25 of the best free typewriter fonts

The best free typewriter fonts can be a brilliant way to create a vintage feel for your designs. They instantly evoke ideas of the past, from reporters hunched over typewriters in far-flung locations to furiously efficient secretaries in Mad Men-esque office spaces. The good news is there are a lot of free typewriter fonts available. The bad news is that they're not all such high quality, so we've  pulled together our favourites from around the web to help you in your search.

The free typewriter fonts below each offer a distinctive look and feel, so you should be to find the perfect options for your project. Just note, though, that while some are free for commercial use, others are free for personal use only, so please check the terms and conditions before you use them.

If you don't mind spending a bit of cash, then make sure you also see our list of the best paid-for typewriter fonts. And if you're interested in fonts more generally, then our constantly updated roundups of free fonts, graffiti fonts and handwriting fonts are all worth bookmarking for future reference. In the meantime, read on to discover the best free typewriter fonts around.

The best free typewriter fonts

01. Orange Typewriter 

Sample of a free typewriter font

(Image credit: Lukas Krakora)

The creator of Orange Typewriter, Lukas Krakora, has various typewriter fonts, plenty of which are worth looking at it, but Orange Typewriter is our favourite. It has extra detail around the letters, which makes it stand out from the rest. This font is free for non-commercial use, but you can write to the designer to get information about commercial licence cost.

02. Harting 

Sample of a free typewriter font

Get the authentic typewriter feel with this free font (Image credit: David Rakowski)

We love the wonky feel of the letters in Harting, which gets the typewriter feel by looking in places like it is running out of ink. This free typewriter font is free for personal use in your projects and was created by David Rakowski. 

03. TT2020

Free typewriter fonts: Example letter using TT2020 font

TT2020 gives the most authentic look of all our free typewriter fonts (Image credit: Fredrick Brennan)

Described by creator Fredrick Brennan, as "an advanced, open source, hyperrealistic, multilingual typewriter font for a new decade", TT2020 is a modern free typewriter fonts that tackles the issue of authenticity head on. As Brennan points out, in the days of analogue typewriters, damaged and misaligned letters meant that they were incapable of producing the same output every time. The regularity of digital fonts runs at odds to this, a problem he spotted on supposedly typewritten documents featured in the movies Joker and The Irishman.

His solution is pretty technical: if you're interested you can delve into it here. Most importantly, TT2020 is free and open source, can be used in both commercial and personal projects and comes in a variety of weights and styles.

04. Rough Typewriter Font

Free typewriter fonts: Rough Typewriter Font

One of our favourite free typewriter fonts, this is clean and simple with an uneven charm

Rough Typewriter Font does exactly what it says on the tin. It's one of those free typewriter fonts that's a bit rough around the edges; great for times you want a touch of stylish imperfection. It comes in four versions including bold and italic and is free for personal use, but requires a commercial licence.

05. Silvery Tarjey Font

Free typewriter fonts: Silvery Tarjey

Silvery Tarjey is softer and more elongated than other free typewriter fonts

A slightly softer aesthetic, rounded and verging on bubble-like in places, this is one of the most standout free typewiter fonts available today. Created for a personal project by Cumberland Fontworks, it's free for personal use and you can contact the author if you'd like to discuss using it for wider distribution.

06. Conspiracy

Free typewriter font: Conspiracy

Conspiracy is one of the quirkier examples of free typewriter fonts

This font makes us imagine secret government files full of covertly written letters about Area 51. Slightly quirky and lots of fun, this is one of the most popular free typewriter fonts around, amassing over 71,000 downloads to date.

07. Stampwriter-Kit

Free typewriter fonts: Stampwriter Kit

If you're seeking the smudged look in your free typewriter fonts, Stampwriter Kit is for you

Stampwriter-Kit was created from a typewriter style stamp kit and has that lovely smudgy-stampy feel. One of the most authentic designs we've seen among the pantheon of free typewriter fonts available today, it comes in upper-case letters only, for that perfect 'branded' stamp effect.

08. RM Typerighter old font

Free typewriter fonts: Typerighter old font

Typerighter is old, worn and clogged up, in a good way

RM Typerighter old font is one of those free typewriter fonts that looks old and worn out... in the best possible way. We love its sketch-like quality, which brings an artistic feel to the clogged up aesthetic. It comes in a complete set of alphabetical and numercial characters and is free for both commercial and personal use.

09. Trashtype

Free typewriter fonts: trashtype

One of the most distinctive free typewriter fonts around,  Trashtype offers a corroded alternative to Courier

Trashtype is one of those free typewriter fonts that emulates Courier, but with a distressed twist. Beautifully eroded, it looks awesome on textured paper and has a weathered feel to it. The 179 characters include a Latin supplement. It's free for personal use, but please do contact designer David Kerkhoff if you want to use if commercially.

10. Gabriele

Free typewriter fonts: Gabriele

Emulating a faded typewriter ribbon, Gabriele is one of those free typewriter fonts you can fall in love with

Named after a popular series of typewriters in postwar Germany, Gabriele has a distinctive texture that evokes old typewriter ribbons. This monospaced font requires no kerning, and it's free for commercial use.

