Papyrus® font
Papyrus is a roman calligraphic typeface with rough edges. It was designed by Chris Costello, and first issued by Letraset in 1983. It comes with macOS, and Microsoft 365 includes it too as a cloud font; elsewhere it is a paid typeface, sold by ITC. FontKind hasn’t measured it, so the free fonts below stand beside it by their own description and by class, not by measurement.
No picture of Papyrus here: only your own copy, if you have it
01 / Free fonts with a similar description or class
Your copy · Papyrus, from your device
Looking for Papyrus on this device…
01by class
Free for commercial useOFL
Fonts like MedievalSharp02by class
Free for commercial useOFL
Fonts like Jacquard 1203by class
Free for commercial useOFL
Fonts like Jacquard 2404by class
Free for commercial useOFL
Fonts like Metamorphous05by class
Free for commercial useOFL
Fonts like Macondo06by class
Free for commercial useOFL
Fonts like Uncial Antiqua
Not measured against Papyrus: FontKind has no licensed copy of it. “By description” means the free font’s own description names Papyrus or its model; “by class”, that Google Fonts gives it the same class. Every one is free for commercial use.
About Papyrus
- Designed by
- Chris CostelloSource: Wikipedia: Papyrus (typeface) , Microsoft: font list
- First issued
- Letraset, 1983Source: Wikipedia: Papyrus (typeface) , Microsoft: font list
- Class
- Roman calligraphic typeface with rough edgesSource: Wikipedia: Papyrus (typeface)
- Comes with
- Microsoft 365, as a cloud font: PapyrusmacOS Tahoe: PapyrusSource: Microsoft: cloud fonts in Office , Apple: fonts included with macOS Tahoe
- Sold by
- ITC
- Trademark
- Papyrus is a trademark of Monotype ITC Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and which may be registered in certain other jurisdictions.Source: Monotype: trademarks
- Also
- Chris Costello drew it in 1982, imagining how writing on papyrus would have looked in biblical times.Source: Wikipedia: Papyrus (typeface)
Read by hand on 1 October 2026 from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), Microsoft’s and Apple’s lists of their fonts, Monotype’s list of its trademarks and the foundries’ and shops’ own pages. The references are linked beside each fact; a page that sells or hands out the font is not, so a fact read only there shows no link.
Papyrus® is a trademark of Monotype ITC Inc. FontKind is not affiliated with Monotype ITC Inc., and this page is an independent reference.
Hold rights in Papyrus? Write to rights@fontkind.com: we answer within two working days, and take down what is disputed while we look into it.
Questions about Papyrus
Is Papyrus free?
Not to use anywhere you like. It comes with macOS, so a Mac already has it; Microsoft 365 includes it as a cloud font, for Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Anywhere else it needs a licence, sold by ITC. The free fonts on this page are free for commercial use too, under open licences.
Who designed Papyrus?
Papyrus was designed by Chris Costello, and first issued by Letraset in 1983.
Can I use Papyrus in Word, Google Docs or Canva?
In Word, yes, with Microsoft 365: Papyrus is one of its cloud fonts, which Word downloads when you pick it. Google Docs adds fonts from Google Fonts, and Papyrus isn’t one of them; of the free fonts on this page, MedievalSharp, Jacquard 12 and Jacquard 24 are there, under More fonts. Canva publishes no list of its fonts: search its font menu, or, with Canva Pro, upload a font whose licence allows it.
What is the closest free alternative to Papyrus?
FontKind hasn’t measured Papyrus: it has no licensed copy of it, so this page doesn’t rank free fonts by how close they come. MedievalSharp, Jacquard 12 and Jacquard 24 are medieval display faces in Google Fonts’ own classification, the class FontKind matches to Papyrus.