- Google Fonts' 62 Hebrew families at a glance
- Why 28 display families is mostly one font
- Families for Hebrew body text
- Hebrew-first designs and fonts that added Hebrew
- The smaller shelves at 1001 Fonts and FontSpace
- Checking a Hebrew font step by step
- Using open Hebrew fonts in print, PDFs and websites
- My advice
- Frequently asked questions
Start with Google Fonts: when I checked, 62 of its 1,959 families included Hebrew, all flagged open source, and the most popular include Open Sans, Rubik, Heebo and Frank Ruhl Libre. 1001 Fonts lists only 15 Hebrew fonts and FontSpace shows 37, so the open library is by far the bigger and clearer pool.
Most people looking for a Hebrew font need one of two things: a clean family for a newsletter, website or document, or something with character for a card, invitation or poster. The free options cover both, but the numbers on the category pages can mislead you.
Google Fonts' 62 Hebrew families at a glance
Google Fonts' public font list held 1,959 families when I checked on 30 October, and 62 of them include the Hebrew subset. By Google's categories, that's Display 28, Sans Serif 18, Serif 11, Handwriting 4 and Monospace 1. All 62 are flagged open source. On paper, Display is the biggest group by far.
Why 28 display families is mostly one font
Look closer at that Display group and all but two are variants of Rubik: Rubik Glitch, Rubik Bubbles, Rubik Wet Paint, Rubik Spray Paint, Rubik Moonrocks, Rubik Maze and many more, each a single style with an effect applied. The two that aren't are Handjet and Karantina, which was designed by Rony Koch and lists Hebrew as its main script.
That's not a bad thing. Rubik itself is one of the most popular families in the library, ranked 11th when I checked, with 14 styles, designed by Hubert and Fischer and Meir Sadan among others. So you can set body text in Rubik and a headline in Rubik Wet Paint and they'll sit together. Just don't expect 28 different display looks.
Families for Hebrew body text
For anything people read at length, start with the sans and serif families. These are the most useful when I checked:
| Family | Category | Designer | Styles | Main script in Google's data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Sans | Sans Serif | Steve Matteson | 12 | Multi-script |
| Rubik | Sans Serif | Hubert and Fischer, Meir Sadan | 14 | Multi-script |
| Heebo | Sans Serif | Oded Ezer | 9 | Hebrew |
| Assistant | Sans Serif | Adobe Systems Inc., Ben Nathan | 7 | Hebrew |
| Noto Sans Hebrew | Sans Serif | 9 | Hebrew | |
| Frank Ruhl Libre | Serif | Yanek Iontef | 7 | Hebrew |
| Noto Serif Hebrew | Serif | 9 | Hebrew | |
| Suez One | Serif | Michal Sahar | 1 | Hebrew |
Open Sans ranked 2nd in the entire library and Heebo 29th. Frank Ruhl Libre is the serif most people reach for, and Suez One is a single heavy style for headings rather than paragraphs.
Hebrew-first designs and fonts that added Hebrew
Here's a detail most lists miss. Only around a quarter of the 62 families list Hebrew as their main script in Google's metadata. Those include Heebo, Assistant, Frank Ruhl Libre, Alef, Secular One, Miriam Libre, David Libre and the Noto Hebrew families. The rest are mostly multi-script families such as Open Sans, Arimo, Tinos, Cardo and Cascadia Code, which carry Hebrew alongside Latin and other alphabets.
There are even two Japanese-first families on the list, M PLUS Rounded 1c and M PLUS 1p, which include Hebrew too. Neither group is better. A multi-script family is handy when a page mixes Hebrew and English, because both share one design. A Hebrew-first family puts Hebrew first in its design, so it's a natural pick for pages that are all Hebrew.
The smaller shelves at 1001 Fonts and FontSpace
1001 Fonts lists only 15 fonts in its Hebrew category, against 62 families on Google Fonts. FontSpace's Hebrew category showed 37 results when I checked, and its first page is a mixed bag. The top fonts were American Captain and other designs from the Fontry, labelled Personal Use Free, and the related style tags include Faux Hebrew next to Military, Automotive and 1950s. That suggests some fonts are there for a look rather than for Hebrew letters.
There are open options on that page too. Ezra SIL by SIL International, the organisation behind the Open Font License, carried FontSpace's fully free label, with 48138 downloads, and so did Afarat ibn Blady by Barmee and Kanisah by Gunarta. Mechonat Ktiva by Lukas Krakora was Personal Use Free. Check each font's own page and character preview before you use it.
Checking a Hebrew font step by step
- Type a real Hebrew sentence into the preview, not just your name, and check every letter appears.
- Check that your design app handles right-to-left text before you build a layout around the font.
- If the page mixes Hebrew and English, test both together, or choose a multi-script family.
- Count the styles. For body text you'll want at least a regular and a bold.
- Read the licence label on the font's own page, and save it with your project files.
If you've seen a Hebrew font you like in someone else's design, how to identify a font walks through how to name it.
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Using open Hebrew fonts in print, PDFs and websites
For families under the SIL Open Font License, the FAQ answers the questions small businesses ask most. You can make webpages with OFL fonts, and loading them as webfonts through CSS is the method it recommends. You can share the fonts with colleagues on a USB stick, as long as you include the full package with its licence. You can build and sell website themes or templates that use OFL fonts, as long as the font is part of a software bundle and not sold by itself. And artwork made with the font stays yours.
For the main licence types side by side, see fonts for commercial use. If you want a hand-drawn look in English to go with your Hebrew text, the guide to handwriting fonts has open options.
My advice
I'd use Heebo or Assistant for clean, modern Hebrew body text, and Frank Ruhl Libre if you want a serif. I'd pick Open Sans or Rubik if the same page mixes Hebrew and English, because one family handles both. Use the Rubik effect styles for headlines only, and Suez One for a bold heading. Skip FontSpace's top results for Hebrew text unless the preview shows Hebrew letters, because the category mixes in fonts that are there for a look.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I download free Hebrew fonts?
Google Fonts had 62 families with Hebrew when checked, all flagged open source, including Open Sans, Rubik, Heebo and Frank Ruhl Libre. 1001 Fonts lists 15 Hebrew fonts and FontSpace 37.
Which free Hebrew font is best for body text?
A sans or serif family with several styles, such as Heebo, Assistant, Noto Sans Hebrew or Frank Ruhl Libre. Most of Google's Hebrew Display families are single-style Rubik variants.
Is there a free font that does Hebrew and English together?
Yes. Multi-script families on Google Fonts such as Open Sans, Rubik and Arimo include Hebrew and Latin letters in one design.
What is a faux Hebrew font?
A Latin font styled to suggest a Hebrew look. FontSpace tags these as Faux Hebrew. They're for English text and won't type Hebrew.
Can I use open source Hebrew fonts on my website?
Yes. For fonts under the SIL Open Font License, the FAQ allows webpages and recommends loading the fonts as webfonts through CSS.
