Old English and Gothic Fonts: Free Blackletter Fonts to Download

Ten free blackletter and Gothic-style fonts, from traditional Fraktur to metal-band and pixel takes on the style.

UnifrakturCook

Blackletter
UnifrakturCook

A bold Fraktur-style blackletter. Strong and traditional, best for short titles.

Download View on Google Fonts ↗ SIL OFL 1.1

UnifrakturMaguntia

Blackletter
UnifrakturMaguntia

A classic blackletter in the Fraktur tradition with a historic, manuscript-like look.

Download View on Google Fonts ↗ SIL OFL 1.1

Pirata One

Blackletter
Pirata One

A blackletter with simplified shapes that read more easily than traditional Gothic types.

Download View on Google Fonts ↗ SIL OFL 1.1

Grenze Gotisch

Gothic
Grenze Gotisch

A blackletter-inspired design that is more legible than classic Gothic faces.

Download View on Google Fonts ↗ SIL OFL 1.1

Jacquard 24

Pixel blackletter
Jacquard 24

A pixel-based blackletter, a modern take on the Gothic look with a retro-digital feel.

Download View on Google Fonts ↗ SIL OFL 1.1

Texturina

Blackletter
Texturina

A face inspired by blackletter textura, tuned to be more legible. Suits titles and themed designs.

Download View on Google Fonts ↗ SIL OFL 1.1

About these fonts

Blackletter, often called Old English or Gothic, is the dense, angular lettering of medieval manuscripts. Today it appears on beer labels, newspaper mastheads, tattoos, streetwear and metal posters. The fonts here include traditional Fraktur-style faces and more playful or more readable modern interpretations.

Blackletter is hard to read in long text and in all capitals, where the elaborate capital letters become almost unrecognisable. Use these fonts for short titles and names, in mixed case, and keep them large enough for the details to show.

Licence and installation

Every font on this page comes from the open-source Google Fonts library and is free for personal and commercial use under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 (a few under Apache 2.0). Each zip contains the font file, the licence text and a short readme. To install on Windows, unzip, right-click the font and choose Install; on Mac, double-click the file and click Install Font. The live previews show the regular weight and basic Latin characters; the downloads are the complete font files.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Old English and Gothic fonts?

People often use the names interchangeably for blackletter lettering. Strictly, Old English is a popular name for English-style blackletter; Gothic is the broader term for the angular medieval style.

Is it OK to type blackletter in all capitals?

It is better not to. Blackletter capitals are ornate and are hard to read as whole words. Mixed case reads far more clearly.

Which of these is the most readable?

Pirata One and Grenze Gotisch are simpler and more legible than traditional Fraktur such as UnifrakturCook.

More free font styles

Need stylish text you can paste into a bio or message instead of installing a font? Try the fancy text font generator or browse symbols and emoji to copy and paste.