YouTube thumbnail fonts. 12 free faces narrow enough to set big and heavy enough to read.
Barlow Condensed, Oswald and Anton lead 12 YouTube thumbnail fonts, each among the narrowest third of free fonts, letters at most 0.46 em wide, and either a weight of 800 or more or ink in the darkest fifth.
Barlow Condensed
Condensed sans · weights up to 900, ink on 42% of the letter box
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letters 0.38 em wide on average · 9 weights · 9 italics
Oswald
Condensed sans · weights up to 700, ink on 55% of the letter box
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letters 0.4 em wide on average · 6 weights · no italics
Anton
Condensed sans · weights up to 400, ink on 73% of the letter box
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letters 0.46 em wide on average · 1 weight · no italics
Smooch Sans
Condensed sans · weights up to 900, ink on 33% of the letter box
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letters 0.35 em wide on average · 9 weights · no italics
Teko
Condensed sans · weights up to 700, ink on 59% of the letter box
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letters 0.33 em wide on average · 5 weights · no italics
League Gothic
Condensed sans · weights up to 400, ink on 68% of the letter box
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letters 0.29 em wide on average · 1 weight · no italics
Lobster
Heavy display · weights up to 400, ink on 62% of the letter box
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letters 0.44 em wide on average · 1 weight · no italics
Oleo Script
Heavy display · weights up to 700, ink on 71% of the letter box
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letters 0.43 em wide on average · 2 weights · no italics
Boogaloo
Heavy display · weights up to 400, ink on 63% of the letter box
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letters 0.38 em wide on average · 1 weight · no italics
Playball
Heavy display · weights up to 400, ink on 57% of the letter box
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letters 0.41 em wide on average · 1 weight · no italics
Contrail One
Heavy display · weights up to 400, ink on 55% of the letter box
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letters 0.46 em wide on average · 1 weight · no italics
Passion One
Heavy display · weights up to 900, ink on 81% of the letter box
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letters 0.42 em wide on average · 3 weights · no italics
All are licensed for the thumbnail of a monetised video.
Compare fonts for YouTube thumbnails
12 / 12
letters 0.38 em wide on average · pick 1 of 12
Barlow Condensed
I TRIED IT FOR 30 DAYS
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Why Barlow Condensed fits YouTube thumbnails: letters 0.38 em wide on average, weights up to 900, ink on 42% of the letter box, and 9 italics.
Commercial for YouTube thumbnails: the thumbnail of a monetised video.
Condensed sans serifs for big words
Barlow Condensed, Oswald and Anton lead the 6 condensed sans serifs; Barlow Condensed is 0.38 em wide on average.
Display faces for a louder thumbnail
Lobster, Oleo Script and Boogaloo bring script and rounded shapes to a thumbnail without losing weight.
Can I use them on the thumbnail of a monetised video?
| Free font | Licence | Commercial |
|---|---|---|
| Barlow Condensed | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Oswald | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Anton | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Smooch Sans | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Teko | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| League Gothic | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Lobster | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Oleo Script | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Boogaloo | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Playball | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Contrail One | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
| Passion One | OFL 1.1 | ✓ |
- Commercial (the thumbnail of a monetised video): yes for all 12, 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).
- OFL 1.1 text
Which of the YouTube thumbnail fonts to pick
Barlow Condensed suits the main thumbnail headline, with an average letter width of 0.38 em and a heaviest weight of 900 for words read at a glance on a phone. Choose Teko for a longer line that must fit, since its average letter width is 0.33 em and ink covers 59% of the letter box. Use Passion One for a short callout, where ink covers 81% of the letter box, and Oswald for supporting text that needs a choice of 6 weights.
Fitting words on a thumbnail
Set at 160 px on a 1280 px thumbnail, League Gothic fits about 27 letters to a line, the most of these, and Contrail One about 17.
Passion One has the heaviest ink of the thumbnail picks, 81% of the letter box, and Smooch Sans the lightest at 33%, so set Smooch Sans in its boldest weight.
To pair two of the YouTube thumbnail fonts, take Barlow Condensed from the sans serifs for the main words and Lobster from the display faces for one word that stands out.
What the rule selected: the 12 YouTube thumbnail fonts and their numbers
| Free font | Width (em) | Ink (%) | Weights | Italics | Google Fonts rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barlow Condensed | 0.38 | 42 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Oswald | 0.4 | 55 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| Anton | 0.46 | 73 | 1 | 0 | 20 |
| Smooch Sans | 0.35 | 33 | 9 | 0 | 24 |
| Teko | 0.33 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 49 |
| League Gothic | 0.29 | 68 | 1 | 0 | 64 |
| Lobster | 0.44 | 62 | 1 | 0 | 110 |
| Oleo Script | 0.43 | 71 | 2 | 0 | 154 |
| Boogaloo | 0.38 | 63 | 1 | 0 | 174 |
| Playball | 0.41 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 276 |
| Contrail One | 0.46 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 286 |
| Passion One | 0.42 | 81 | 3 | 0 | 291 |
YouTube thumbnail fonts: questions
Which free font is best for YouTube thumbnails?
Barlow Condensed, the most used of these 12 on Google Fonts (rank 9), with letters 0.38 em wide on average, weights up to 900, and 9 italics; Oswald and Anton come next at ranks 13 and 20.
Are these YouTube thumbnail fonts free for commercial use?
All 12, from Barlow Condensed to Passion One, are under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows commercial use (the thumbnail of a monetised video).
Which thumbnail font fits the most words?
League Gothic, at 0.29 em a letter on average, the narrowest of the 12; then Teko at 0.33 em.
Which of these YouTube thumbnail fonts has the most weights?
Barlow Condensed, with 9 weights and 9 italics; Smooch Sans has 9 weights and Oswald has 6 weights.
How were these YouTube thumbnail fonts chosen?
A thumbnail is read at a glance on a phone: narrow enough to fit big, heavy enough to read. 128 of the 1,674 free fonts we checked pass that rule for YouTube thumbnails. The 12 here are the most used on Google Fonts, from Barlow Condensed at rank 9 to Passion One at rank 291, one font a family.