Free alternatives to Garamond

Garamond is the classic Renaissance book face, elegant and easy to read for hundreds of years. Most digital versions are commercial, but there are excellent free revivals. These are the closest on FaceTypes, best match first.

  1. EB Garamond by Georg Duffner, Octavio Pardo: Georg Duffner's revival based on a 1592 type specimen. A genuine Garamond and the obvious first choice for text.
  2. Cormorant Garamond by Christian Thalmann: A display Garamond with finer details and higher contrast. Made for large sizes, not small print.
  3. Cardo by David Perry: A scholarly old style from the same Renaissance tradition, with a huge character set for languages and classical texts.
  4. Crimson Pro by Jacques Le Bailly: A Garamond-inspired book face drawn for comfortable long reading on screen and paper.

About Garamond

Claude Garamond was a Paris punchcutter working in the 1500s, and many typefaces now carry his name. Popular digital versions like Adobe Garamond and Garamond Premier are commercial and need a paid licence.

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