A font is a piece of software, and like any software, someone owns it and decides how it can be used. Using one without the right license can mean a fee, a takedown notice, or a redesign you didn’t plan for.
Figuring out what you need comes down to two things: knowing what the license types actually cover and knowing where your font will live. Let’s start with the types.
Deciding between a "personal" or "commercial" license trips people up the most. Many free fonts are labeled “free for personal use,” which means you can use them on a school project or a birthday invitation, but not anything connected to a business.
Your logo, website, social graphics, packaging, and even a flyer for a paid event all count as commercial use. If a font doesn’t say it’s cleared for commercial use, assume it isn’t and don't use it.
This license lets you install the font on a computer and use it in design software to create things like logos, print materials, and graphics. It usually doesn’t cover loading the font live on a website or embedding it in an app, and it’s often limited to a set number of users or computers.
This license lets the font load live on your website. These are sometimes priced by monthly pageviews, so a growing site may eventually need a bigger plan.
This license covers fonts included inside a mobile app, game, or software, since the font file is distributed with the product.
This license covers a font embedded inside an e-book so readers see it on their own devices.
Some foundries treat logos, merchandise, broadcast, or large print runs differently. If a font will be part of any of these, look for any language about logo use before you commit. There's usually not a price listed, and instead they ask you reach out for a custom price.
The type of font license you need follows the use, not the font. The same font can be fine for one project and a problem for another.
Now that you know the types, here’s how they map to the places you’ll use a font.
| Where you'll use it | License you’ll typically need |
|---|---|
| Logo | Desktop (check for logo restrictions first) |
| Social graphics, print, packaging, paid ads | Desktop |
| Live text on your website | Web |
| Text shown as an image on your website | Desktop may be enough |
| Mobile app, game, or software | App |
| E-book with the font embedded | Epub |
| Merchandise or large print runs | Desktop, but check for quantity limits or an extended license |
| Designs made in Canva | Canva’s license, which works inside Canva only |
Now I do want to note that these are general patterns. Every foundry writes its own terms, so the license that comes with your font has the final say.
A book cover is a finished image, so a desktop license usually covers it. But if you also embed that font inside an e-book file, that’s a separate use and typically needs an E-pub license.
A website works the same way: live text on a page is a web use, which a desktop license usually doesn’t cover, and web licenses can be priced by traffic.
For this project, you potentially need three different license just for one singular font.
If you’re a designer, ask whose name the license is under. A license in your name may not cover your client’s continued use, and some web licenses expire or depend on a subscription staying active.
If you're a business owner who is receiving a brand from a designer, they will typically give you instructions on how to get your own licenses for the fonts you have selected.
Doesn't matter if it's a website template, Canva template for social media graphics, or some other template you've purchased.
A template can use fonts and images you were never given licenses for, which means you get charged later, after the website, graphic, etc. is already out in the world.
Not all font sources are the same. And there are literally so many out there to choose from. Here are four of the most common:
The most common free and open platform is Google Fonts. Every font family on it is open source, and nearly all of them use the SIL Open Font License, with a few under Apache or Ubuntu licenses.
In plain terms, this means you can use them commercially for free, including in logos, websites, print, and apps, with no per-use fees and no required credit to the designer. It’s the simplest model and a safe place to start.
The one thing the license prohibits is selling the font itself as a standalone product.
And Google has A TON of great options! I often tell my small business owners to start with Google, because it saves on costs and long-term management.
Subscription platforms like Adobe Fonts come with their own plans and terms. Adobe Fonts is included in a Creative Cloud subscription, and Adobe says the full library is cleared for both personal and commercial use. That covers design projects like images and vector artwork (logos included), PDFs, video and broadcast, and websites.
Websites work a little differently. Adobe doesn’t let you host the font files yourself. They load through an embed code from a web project, and the site has to load them through its own Creative Cloud subscription. If someone else builds your website, the fonts need to end up under your subscription, not theirs. On the plus side, there’s no pageview limit, which is unusual for web font licenses.
The catch is that your rights depend on the subscription staying active. If you cancel, the web fonts are no longer available to your website. Finished files that embed the font or have the text outlined, like PDFs and images, keep displaying correctly. Live design files like an InDesign document will swap in a default font. Adobe’s license also doesn’t allow embedding the fonts inside a mobile or desktop app.
Font markets like Creative Market sell licenses separately, and the one you pick at checkout is the one you own. The options on Creative Market are Desktop, Webfont, App, and E-pub as seen in the picture below.
A desktop license covers things like social graphics, packaging, and ads, but it only allows the font on a website in rasterized form, such as an image. A webfont license lets the font load live on your site, usually within a pageview limit, but it doesn’t cover desktop use.
If you need both, you buy both. Your receipt lists the license you own and serves as proof of it, so keep it somewhere safe.
Canva isn’t a font source in the same way as the others, but it’s where a lot of business owners pick their fonts, so it’s worth understanding how it works.
The fonts in Canva’s library come with Canva’s content license, which lets you use them inside Canva designs for a wide range of personal and commercial uses, somewhat similar to Adobe Fonts and subscription based font foundries.
What that doesn’t give you is the font itself. You can’t download the files and use them in your website, in Word, or in design software like Adobe, so the license stays inside Canva.
BTW: A few things come to mind from this:
License terms vary by font and by foundry, so the document that matters is the one that comes with the font.
When in doubt, read it, or ask the creator directly. This post is general guidance, not legal advice.
If you’d rather have a brand built on a solid foundation than sort through the fine print yourself, I’d love to hear about your business. Inquire Now
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