In 2025, typography is no longer just a finishing touch—it’s a full-on design discipline. Whether you’re creating brand identities, websites, marketing campaigns, or UI kits, the way your text looks is as important as the words themselves. Typography design software helps you build, tweak, and deploy beautiful type that’s consistent, scalable, and intentional.
Designers today need tools that are smart, collaborative, and lightning fast. Whether you’re a solo creative building your first font, part of a hybrid design team crafting visual systems, or a developer who appreciates pixel-perfect type, there’s a tool here that’ll fit your workflow.
Let’s dig into the 10 best typography design tools that are making waves in 2025.
1. Adobe Illustrator (Windows, macOS)
The industry standard for vector-based type design.
Pros
-
Professional-grade typography tools
-
Deep integration with Adobe Fonts and Creative Cloud
-
Precision controls for kerning, tracking, and glyphs
Cons
-
Steep learning curve
-
Requires a paid subscription
Adobe Illustrator continues to be a powerhouse for designers who want full control over their type. It’s not a dedicated font builder, but its vector manipulation tools are ideal for custom lettering, logo design, and advanced type layouts. With OpenType feature support, you can access alternate glyphs, ligatures, and stylistic sets with ease.
Thanks to Creative Cloud, collaboration is easy, and you can export assets for web or print. Pricing starts at $20.99/month as a single app, or as part of the full Adobe suite. If you’re already in the Adobe ecosystem, this is a no-brainer.
Best for: Professionals creating custom typography and detailed type layouts.
2. Glyphs 3 (macOS)
A font creation tool made for type designers, by type designers.
Pros
-
Intuitive interface tailored for font design
-
Smart interpolation and variable font support
-
Tons of plug-ins for extra features
Cons
-
macOS only
-
Not ideal for layout or general graphic design
Glyphs 3 is the gold standard when it comes to creating your own fonts. Whether you’re building serif, sans-serif, or experimental display faces, Glyphs makes it easy to draw, test, and export fonts with pixel-level precision. You get fine-tuned control over spacing, kerning, anchors, OpenType features, and variable fonts.
The UI is clean and minimal, which is rare for something this powerful. It’s priced at €299 (one-time), with a Mini version for beginners at €49. If you’re serious about making your own fonts, Glyphs should be your first stop.
Best for: Designers who want to create, edit, and export professional fonts from scratch.
3. Figma (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android)
Collaborative UI design with surprisingly solid typography control.
Pros
-
Live collaboration and prototyping
-
Google Fonts integration
-
Responsive text styles
Cons
-
Limited for custom type design
-
Requires plugins for advanced font tweaking
Figma isn’t a font creation tool—but if you’re designing websites, apps, or components where type matters, it’s one of the best environments for experimenting with typography. You can set up reusable text styles, apply responsive resizing, and preview your type hierarchy in real-time.
Its plugin ecosystem is also growing, with tools like Font Preview, Better Font Picker, and KernType that make working with typography smoother. Free for individuals, with Pro plans starting at $12/month.
Best for: UI/UX designers collaborating on digital products with structured typography.
4. FontLab 8 (Windows, macOS)
A heavyweight font editor for precision-focused designers.
Pros
-
Advanced glyph editing and hinting tools
-
Support for OpenType, variable fonts, and color fonts
-
Imports/export fonts from other apps
Cons
-
Intimidating interface for beginners
-
Pricey
FontLab is a serious tool for serious type designers. The latest version, FontLab 8, supports a wide range of font formats and gives you granular control over every aspect of a font—from Bézier curves to kerning classes and variable axes.
It plays well with Glyphs, RoboFont, and Illustrator, so you can move designs across tools easily. It’s not cheap (starting at $459), but it’s the kind of investment you make when typography is central to your work.
Best for: Professional type designers creating complex, commercial-quality fonts.
5. Procreate (iPad)
The best for hand-drawn type and lettering on the go.
Pros
-
Excellent for custom lettering
-
Pressure-sensitive tools feel natural
-
Intuitive interface and layers
Cons
-
Not ideal for actual font creation
-
iPad-only
Procreate isn’t a font builder, but for custom lettering, brush typography, and illustrative text—it’s unbeatable. With pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil support, calligraphy and script lettering feel organic. You can also export high-res artwork or import your sketches into a font tool like Glyphs later.
