Adobe Fonts just got a major bump—over 750 fonts from Monotype have been added, including heavy-hitters like Avenir, Gotham, ITC Avant Garde, ITC Franklin Gothic, and Neue Haas Grotesk.
On paper, that’s a win.
These fonts are widely used, widely loved, and often a pain to license on their own. But this move comes at an awkward time for Monotype, who’ve recently been in the firing line over licensing crackdowns.
Their legal team has reportedly been issuing probes and retroactive fees to folks who didn’t dot every 'i' and cross every contract clause.
So, Adobe Fonts makes that better, right?
Well—sort of.
If you’re a freelancer or small studio handing over branding assets to a client, Adobe Fonts isn’t a clean solution.
You still need to explain font licensing. And more often than not, clients just hear “extra cost” or “you don’t own the thing we paid for,” which can spiral into headaches or worse—lost trust.
And that’s assuming the font even stays available.
Monotype’s Houdini Act
Let’s be honest: fonts come and go from Adobe Fonts all the time. There’s no guarantee the ones you use today will be there next year.
If Adobe and Monotype don’t renew their licensing agreement, these shiny new fonts vanish—and suddenly your client’s brand system breaks unless they go buy a license. From Monotype. At full cost.
Sound far-fetched? It’s already happened before. It’ll happen again.
This isn’t hypothetical. The recent controversy around Avenir’s licensing probe would’ve been avoided if it had been available on Adobe Fonts at the time. It wasn’t. So someone paid a penalty. Now it’s there—but for how long?
The only dependable choice for long-term use—especially if you’re handing files to clients—is sticking to open license fonts.
These include Google Fonts and other options under open font licenses. No fine print. No expiry. No calls from Monotype's legal team.
Monotype showing up with 750 fonts is flashy.
But it doesn’t solve the bigger issue. Fonts shouldn’t be a licensing minefield. Until that changes, use Adobe Fonts carefully—and think twice before tying a client’s identity to a font someone else can pull away.
If you want peace of mind, stick to open license fonts. The others? They're borrowed time.
