The short version
- Fontself is a one time extension for Illustrator ($39) or Illustrator plus Photoshop ($59). You letter your characters in Adobe software, drag the artwork into the panel, and it writes a real OpenType font with kerning, ligatures, alternates, and colour.
- SnapFont needs no Adobe subscription and no design skill. Write 72 letters on paper, take one photo, and the font is your handwriting about 20 minutes later, installed on your iPhone with one tap.
- If you letter for a living in Illustrator, Fontself. If you want your own handwriting on your phone this afternoon, SnapFont.
Feature by feature
| Feature | SnapFont | Fontself |
|---|---|---|
| Runs in | iPhone, Android app | Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop (Mac, Windows) |
| Needs Adobe subscription | No | Yes |
| Price | Free first font; Pro subscription for install/export | $39 or $59 one time |
| Source of letters | Photo of paper | Artwork you make in Adobe apps |
| Colour fonts | No | Yes (Photoshop) |
| Ligatures, kerning, alternates | No | Yes |
| Skill needed | Can hold a pen | Comfortable in Illustrator or Photoshop |
| Time to first font | About 20 minutes | Depends on the lettering; hours |
| Install on iPhone | Built in | Export, then a profile app |
Where Fontself wins
Everything a production font needs. Kerning, ligatures, alternates, colour fonts from Photoshop, and a file you could sell. The store lists it at $39 or $59 one time, with no free trial, and you also need the Adobe apps it runs in. If you already letter in Illustrator and want a designed typeface that started as your lettering, it is genuinely good and SnapFont is not a substitute.
Where SnapFont wins
Everyone who does not open Illustrator, which is most people who want a font of their handwriting. There is no lettering stage and no editing stage: print one sheet, write over the faint letters, take one photo. The app straightens the page, reads every box, sizes and spaces the letters from your own writing, and shows the font typing your name a few minutes later. The result is your handwriting as it fell on the page, not a typeface built from it.
How to choose
Ask what you are making. A brush lettered display face with colour and OpenType features: Fontself. Worksheet notes, a journal, a card, or a phone that types in your own hand: SnapFont. The rare designer in the middle can capture with SnapFont and refine in Fontself, since the TTF opens in Illustrator like any other font. The long version is in the full SnapFont vs Fontself post.
Questions people ask
- Does Fontself need an Adobe subscription?
- Yes. It runs inside Illustrator or Photoshop, so you need those apps on top of the $39 or $59 for Fontself itself.
- Is SnapFont a free Fontself alternative?
- Partly. Making your first font and typing with it in the app is free. Installing or exporting the font file is SnapFont Pro, a subscription. Fontself has no free tier and no trial.
- Can SnapFont make colour fonts or ligatures?
- No. SnapFont makes a plain TTF of your handwriting. Colour, kerning, ligatures, and alternates are Fontself's territory.
- Can I use both?
- Yes. Capture your handwriting with SnapFont, open the exported TTF in Illustrator, and refine it with Fontself if you want ligatures, kerning, or colour.
Other comparisons
No Illustrator needed
Print the free sheet, write one page, take one photo. Your first font is free.
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