At just $12.99 (one-time), it’s one of the most affordable tools on this list. Add some typography brushes and you’re ready to go.
Best for: Designers and illustrators creating expressive, hand-drawn type.
6. Fontself (Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop Extension)
Turn your lettering into real fonts—without leaving Adobe.
Pros
-
Converts Illustrator shapes to fonts
-
Works inside apps you already use
-
Supports OpenType features
Cons
-
Limited controls compared to dedicated font editors
-
Paid plugin
Fontself bridges the gap between custom lettering and functional fonts. As a plugin for Illustrator and Photoshop, it lets you turn your hand-drawn characters into installable fonts in minutes. You can define kerning, ligatures, and export in OpenType or WOFF formats.
It’s especially handy for creatives who want to dip into font creation without diving into a full-fledged font editor. It starts at $49 (one-time) and is well worth it for quick, polished results.
Best for: Designers turning existing artwork into usable fonts without learning new software.
7. Canva (Web, iOS, Android)
Easy type styling for non-designers and social media creators.
Pros
-
Drag-and-drop font tools
-
Thousands of font pairings and templates
-
Easy to use on any device
Cons
-
Limited type customization
-
No font creation capabilities
Canva isn’t for font building, but it is fantastic for layout-focused typography. With hundreds of designer-made font pairings, style presets, and layout templates, it’s a go-to for social media posts, presentations, and posters.
Pro users ($12.99/month) can upload custom fonts and apply brand kits. It’s perfect for marketers or small teams that need consistent, great-looking typography without complexity.
Best for: Entrepreneurs and marketers who want fast, stylish text in visuals.
8. Affinity Designer (Windows, macOS, iPad)
A vector design app with solid type control—and no subscriptions.
Pros
-
Pro-grade tools at a one-time cost
-
Great for type-based illustrations and layouts
-
Works well across desktop and iPad
Cons
-
Smaller font ecosystem than Adobe
-
No native font-building tools
Affinity Designer gives you Illustrator-level control over vector-based type, without the monthly fee. It’s great for typographic posters, logo design, or text-focused branding elements. Plus, it supports OpenType features, guides, and grids to help align and structure your text.
Priced at $69.99 (one-time), it’s an excellent value for designers who want powerful tools without recurring costs.
Best for: Freelancers or students looking for an affordable alternative to Adobe.
9. RoboFont (macOS)
A scripting-friendly font editor for developers and experimental designers.
Pros
-
Python-based, fully extensible
-
Tailored to advanced typographers
-
Modular, with open-source extensions
Cons
-
Complex for non-coders
-
macOS only
RoboFont is a font editor built with developers in mind. It offers a flexible, scriptable environment to build and test fonts using Python. You can automate workflows, create custom tools, and design type systems that go beyond standard visual editors.
It’s priced at $499 (one-time) and is widely used by independent type foundries and experimental typographers.
Best for: Type developers and coders who want a programmable design environment.
10. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite (Windows, macOS)
A classic design tool that still packs a punch.
Pros
-
Full control over vector typography
-
Rich font effects and OpenType support
-
Ideal for print-heavy design
Cons
-
Interface feels dated
-
Expensive for occasional use
CorelDRAW may not be the trendiest name, but it remains a solid choice for designers who work in print and need precision. You can apply detailed typography effects, fine-tune kerning, and create output-ready assets in CMYK.
It’s available for $269/year or $549 one-time. If you’re in publishing or signage, CorelDRAW’s type tools still hold up in 2025.
Best for: Print and signage professionals who need robust type and layout tools.
Find the Perfect Typography Tool for Your Design Needs
The best typography software isn’t just about making text look good—it’s about empowering designers to push the boundaries of creativity, precision, and functionality. Whether you’re a professional font creator, a digital designer, or a marketer in need of stunning typography for campaigns, there’s a tool on this list that suits your needs.
From industry giants like Adobe Illustrator to specialized font editors like Glyphs and RoboFont, these tools offer a range of features designed to take your typography to the next level. The key is understanding what you need: Do you need to build fonts from scratch, or are you looking for robust type management for branding and UI design?
Whatever your focus, choosing the right tool will streamline your workflow and elevate your projects. So explore these options, test out the free trials, and find the typography design software that works best for you!
Interesting Reads:
7 Best Software for Calendar Management 2025
