The best handwriting font generators in 2026 (free and paid)

There are three ways to turn handwriting into a font: scan a printed template, draw each letter on screen, or build glyphs by hand in a font editor. The right tool depends on which of those you prefer and what you'll use the font for. We make Dearfont, so it's first on the list — but every entry below is a tool that's actively available in 2026, with prices and limits taken from each product's own site in September 2026.

Quick comparison

1. Dearfont — best all-rounder in the browser

Dearfont is the only tool here that offers both workflows: draw each letter in the browser with a stylus, touchscreen or mouse, or fill in a printable template and upload a photo. Letters are traced into smooth vector outlines, and you can adjust spacing, draw up to three versions of each letter, add ligatures and kerning (Pro), then download TTF — or OTF, WOFF and WOFF2 with Pro. The free plan includes two fonts with 76 characters.

Best for: most people — especially anyone with an iPad or drawing tablet who wants to skip printing and scanning.

2. Calligraphr — the long-standing template tool

Calligraphr (widely known as the successor of MyScriptFont) uses printed templates. Its paid plan has the highest limits of the web tools: up to 600 characters and 15 variants per character, plus ligatures and letter-spacing adjustment. The free plan allows one font at a time with 75 characters, stored in your browser. Read our detailed Dearfont vs Calligraphr comparison.

Best for: large character sets and lots of letter variants.

3. FontCraft — pay once per font

FontCraft is a browser tool where you draw each character with an Apple Pencil, stylus, trackpad or mouse. The free tier covers A–Z and 0–9 for personal use; paying £4.99 per font unlocks OTF, 600+ characters, ligatures, variants, kerning and a commercial licence.

Best for: a single font without a subscription.

4. FontCrafter — free and account-free

FontCrafter, launched in 2026, runs entirely in your browser without an account. You print a template, write each character three times, then scan and upload it. It exports OTF, TTF and WOFF2 with ligatures, contextual alternates and kerning.

Best for: tinkerers who are happy with a template-only workflow.

5. YourFonts — a one-off purchase

YourFonts is a template-based service: fill in the sheet, upload it, preview your font for free and pay $9.95 when you're happy (plus $5 if you upload both template pages for a larger character set).

6. iFontMaker — draw on iPad

iFontMaker is a one-time-purchase iPad app for drawing fonts with a finger or Apple Pencil, with kerning and ligatures. It exports TTF. At the time of writing its App Store page warns that it is not currently usable on iPadOS 27, so check compatibility before buying. Dearfont works in Safari on any iPad as an alternative.

7. Fontself — for designers in Adobe apps

Fontself is an extension for Illustrator and Photoshop (plus an iPad app): you draw letters as artwork and drag them into a panel to build an OpenType font, with alternates, ligatures and detailed kerning. It suits designers who already work in Adobe apps; it exports OTF.

8. FontForge — free, powerful, hands-on

FontForge is a free, open-source font editor for Windows, macOS and Linux. It can do almost anything, but turning handwriting into a font means placing a scan behind each glyph and tracing it — by hand, or with its AutoTrace command after installing a separate tracing program. Expect a learning curve.

Best for: people who want full control and don't mind learning font editing.