Arabic or Hebrew
Read More
FAMILIES & VARIATION NEW
Quickly make variable fonts from static fonts. Define custom per-glyph variation axes. Re-use live interpolated instances to build glyphs with smart variable components.
Set start points and reverse contours in all masters. Make contours compatible with improved Matchmaker. Group layers visually.
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TEST & ADJUST NEW
Print waterfalls or interpolations from Preview panel. Batch-run selected FontAudit fixes in glyphs and masters. Create, save and run action sets that combine multiple actions.
Batch-adjust stem widths in a master. Adjust by variation to replace contours with a different dynamic instance. Perform complex non-destructive contour transformations with new Delta filter.
Read More
COLOR NEW
Fill elements with gradients or solid colors. Copy-paste color fill and stroke between glyphs. Import drawings with gradients. Open and export better OpenType+SVG and new OpenType+COLRv1 fonts.
Export an automatic dark-mode color palette. Overlay multiple layers into color fonts.
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GLYPHS & FONTS NEW
Quickly create new glyphs with common suffixes. Clean up classes when removing glyphs.
Copy-paste classes between fonts or masters. Exclude glyphs from export into final formats.
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FORMATS NEW
Batch-export many fonts into many formats. Open and export the .glyphs format in version 2 or 3. Open FontForge SFD files, bitmap BDF fonts and multi-flavor color fonts.
Use improved VFJ, UFO, VF support. Export WOFF2 color web fonts.
Read More
Scripts & Integrations NEW
Write and use Python 3 scripts. Seamlessly interchange with other font editing apps like Glyphs or RoboFont.
Perform global transformations with the powerful TypeRig library. Create fonts for the entire Unicode 15 standard.
Read More

Ready to make your first font?

Try FontLab 8 today

Download the free fully-functional 10-day trial of FontLab 8, and start making fonts today!

We’ll occasionally notify you about special offers and latest updates.
Works on macOS 14 Sonoma (Intel and Apple Silicon), 12 Monterey, 11 Big Sur, 10.15 Catalina.
Works on 64-bit versions of Windows 11 or later, Windows 10, and Windows 8.1. Limited functionality on Windows 7.
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From novice to pro. From start to finish.

Love type design and font making? FontLab 8 has you covered!

Explore & Prepare

Work with blazing speed with even most complex contours thanks to FontLab’s optimized architecture.

Customize FontLab’s interface to your needs, and easily navigate it with the intuitive Quick Help system: hover and hold F1.

Draft & Draw

Draw outline-based glyphs using the Brush, Pencil, Rapid, Pen, Ellipse / Oval, Rectangle / Polygon / Star tools, in a purely-integer or fractional coordinate space.

Draw calligraphic letterforms with live, adjustable Power Stroke and Power Brush tools. Modulate thickness visually with new Thickness tool. Assign and expand strokes.

Paste and import PDF, EPS & SVG vector artwork with monochrome, color or gradient fills and strokes, as well as scanned character sets or color bitmap glyphs. Turn them into monochrome fonts via customizable autotracing, or into color OpenType fonts.

Edit & Refine

Natively edit cubic PostScript Bézier curves and quadratic TrueType curves, including overlapping open paths, using the Contour, Knife, Scissors and Fill tools.

Drag some nodes and have other nodes or handles follow intelligently with Power Nudge and handle Nudge. Drag without zooming in for small adjustments with Lever precision dragging.

Convert between the curve types with adjustable precision.

Consistency & Precision

Use upright and slanted grids, flexible guidelines, snapping suggestions and live measurement tools for consistent and precise vector drawing.

Dynamically snap to nodes, angles, stem distances, continuation lines, perpendicular lines and centerlines as you draw.

See lengths, angles, curve tension, stem thickness, whitespace distance — measured numerically and visually as you draw.

Work on a purely integer grid, or scale, rotate and slant losslessly thanks to FontLab’s fractional drawing precision and live integer rounding, apply the rounding to bake in the integers.

Build & Assemble

Build glyphs from Components that point to other glyphs, or from Element References that cross-reference each other and can be edited anywhere they appear.

Decompose a component and unlink a reference to make local changes only.

Use Auto layers to build predefined glyphs and keep them automatically updated.

Metrics & Kerning

Space entire phrases and kern according to planned pair lists. Apply tracking, modify widths, sidebearings and kerning globally or for selected glyphs. Edit kerning for right-to-left scripts like Arabic or Hebrew.

Automatically or manually build kerning classes and link metrics between glyphs using complex expressions. Automatically calculate metrics and kerning, or use autokerning suggestions as you kern manually.

Kern between classes and glyphs in a UFO- and OpenType-compatible way, with exceptions. Audit kerning to find combinations that produce visual conflicts.

Families & Variation

Blend, interpolate and extrapolate fonts, create intermediate weights and styles, build extensive font families and variable OpenType PS & TT fonts with intermediate font and glyph masters, conditional glyph substitutions, and automatic masters matching for point-compatible outlines.

Preview interpolation live with sliders, variations map and play/pause buttons.

Test & Adjust

Use Preview panel to view current and custom text in current, all or visible masters, waterfalls, composites and anchor groups.

Print a glyph map from the Font window; words, phrases and texts from the Glyph window; waterfalls and masters from the Preview panel.

Preview Windows screen rendering with built-in genuine Microsoft ClearType, even on the Mac.

Preview complex-script shaping and OpenType features with the genuine HarfBuzz world-ready shaper.