11. Xerography Font

Free typewriter fonts: Xerography font

Your message will stand out in this block-framed font

Looking for a free typewriter font that recreates the shape of old-fashioned typewriter hammers? Complete with wonky rectangular borders, Xerography is your go-to. This most evocative of free typewriter fonts makes great use of negative space, so it should work on any background colour you choose.

12. Love Letter

Free typewriter fonts: Love

Fall in love with this most romantic of free typewriter fonts

Love Letter harks back to a time when typewriters were used to spill out our feelings for our loved ones. Reach for this most amorous of free typewriter fonts if you want to put a bit of old school passion into your designs. 

13. CarbonType

free typewriter fonts: CarbonType

CarbonType will be perfect for typewriter headlines

Thick and bold, CarbonType is one of the few free typewriter fonts that's perfect for typewriter headlines and large straps. It might prove difficult to use this in body copy, though, so we'd reserve it for larger typography projects.

14. Special Elite

Free typewriter fonts: Special Elite

Special Elite provides the impression of a strong keystroke

Special Elite takes the vintage style of free typewriter fonts and moves it closer to the digital age. Developed by the team at Astigmatic, this design is perfect if you're looking for the impression of a strong keystroke.

15. Type Keys Font

Typewriter fonts: Type Keys

Type Keys comes fulled and unfilled

This coolest of free typewriter fonts was developed by Ronna Penner. Free for personal use, the download comes complete with a full set of upper case letters, numbers and other characters you might find on a typewriter.

16. Sears Tower

Free typewriter fonts: Sears Tower

Sears Tower comes in 196 glyphs

This dirty, distressed typeface comes courtesy of Michael Tension. The design, one of his most popular free typewriter fonts, comes with 196 glyphs and is free to use for both personal and commercial work.

17. L.C. Smith 5 Typewriter

Free typewriter fonts: L.C. Smith 5 Typewriter

Creator Sommeregger's passion for typewriters shines through in this most elegant of fonts

the Creator of L.C. Smith 5 Typewriter, Georg Sommeregger, has a passion for typewriters, collecting, repairing and generally sharing information on them. In addition to this, he's also created this most elegant of free typewriter fonts, and offers it free for use in personal projects.

18. Veteran Typewriter

Free typewriter fonts: Veteran Typewriter

Veteran Typewriter offers a more traditional take on free typewriter fonts

Looking for a more traditional take on free typewriter fonts? This design created by Koczman Bálint of Magique Fonts includes every character you're ever likely to need, and it's beautifully authentic to boot.

19. Last Draft Font

Free typewriter fonts: Last Draft Font

Last Draft Font is one of those free typewriter fonts that's brimming with personality

Designer Andrew Hart has a ton of free fonts, all of which are available on his website. But we particularly like this fanciest of free typewriter fonts. Free for personal use, the download includes a full set of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.

20. Teletype 1945-1985

Free typewriter fonts: Teletype

Teletype is one of the most authentically retro in this list of free typewriter fonts

This typewriter-based, serif, mono-spaced typeface was designed by E.V Norat. It replicates exactly how characters were once printed on teletype machines, which were used throughout the world for communications and weather reporting and transmission purposes.

21. My Underwood

Free typewriter fonts: My Underwood

My Underwood is delightfully grungy

A clear fan of the grunge style, My Underwood is another of the brilliant free typewriter fonts from Michael Tension. The Canadian-based artist has 20 fonts available online, which have been downloaded over three million times in total.

22. F25 Blackletter Typewriter

Free typewriter fonts: F25 Blackletter Typewriter

F25 Blackletter Typewriter was designed to recover a lost age

German 'Schwabacher Fraktur' Typewriter Font was created by designer Volker Busse. Black Letter fonts were common in Germany before the Second World War, and thus widely associated with the Nazis, so typewriters with Black Letter monospaced fonts are practically lost today. The creator explains that 'to rescue the odd' they created a digital computer font.

23. Brenton Scrawl Type

Free typewriter fonts: Brenton Scrawl Type

Get an authentic tempremental typewriter look with Brenton Scrawl Type

Brenton Scrawl Type enables you to replicate the look of a typewriter in serious need of a service. This free download includes a full set of capital and lower case letters, as well as the figures 1-9, which includes a backwards 5.

24. Metacopy

Free typewriter fonts: Metacopy

This cracked, distorted, small print is one of the most popular free typewriter fonts

Metacopy was created by designer Yoshiki Kita. The cracked, distorted, small print is one of the most popular free typewriter fonts around, having been downloaded over 36,000 times now. It includes a full set of numbers, letters and special characters.

25. Telegraphem

free typewriter fonts: Telegraphem

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Don't worry, my keyboard hasn't got stuck. It's just that this free typewriter font is reminiscent of the old-school typewriter font used in Kubrick's film of Stephen King's thriller, The Shining.

For more font inspiration, see our guide to font types. We also have round ups of  the best graffiti fonts and the best free handwriting fonts.

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Joseph Foley

Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news and features, updates buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment for creatives, from monitors to accessories and office supplies. A writer and translator, he also works as a project manager at London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives, where he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing photography, video content, graphic design and collaterals for the hospitality sector. He enjoys photography, particularly nature photography, wellness and he dances Argentine tango.