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Franklin Gothic Font

The sturdy American gothic of newspapers and ads

Morris Fuller Benton · American gothic sans serif · 1902 · ! Bundled with Windows, full family paid

Download Free Alternative

Libre Franklin · closest free match to Franklin Gothic

Franklin Gothic font poster: bold black headline on a vintage newspaper with a red bannerFranklin Gothic style type on a newspaper headline and a transit posterFranklin Gothic style character set: uppercase and lowercase alphabet, numbers and symbols

Illustrations of the Franklin Gothic style made for DaFontFonts. Letterforms are approximate; check the official specimen before you buy.

Download Franklin Gothic

License:
Bundled with Windows, full family paid
Font Type:
System font
Download:
Free alternative: Libre Franklin (OFL-1.1)
Format:
TTF
Total Files:
18 styles + licence
Download Free Alternative

Franklin Gothic itself is not free to download. This button gives you Libre Franklin, the closest free match, licensed for commercial use. Franklin Gothic on Microsoft Typography

About Franklin Gothic

Morris Fuller Benton designed Franklin Gothic in 1902 for American Type Founders, naming it after Benjamin Franklin. It was originally issued in a single heavy weight and later expanded. In 1979 ITC added Book, Medium, Demi and Heavy weights drawn by Victor Caruso, which became the standard version for designers.

Franklin Gothic is dark, sturdy and direct, with a double-storey a and g and slight contrast in its strokes. That no-nonsense voice made it a staple of American newspapers, advertising, posters and signage. Windows includes Franklin Gothic Medium, so it is also common in reports and presentations that need strong headings.

Where Franklin Gothic works best

  • Newspaper and magazine headlines
  • Advertising and posters
  • Civic and public signage
  • Report and presentation headings

Free alternatives to Franklin Gothic

Open-licence fonts with a comparable feel, every one verified free for commercial use and downloadable from DaFontFonts.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Libre Franklin Sans Serif · 18 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Libre Franklin is a free interpretation of Franklin Gothic in nine weights, keeping the two-story a and g and the dark American grotesque color. It is the direct open-license descendant of the design.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Public Sans Sans Serif · 18 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Public Sans, developed for the US government's design system, is a neutralized fork of Libre Franklin, so Franklin Gothic's bones are still visible under its stricter finish. It is the best pick for interface and forms work.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Archivo Sans Serif · 18 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Archivo is a sturdy grotesque with similar weight distribution and a technical American feel, plus variable width axes Franklin never had. Its details are squarer and more contemporary.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Roboto Condensed Sans Serif · 18 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Roboto Condensed covers the compressed news-headline territory that condensed Franklin Gothic cuts dominate. It is lighter in color and more open than Franklin's dense condensed styles.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Oswald Sans Serif · 6 styles · variable ✓ OFL

Oswald reworks the classic Alternate Gothic style, a Benton design from the same ATF tradition, into a tall condensed headline face. It is far narrower than standard Franklin Gothic and best for impact headers.

Compare all Franklin Gothic alternatives

Franklin Gothic is a trademark of its owner. DaFontFonts does not host or distribute the Franklin Gothic font files; download and licence links go to the official source.

Questions

Is Franklin Gothic free?

Franklin Gothic Medium is free to use on Windows for documents and graphics you create. The full family is paid. Libre Franklin is a free, open-source interpretation you can use anywhere.

Who designed Franklin Gothic?

Morris Fuller Benton designed it in 1902 for American Type Founders. ITC's expanded family was drawn by Victor Caruso in 1979.

What is a free alternative to Franklin Gothic?

Libre Franklin is the closest free match. Public Sans and Archivo are good options for interfaces, and Oswald works for condensed headlines.

Is Franklin Gothic good for headlines?

Yes. Its heavy weights and compact shapes were made for headlines and posters, which is why newspapers have used it for over a century.

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