The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Free font
Apfel Grotezk
A free alternative to ABC Favorit.
About Apfel Grotezk
Apfel Grotezk is a neo-grotesque sans by Luigi Gorlero, released by the Italian collective Collletttivo under the Open Font License. It takes the plain, even structure of a twentieth-century grotesque and loosens it with a few idiosyncratic details, giving an otherwise neutral workhorse a little personality.
The family spans five weights, so it covers interface text, captions, and headings in a single voice, and its slightly quirky forms keep it from feeling generic in branding and editorial work. It is the collective's most widely used release, and a capable free choice wherever a clean, contemporary grotesque is wanted. Self-hosted here.
- Designer
- Luigi Gorlero
- Available at
- Collletttivo →
Apfel Grotezk is also a free alternative to…
- ABC Favorit → A round, airy neo-grotesque with an exaggerated x-height and a friendly attitude that echoes Favorit's low-contrast warmth and light humour. Limited to a handful of weights, so reach for it when personality matters more than a full text hierarchy.
- Dia → A free grotesque from Collletttivo that trades neutrality for warmth and a few odd shapes, close to Dia's slightly off-kilter tone. The family is small, with Regular, Fett and a Brukt rough variant, and it has no italics, so it works best for display settings where Dia's quirks matter most.
- Sporting Grotesque → An open-source grotesque with generous width, tight counters and a few idiosyncratic letters that lend it the same slightly stubborn personality. It is low-contrast and cleaner in finish than Sporting Grotesque, making it the tidier choice for the same display jobs.
Display + body that work together
A grammar of empty space
The display sets the register; the body follows through. When both halves of a pair pull in the same direction, the design disappears and the words come forward.
Modern · Editorial Apfel Grotezk + Crimson Pro
Quiet type that does the work
Two thousand years of letterforms boil down to a handful of decisions — width, weight, proportion. Pick a pair you trust, and let the rest take care of itself.
Editorial · Modern Playfair Display + Apfel Grotezk