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14 Top Free Serif Fonts with Multiple Weights

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free-serif-fonts If you have a growing collection of usable free sans-serif fonts, you are going to have to have some free serif fonts to go with them! Our recent article on the most popular free sans-serif fonts outlined four criteria we came up with to navigate the morass of free fonts readily available on the web. We came up with the best 14, we think. Take a look at that article so we don’t have to repeat the text here, and so that we can get on with our list of free serif fonts. The only criteria we will repeat for clarity, just in case you don’t jump over to the previous article, is this one:
  • The typeface must have Normal, Bold, Italic, and Bold Italic weights
Serif fonts, unless specifically designed for display and decorative usage, really need these four weights to be useful. You could get a way with not having a bold italic face, granted. However, a typeface that includes all four of these basic weights is likely to have had a lot of attention paid to it, and it’s that attention to detail that indicates the completeness and usefulness of each of the fonts in the typeface. The popularity of these individual serif typefaces wasn’t possible to determine and sort, among and against themselves. Therefore, they are presented alphabetically. Overall, these typefaces are the most popular among all free serif typefaces that met our criteria, according to the various typography resources we consulted. And remember, all that’s left after getting a collection of the best free sans serif and the best free serif fonts is how to combine them! Stay tuned for that article. But for now, make use of this list and start downloading these serifed freebies. NOTE: click images to enlarge

14 Top Free Serif Fonts with Multiple Weights

Alegreya

  • Download page: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/alegreya
free-serif-fonts-alegreya

Alexandria

  • Download page: http://www.fontspace.com/casady-and-greene/alexandriaflf
free-serif-fonts-alexandria

Charis

  • Download page: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Charis-SIL
free-serif-fonts-charis

Covington

  • Download page: http://www.fontriver.com/font/covington/
free-serif-fonts-convington

Droid Serif

  • Download page: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Droid-Serif
free-serif-fonts-driod-serif

Yo, Font-Addict! Make sure to check out The Big Book of Font Combinations. Go grab a copy from Amazon or B&N, or grab the DISCOUNTED ebook PDF digital download version (40% OFF the hardcover retail price!) from the BonFX Store, and stare at all 350+ examples of informative font combinations for web and print. You know you want to!

Dustismo

  • Download page: http://www.fontex.org/download/Dustismo-roman.ttf
free-serif-fonts-dustismo

Galileo

  • Download page: http://www.fontspace.com/casady-and-greene/galileoflf
free-serif-fonts-galileo

Latin Modern Roman

  • Download page: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Latin-Modern-Roman
free-serif-fonts-latin-modern-roman

Liberation Serif

  • Download page: http://www.dafont.com/liberation-serif.font
free-serif-fonts-liberation-serif

Linux Libertine

  • Download page: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Linux-Libertine
free-serif-fonts-linux-libertine

Noticia Text

  • Download page: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/noticia-text
free-serif-fonts-noticia-text

Portland

  • Download page: http://www.fontspace.com/luke-owens/portland-ldo
free-serif-fonts-portland-ldo

PT Serif

  • Download page: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/pt-serif
free-serif-fonts-pt-serif

TeX Gyre Schola

  • Download page: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/TeX-Gyre-Schola
free-serif-fonts-tex-gyre-schola

Yo, Font-Addict! Make sure to check out The Big Book of Font Combinations. Go grab a copy from Amazon or B&N, or grab the DISCOUNTED ebook PDF digital download version (40% OFF the hardcover retail price!) from the BonFX Store, and stare at all 350+ examples of informative font combinations for web and print. You know you want to!

About Douglas Bonneville

Douglas has been a graphic designer since 1992, in addition to software developer and author. He is a member of Smashing Magazine's "Panel of Experts" and has contributed to over 100 articles. He is the author of "The Big Book of Font Combinations", loves cats, and plays guitar.

Comments

  1. Louis-Olivier Brassard says

    Great selection! There some very good fonts in there, they’re an interesting to give a little subtlety to your documents. 🙂

  3. Grace Visconti says

    I am in the process of revamping my website and logo. I was just wondering what the name of this font is that you’ve used in the body copy and comments section. It’s really easy to read and I’ve seen it on the web. Is this a free Google font or an Adobe font? Thanks.
    Grace