How to Choose a FIGlet Font: 12 Fonts Compared
Check the width you have first, then decide between ASCII-only and block-character fonts.
The same word can be two or three times wider in one FIGlet font than in another. “HELLO” takes 15 columns in Calvin S and 46 in Larry 3D. If you start with the look you like, the banner often overflows once you paste it, so choose in this order:
- Check where it will go and how wide it can be.
- Decide between ASCII-only fonts and fonts with block or line characters.
- Pick from what is left by mood.
All 12 fonts at a glance
These are the sizes for “HELLO”. Click a font name to see its full A to Z set and details.
| Font | Height | HELLO width | Characters | Lowercase | Digits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 5 rows | 30 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Slant | 5 rows | 33 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Big | 6 rows | 35 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Small | 4 rows | 25 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Doom | 6 rows | 33 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Shadow | 4 rows | 34 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Mini | 3 rows | 16 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| ANSI Shadow | 6 rows | 41 cols | Blocks and double lines | No | Yes |
| Larry 3D | 7 rows | 46 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Ogre | 5 rows | 29 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Small Slant | 4 rows | 27 cols | ASCII | Yes | Yes |
| Calvin S | 3 rows | 15 cols | Box-drawing lines | Yes | No |
Two things to remember:
- ANSI Shadow has no lowercase. Lowercase letters are drawn as capitals.
- Calvin S has no digits. For names like “v2.0” or “2026”, pick another font.
Step 1: the width you have
| Destination | Usable width | Fonts that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Phone chat | About 30 columns | Mini, Calvin S, Small |
| Discord code block | About 50 columns | Small, Small Slant, Standard |
| GitHub README | 80 columns or less | Most fonts |
| Terminal welcome screen | 80 columns or less | Standard, Slant, ANSI Shadow |
Width grows with every letter. In Standard, where “HELLO” is 30 columns, a ten-letter name passes 60. For long names, pick a smaller font or split the name over two lines. On the home page, every font card shows the width of the result, and narrow fonts carry a Good for narrow screens badge.
Step 2: ASCII only, or block characters too?
Fonts fall into two groups by the characters they use.
ASCII-only fonts draw strokes with keyboard characters such as _, |, /, and \. They survive old terminals and any font.
____ _______ __
| _ \| ____\ \ / /
| | | | _| \ \ / /
| |_| | |___ \ V /
|____/|_____| \_/
Block and line fonts use characters such as █, ═, and ┌ for solid strokes. They are much bolder, but they can change width in proportional fonts and may break in older environments. This is ANSI Shadow:
██████╗ ███████╗██╗ ██╗
██╔══██╗██╔════╝██║ ██║
██║ ██║█████╗ ██║ ██║
██║ ██║██╔══╝ ╚██╗ ██╔╝
██████╔╝███████╗ ╚████╔╝
╚═════╝ ╚══════╝ ╚═══╝
GitHub, VS Code, and modern terminals display both groups well. When you cannot know the environment, such as server logs or older hardware, choose an ASCII font.
Step 3: the mood
| Mood | Fonts |
|---|---|
| Familiar and neutral | Standard, Small |
| Fast and dynamic | Slant, Small Slant |
| Big, bold titles | Big, ANSI Shadow |
| Games and retro | Doom, Larry 3D |
| Depth | Shadow, Larry 3D |
| Small and clean | Mini, Calvin S |
The same “DEV” in Small is one row shorter and narrower than in Standard.
___ _____ __
| \| __\ \ / /
| |) | _| \ V /
|___/|___| \_/
Uppercase or lowercase?
Most fonts draw lowercase letters separately, and they feel quite different. Capitals look solid and formal, while lowercase looks softer and friendlier. Here is “lab” in Standard and in Calvin S.
_ _
| | __ _| |__
| |/ _` | '_ \
| | (_| | |_) |
|_|\__,_|_.__/
┬ ┌─┐┌┐
│ ├─┤├┴┐
┴─┘┴ ┴└─┘
Letters that drop below the line, such as g, p, and y, add rows. In Standard, “happy” is one row taller than “HAPPY”, and in Big it is two rows taller. If the height has to stay fixed, use capitals.
Can I use them commercially?
Standard, Slant, Big, Small, Shadow, Mini, and Small Slant ship with the standard FIGlet distribution and are distributed under the BSD-3-Clause license. For the other five (Doom, ANSI Shadow, Larry 3D, Ogre, and Calvin S), we could not confirm the terms set by their original authors. For a company logo or a product you sell, a font from the standard distribution is the safer choice. Each font page lists what we found under Font facts.
Type your text on the home page to compare all 12 fonts at once. Once you have picked one, see its full character set in the font list.