Find and fix outline problems with FontAudit. Automatically clean up and optimize outline drawings, balance segments and modify curve tension, harmonize G2 curvature, create and remove overlapping paths, apply non-destructive ink traps and rounded corners.

Run automatic action sets to make changes to multiple glyphs and layers, to change weight, create contour versions, apply effects to outline and bitmap glyphs.

Color

Paste and import PDF & SVG vector artwork with color or gradient fills and strokes, and color images in a variety of formats.

Apply solid colors or gradients to fill and stroke, edit gradients visually.

Space and kern vector-based or bitmap-based color glyphs, automatically build OpenType features.

Overlay monochrome fonts or layers into multi-color fonts.

Export into OpenType+SVG, +COLRv0/v1, +sbix and +CBDT color font formats.

Glyphs & Fonts

Create, open, edit and export monochrome outline fonts with single masters (desktop and web) and multiple masters (variable), color fonts (with multi-layer editable glyphs, SVG glyphs or bitmap glyphs).

Compare fonts, merge and split font glyph sets and variations. Modify fonts, glyphs, metrics, kerning and technical font information. Convert between font formats, improve screen appearance with automatic and manual hinting. Exchange font source with other font creation apps.

Unicode 15 support.

Automatic and manual OpenType Layout features creation with FEA format and Adobe FDK for OpenType.

Formats

Open and export OpenType-PS/CFF (OTF), OpenType TT / TrueType (TTF), Variable OpenType TT (TTF+gvar), Variable OpenType PS (OTF+CFF2), Color OpenType (TTF+SVG, +COLRv0/v1, +CBDT, +sbix), PostScript Type 1 (PFB/PFA), Web fonts (WOFF2, WOFF, EOT), FontLab (VFB, VFC, VFJ), UFO 2 & 3, designSpace, Glyphs.app (glyphs v2 & 3).

Also open BitFonter Photofont (PHF+PNG, +SVG), Fontographer (FOG), Ikarus, FontForge SFD, bitmap BDF, and any of the above in ZIP files.

Scripts & Integrations

Write and use Python 3 scripts.

Seamlessly interchange with other font editing apps like Glyphs, RoboFont, FontForge and Microsoft VOLT.

Perform global transformations with the powerful TypeRig library.

Learn the Tricks

Read or watch the FontLab tutorials, and start your font-making adventure. Learn type design essentials, follow the exercises, master FontLab and benefit from pro tips and techniques!

Download the GetGo Fonts for FontLab and use them as inspiration or templates for your own font. GetGo Fonts is a curated collection of free and opensource designs that range from simple sanserif and serif designs to multi-axis variable font projects and world script fonts.

Join the Pros

FontLab 8 is versatile and battle-proven. Thousands of designers and foundries large and small have been using the FontLab apps to create 10,000s professional fonts: Adobe, Apple, FontFont, Linotype, Microsoft, Monotype, Canada Type, Porchez, Underware, Tiro Typeworks and many more.

Most fonts that are bundled with Microsoft Windows or with the Apple systems (macOS, iOS) were designed in our apps!

Made with FontLab

From fresh ideas

to ideal fonts

Designers and foundries have used FontLab to create fonts in all flavors and for various world scripts. Check out some of the highlights below, and visit our Testimonials to read what designers say about the newest FontLab!

Variable font families like Graduate (Eduardo Tunni), Science Gothic (Thomas Phinney & team), Grand Gothik (Parachute), Circe Slab, Fact (ParaType), Bolyar Sans (Fontmaker), Lato (Łukasz Dziedzic).

Ambitious historical revivals like CAL Bodoni by (California Type Foundry).

One-offs like Wanchy (Matthijs Herzberg) or Optician Sans (Scannerlicker & ANTI Hamar).

Massive icon fonts like Material Symbols (Google).

Color fonts like the titling font for the Joker movie by Chad Danieley.

Ready for the next level?

Buy FontLab 8

Education

For more info, see all edu offers
Student 1-year
$109
Buy if you’re an academic student, use for any purpose for 365 days. Upgradable to lifetime.
Student / teacher lifetime
$335
Buy if you’re an academic student, teacher or institution, use forever for any purpose. Discounts on future upgrades.
Course 4-months
$249
Buy as teacher / school for 20 students, who can use it for 4 months.
Workshop 2-weeks
$99
Buy as workshop organizer for 20 participants, who can use it for 14 days.

Starter

3-months license
US$ 97
Mac & Windows
1 user, 3 computers
Buy once
No recurring fees
Use for 97 days
Full functionality
Can buy again when expires
No extra plugins required
Regular feature updates
Expert support

Pro

Lifetime license
US$499
Mac & Windows
1 user, 3 computers
Buy once
No recurring fees
Full functionality forever
Discounts on future upgrades
Volume discount available
No extra plugins required
Regular feature updates
Expert support

Upgrade

If you own another font editor, get a lifetime license at a discount
FontLab 7
$149
Click the price, then enter your FL70 serial as Coupon Code & click Apply. Free if bought after 20 April 2022.
FontLab VI
$299
FontLab Studio 5
$299
Fontographer 5
$399
TypeTool 3
$459
RoboFont
$459
Glyphs
$459

Your final price will include applicable tax. Pre-sales questions? Multi-user upgrades? Different payment methods? Contact Sales. We also sell through regional distributors. FontLab 8.3 works on macOS 10.15–14 Sonoma (natively on Intel and Apple Silicon) and on Windows 8.1–11.