FreeTypefor Windows

This development tool has been around since 1996. The version used today is FreeType2, distinguishing it from a predecessor that’s no longer supported. Developers working on Android and Chrome, among many others, use it.

Comprehensive functionalities

FreeType is a powerful font rendering tool for all project purposes, from the smallest text games to iOS text services.

FreeType is a font engine written in C++ programming language that creates high-quality glyph images. The main uses of this program are in display servers, graphic libraries, text image generation, and font conversion tools.

While not capable of creating high-level features like graphics processing, FreeType builds a uniform library of font file content. That way, it makes even the more complex tasks much more manageable.

This program features a modular design, making it simple to add format-specific info to the library and customize it. It also helps you reduce the code size by compiling only the modules you need.

The list of supported font formats is quite long, including TrueType and OpenType fonts and collections and SFNT bitmaps and emojis. There’s also limited support for Type 42 fonts.

You can use this open-source software for free under two grants, GNU version 2, and FreeType’s own, which is compatible with GNU version 3. This double licensing means that you can use it for any project type.

Using FreeType requires some technical knowledge, but after you initialize the library, you’ll see that it isn’t so confusing. The documentation available at the official website of the project shows you the ropes quite concisely, too.

Where can you run this program?

You can run this program on Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs.

Is there a better alternative?

No. FreeType is an industry-standard library. However, LIBSVM and LIBLINEAR are popular open-source alternatives.

Our take

Many of the modern tech companies today use FreeType for a reason. It’s one of the best, most universal tools for font rendering available.

Should you download it?

Yes. If you’re dealing with any projects that require a font service, FreeType is a go-to solution.