Tattoo fonts. 11 free blackletters and scripts, licensed for paid tattoo work.
Grenze Gotisch has the highest tattoo score of the 11, 5.9, followed by Blaka at 5.26 and Germania One at 5.05.
Grenze Gotisch
Blackletter for bold lines · gothic score 5.9
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tattoo score 5.9 · 9 weights · no italics
Blaka
Blackletter for bold lines · gothic score 5.26
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tattoo score 5.26 · 1 weight · no italics
Germania One
Blackletter for bold lines · gothic score 5.05
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tattoo score 5.05 · 1 weight · no italics
New Rocker
Blackletter for bold lines · gothic score 4.06
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tattoo score 4.06 · 1 weight · no italics
Fruktur
Blackletter for bold lines · gothic score 3.05
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tattoo score 3.05 · 1 weight · 1 italic
Yellowtail
Script for flowing lines
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tattoo score 4.46 · 1 weight · no italics
Damion
Script for flowing lines
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tattoo score 4.16 · 1 weight · no italics
Mr Dafoe
Script for flowing lines
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tattoo score 4.14 · 1 weight · no italics
Norican
Script for flowing lines
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tattoo score 2.87 · 1 weight · no italics
Kaushan Script
Script for flowing lines
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tattoo score 2.48 · 1 weight · no italics
Meddon
Script for flowing lines
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tattoo score 2.18 · 1 weight · no italics
The tattoo picks split into 5 blackletters and 6 bold scripts, and each one’s licence covers the stencil and a tattoo you are paid for.
Compare fonts for tattoos
11 / 11
tattoo score 5.9 · pick 1 of 11
Grenze Gotisch
Stay Wild
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Why Grenze Gotisch fits tattoos: tattoo score 5.9, gothic score 5.9, 9 weights, and no italics.
Print for tattoos: the stencil printed for the skin.
Commercial for tattoos: a paid tattoo is commercial use of the lettering.
- ✓Commercial
- OFL 1.1
Blackletter for tattoo lettering
Grenze Gotisch, Blaka and Germania One lead the 5 blackletters; Grenze Gotisch scores 5.9 as tattoo lettering.
Scripts for flowing tattoo lines
Yellowtail leads the 6 scripts at tattoo score 4.46, with Damion and Mr Dafoe next.
Can I use them for a stencil and a paid tattoo?
| Free font | Licence | Commercial | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grenze Gotisch | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Blaka | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Germania One | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| New Rocker | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fruktur | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Yellowtail | Apache 2.0 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Damion | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mr Dafoe | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Norican | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Kaushan Script | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Meddon | OFL 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ |
- Print (the stencil printed for the skin): yes for 10 of them, OFL 1.1 Condition 5.
- Print (the stencil printed for the skin): yes for Yellowtail, Apache 2.0 Section 2.
- Commercial (a paid tattoo is commercial use of the lettering): yes for 10 of them, OFL 1.1 Permission & Conditions; the font file may not be sold by itself (Condition 1); a changed font may not use a Reserved Font Name (Condition 3).
- Commercial (a paid tattoo is commercial use of the lettering): yes for Yellowtail, Apache 2.0 Section 2.
- OFL 1.1 text
- Apache 2.0 text
Which of the tattoo fonts to pick
Grenze Gotisch is a choice for the main name on the stencil, with a tattoo score 5.9 and 9 weights to choose from. Use Germania One for a secondary blackletter word, with its gothic score 5.05. For a script detail, pick Yellowtail, which has a tattoo score 4.46, the highest among the scripts listed here.
Lettering for skin
Compare the blackletter forms of Grenze Gotisch with the scripts using the exact wording of your design; the font scores describe their style, not how a tattoo will heal or age.
Meddon has the lowest tattoo score of the 11, 2.18: a lighter hand for a script that should read as handwriting more than as flash lettering.
To pair two of the tattoo fonts, take Grenze Gotisch from the blackletters for a name or a date and Yellowtail from the scripts for a word or a short line.
What the rule selected: the 11 tattoo fonts and their numbers
| Free font | tattoo score | gothic score | Weights | Italics | Google Fonts rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grenze Gotisch | 5.9 | 5.9 | 9 | 0 | 228 |
| Blaka | 5.26 | 5.26 | 1 | 0 | 1344 |
| Germania One | 5.05 | 5.05 | 1 | 0 | 60 |
| New Rocker | 4.06 | 4.06 | 1 | 0 | 727 |
| Fruktur | 3.05 | 3.05 | 1 | 1 | 362 |
| Yellowtail | 4.46 | not read | 1 | 0 | 214 |
| Damion | 4.16 | not read | 1 | 0 | 296 |
| Mr Dafoe | 4.14 | not read | 1 | 0 | 142 |
| Norican | 2.87 | not read | 1 | 0 | 508 |
| Kaushan Script | 2.48 | not read | 1 | 0 | 227 |
| Meddon | 2.18 | not read | 1 | 0 | 602 |
Tattoo fonts: questions
Which free font is best for tattoos?
Grenze Gotisch, with the highest tattoo score of the 11, 5.9; Blaka follows at 5.26 and Germania One at 5.05.
Are these tattoo fonts free for print and commercial use?
10 of them, from Grenze Gotisch to Meddon, are under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows print (the stencil printed for the skin) and commercial use (a paid tattoo is commercial use of the lettering). Yellowtail, from Yellowtail to Yellowtail, is under the Apache License 2.0, which allows print (the stencil printed for the skin) and commercial use (a paid tattoo is commercial use of the lettering).
Do I need a licence to tattoo lettering in these fonts?
No extra one: all 11 are under OFL 1.1 or Apache 2.0, which allow commercial use, and a paid tattoo is commercial use of the lettering. Yellowtail is under Apache 2.0, the other 10 under OFL 1.1.
Which of these tattoo fonts has the most weights?
Grenze Gotisch, with 9 weights.
How were these tattoo fonts chosen?
Tattoo lettering is blackletter or a bold script that holds its shape on skin: the lab’s tattoo style. 18 of the 1,674 free fonts we checked pass that rule for tattoos. The 11 here are the most typical of the style, from Grenze Gotisch at tattoo score 5.9 down to Meddon at 2.18, one font a family.