The short version
- Microsoft Font Maker is free, Windows only, and pen only. You draw every letter, every digit, some symbols, and three sample sentences on the screen with a Windows Ink pen, and it writes a TTF. A mouse or a finger will not work.
- SnapFont never asks you to draw on a screen. Write 72 letters on paper, take one photo with your phone, and the font is your actual handwriting about 20 minutes later, installed on your iPhone with one tap.
- If you own a Surface with a pen and want a free font today, Font Maker is fine. If you own a pen and a phone, SnapFont.
Feature by feature
| Feature | SnapFont | Microsoft Font Maker |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | iPhone, Android app | Windows PC or tablet |
| Price | Free first font; Pro subscription for install/export | Free |
| Input | Pen on paper, one phone photo | Windows Ink pen on the screen |
| Works with a mouse or finger | No screen drawing at all | No, a pen is required |
| Looks like your handwriting | Yes, it is your handwriting | As close as you can draw on glass |
| What you write | 72 boxes on one sheet | Every letter, digit, some symbols, plus three sentences |
| Letter spacing | Set from the widths on your sheet | Learned from the sample sentences, with sliders |
| Install on iPhone | Built in | Export, then a profile app |
| Install on Windows | Export the TTF, double click | Built in |
| Output | TTF | TTF |
Where Microsoft Font Maker wins
Price and the Windows install. It is free in the Microsoft Store, the font it makes lands straight in Windows, and the three sample sentences give it a sense of how you space words, with sliders to adjust afterwards. If you already have a Surface or another pen tablet and you want something for Word this afternoon at no cost, it does the job.
Where SnapFont wins
The pen. Font Maker needs a Windows Ink pen and refuses a mouse or a finger, which rules out most laptops and every desktop. Even with a pen, you are drawing on glass, and letters drawn on glass come out as a careful impression of your handwriting rather than the thing itself.
SnapFont wants the pen you already own and the paper in your printer. The app straightens the page from the corner marks, cuts each letter out of its box, and sets the sizes and the baseline from your own writing. The result is your handwriting as it fell on the page. On iPhone it installs with one tap; on Android you export the TTF.
How to choose
Do you have a Windows pen? If yes and the font only needs to live on that PC, Font Maker is free and quick. If no, or if you want the font on your phone, SnapFont is the one that works with what you have. Both output a standard TTF, so a font from either goes anywhere fonts go. For the wider field, see the free handwriting font generators comparison.
Questions people ask
- Can I use Microsoft Font Maker without a pen?
- No. It needs a Windows Ink pen; mouse and finger input are not accepted. That is the most common complaint about it and the main reason people look for an alternative.
- Is Microsoft Font Maker free?
- Yes, it is a free app in the Microsoft Store for Windows. SnapFont is free to make your first font and type with it; installing or exporting the file is Pro.
- Does Microsoft Font Maker work on Mac, iPhone, or Android?
- No, it is Windows only. SnapFont runs on iPhone and Android and the exported TTF works on any computer, including Windows.
- Which one looks more like my real handwriting?
- SnapFont, because the letters are photographed from paper rather than drawn on a screen. Font Maker gets close if you are used to writing with a pen on glass.
Other comparisons
No pen tablet needed
Print the free sheet, write one page with any dark pen, take one photo. Your first font is free.
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