Side by side

Fontastic vs Runebender

Both stand on font design software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Fontastic

Free plan Web

Pick Fontastic if you need a free web-based workflow for assembling and exporting custom icon fonts. Its unlimited-font plan and CSS controls suit multiple sites, while the 1,000-icon set limit and stroke-import restriction may affect larger or more complex libraries.

Visit Fontastic

Runebender

Free plan LinuxMacWeb+1

Runebender offers broad font-source editing tools, but its alpha status and source-based native installation matter for adopting it. Work on copies and keep source files under version control, as the project documentation advises.

Visit Runebender

The facts

	Fontastic	Runebender
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Web	Linux, Mac, Web, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	1	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	fontastic.me	runebender.org
On font design software	#9 of 33	#13 of 33

Fontastic: what it does well

More than 9,000 ready-to-use icons
Import custom SVG icons or SVG fonts
CSS resizing, recoloring, shadows, and animation
Unlimited fonts on the Free Forever plan
Exports TTF, EOT, SVG, and WOFF files

What to know first

Each icon set is limited to 1,000 icons
SVG icons using strokes cannot be imported directly
Color fonts are not supported
Web platform only

Runebender: what it does well

Covers glyphs, spacing, kerning, and feature code.
Opens several source and compiled font formats.
Experimental local models can suggest heavier glyph masters.
Browser editor does not upload files.

What to know first

Alpha software with no packaged native release.
Native installation is from source with Cargo.
Browser build is not recommended for real work.
Writes source files in place.

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