shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Google Fonts?

Making the web more beautiful, fast, and open through great typography - fonts.google.com

Worth it. Buy it if you need free web fonts — it is the default choice, costs nothing, and users report it is safe. Skip the Google-hosted CDN if you serve EU visitors; self-host the files or use Bunny Fonts instead.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~50 public sources. Review snippets were truncated, so no verbatim user quotes could be extracted. CVEs in evidence apply to a third-party WordPress plugin, not Google Fonts itself.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources.
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Everything

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Web projects needing free webfonts
  • Budget-conscious designers
  • MVPs and prototypes
  • Open-source app UIs

Not for

  • EU-facing sites using the Google CDN — court-ruled GDPR problem
  • Brands needing exclusive premium typefaces from commercial foundries
  • Designers wanting distinctive type — popular picks are overused everywhere

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

German court ruled loading fonts from Google's CDN leaks visitors' IPs. Self-host if EU traffic matters.

medium

CVE-2026-4657 affects the 'Easy Google Fonts' WordPress plugin, not Google Fonts itself.

low

Third-party CDN request conflicts with strict CSP headers; needs policy tweaks.

low

Critics argue not all fonts are truly open source; verify each license before embedding.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Entirely free, including commercial use
  • Safe to download, per user reports
  • Vast open-source font selection
  • Easy to import into websites
  • Free API for dynamic apps

Cons

  • German court ruled Google CDN font loading breaches GDPR
  • Not GDPR-compliant out of the box for EU visitors
  • Untuned CDN font requests waste up to 90%
  • Designers debate quality and overuse
  • Conflicts with strict Content-Security-Policy setups

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/20/2026 - 10 sources - No known vulnerabilities in Google Fonts itself; CVEs found target a third-party WordPress plugin, and a German court ruled Google's CDN font loading violates GDPR.

official x3review x3security x2news x2
  • CVE-2026-4657 — Easy Google Fonts WordPress plugin, Stored cross-site scripting in the third-party WordPress plugin, not the Google Fonts service itself.
  • German court GDPR ruling (2022), Court ruled dynamically loading fonts from Google's CDN transfers users' IP addresses without consent.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free for all purposes, including commercial.
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Users report easy import into sites.
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Vast library, thin tooling beyond serving fonts.
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources.
  • Security posture: 3/5. No CVEs in core; GDPR court ruling though.
  • $0 Price All fonts free, including commercial use
  • 4.5/5 Google G2 seller rating Google as seller on G2
  • 293 G2 product reviews Filterable reviews on G2
  • 2010 Launched Operated by Google

Pricing

Everything

$0

  • All fonts free, including commercial use
  • Open-source licenses (OFL, Apache)

Security

No known vulnerabilities in Google Fonts itself; CVEs found target a third-party WordPress plugin, and a German court ruled Google's CDN font loading violates GDPR.

  • CVE-2026-4657 — Easy Google Fonts WordPress pluginStored cross-site scripting in the third-party WordPress plugin, not the Google Fonts service itself.⁷
  • German court GDPR ruling (2022)Court ruled dynamically loading fonts from Google's CDN transfers users' IP addresses without consent.⁶

What users say

Reddit and G2 users broadly treat Google Fonts as safe and free, while web developers argue over CDN performance and EU privacy compliance.

Companies that use it

  • Google
Full analysis

Based on ~50 public sources. Review snippets were truncated, so no verbatim user quotes could be extracted. CVEs in evidence apply to a third-party WordPress plugin, not Google Fonts itself.

Free, huge, safe font library — the default for web type, but EU sites must self-host after a German GDPR ruling.

Methodology

Based on ~50 public sources. Review snippets were truncated, so no verbatim user quotes could be extracted. CVEs in evidence apply to a third-party WordPress plugin, not Google Fonts itself.

Sources

  1. Browse Fonts - Google Fontsfonts.google.com
    official
  2. Google Fonts | Google for Developersdevelopers.google.com
    official
  3. Are Google fonts free to use for all purposes?support.google.com
    official
  4. Is it safe to download fonts from Google Fonts?reddit.com
    review
  5. Google Fonts Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Featuresg2.com
    review
  6. Google Fonts and GDPR: How to Stay Compliant?cookieyes.com
    security
  7. CVE-2026-4657 Easy Google Fonts Plugin cross site scriptingvuldb.com
    security
  8. Google Fonts violates Content Security Policystackoverflow.com
    review
  9. Why Google Fonts aren't really open sourcepracticaltypography.com
    news
  10. European alternatives to Google Fontseuropean-alternatives.eu
    news

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