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15 of the Best Fonts for T-Shirts

Imri Merritt

August 15, 2022

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Font selection is one of the most important parts of a T-shirt design. Fonts convey important information about your brand, group, or event. Much more than the words in the message alone. The best fonts for T-shirt designs are typically bold, distinctive, easy to read and help communicate the message.

Our top designers have assembled 15 of the best fonts for T-shirt design and recently added them to our collection. Customize them to create your own shirts in our Design Studio.

1. Subway Black

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Category: display/semi-serif/standard
Characteristics: Extra bold, puffy/rounded, classic/retro
Best used for: headlines, branding, athletic, humor, events
Pairs well with: Asap Condensed, Corben, Josefin Sans, Jost Light, Mitr, Oswald
Use instead of: Alpha Slab, Bernard MT, Corben Bold, Hepta Slab Black, Rokkit Black

Try Subway Black

2. Allstar 4

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Category: display/san-serif/standard
Characteristics: Block, angular, sci-fi/modern
Best used for: branding, athletic, title, events
Pairs well with: Rokkitt, Steelfish, Roboto Slab Thin, Reem Kufi, Oswald
Use instead of: Collegiate, Freshman, Soccer League

Try Allstar 4

3. Bebas New

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Category: display/sans-serif/standard
Characteristics: Block, condensed, bold, rounded, all-caps
Best used for: headlines, branding, athletic, humor, events, names
Pairs well with: Alata, Heebo Bold, Hepta Slab Medium, Josefin Sans, Monsserrat
Use instead of: Interstate, Impact, Carbon Block, Khand Bold, Oswald

Try Bebas New

4. Jost Black

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Category: display/sans-serif/standard
Characteristics: Bold, block, sharp, modern
Best used for: headlines, branding, athletic, humor, names, events
Pairs well with: Asap Condensed italic, Comforta Light, Corben, Josefin Slab Thin
Use instead of: Berlin Sans, Frutiger Black, Gil Sans Bold, Impact, The Bold Font

Try Jost Black

5. Roboto

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Category: display/sans-serif/standard
Characteristics: bold, modern
Best used for: headlines, branding, professional, events
Pairs well with: Alata, Crimson Caps, Josefin Sans Italic
Use instead of: Trade Gothic, Teko Medium, Russo One

Try Roboto

6. Damion

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Category: display, script, bold
Characteristics: italic, rounded, whimsical
Best used for: branding, accent, humor, professional
Pairs well with: Fredoka One, Instaburger, Jost Black, Mitr Bold
Use instead of: Blenda Script, Brophy Script, Cookie, Harlow, Lobster

Try Damion

7. Lexend Deca

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Category: sans-serif, standard
Characteristics: clean, simple, medium weight
Best used for: branding, professional, small type
Pairs well with: Almost any serif block or bold display type
Use instead of: Comforta, Reem Kufi, Muli Semi-Bold

Try Lexend Deca

8. Wicked Grit

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Category: display, sans-serif, all-caps
Characteristics: bold, hand-drawn, distressed
Best used for: branding, athletic, humor, very large type
Pairs well with: Carbonated Gothic, Haziness
Use instead of: 28 Days Letter, DCC Ash

Try Wicked Grit

9. Balsamiq

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Category: sans-serif, brush
Characteristics: simple, hand-drawn
Best used for: humor, fun, kids
Pairs well with: Balsamic Thin
Use instead of: Comic Sans, Chalkboard

Try Balsamiq

10. Steelfish

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Category: display, sans-serif, standard
Characteristics: Bold, extra-condensed, modern
Best used for: athletic, branding, professional, small type
Pairs well with: Almost any thin, san-serif standard font
Use instead of: Comforta, Reem Kufi, Muli Semi-Bold

Try Steelfish

11. Fredoka

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Category: display, sans-serif
Characteristics: bold, funky, rounded, modern
Best used for: humor, events, branding
Pairs well with: Comforta thin, Asap condensed italic, Hepta Slab Medium
Use instead of: Dongle Bold

Try Fredoka

12. Sanchez

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Category: display, serif, standard
Characteristics: stylish, quirky, medium-weight
Best used for: branding, professional, small type
Pairs well with: Serif block or bold display or script display font
Use instead of: Adobe Garamond, Georgia, Josefin Slab Bold

Try Sanchez

13. Portago ITC

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Category: display, sans-serif, stencil
Characteristics: all-caps, distressed edges
Best used for: athletic, branding
Pairs well with: Jost Bold, Gunplay
Use instead of: Stencil, Rubber Stamp, Boston Traffic

Try Portago ITC

14. Dimbo

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Category: display, sans-serif, cartoon
Characteristics: funky, simple, whimsical
Best used for: kids, events, humor
Pairs well with: Dongle Light
Use instead of: Yikes, Comix Heavy, Cartoon Shout Acme

Try Dimbo

15. Good Vibes

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Category: Display, script
Characteristics: elegant, lively, medium weight
Best used for: events, branding, professional names, accent
Pairs well with: Almost any serif block or bold display type
Use instead of: Bernard MT Condensed, Corben Bold, Elephant, Kreon Bold

Try Good Vibes

Font selection is an important part of designing a t-shirt; these 15 are among the best. Our Design Studio makes it easy to use these fonts and 300+ more. 

Imri Merritt

About the Author

A graduate of the Multimedia program at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Imri Merritt is an industry veteran with over 20 years of graphic design and color separations experience in the screen printing industry.