Check What Version a Font File Is

Font version mismatches are a quiet cause of inconsistent layouts. Two machines using "the same font" but different versions will produce subtly different kerning, slightly different character widths, or different glyph shapes for updated characters. If a document renders differently on your machine than on a client's — and the font is the same by name — the version string is the first thing to check.

You can read any font file's version number in your browser in about ten seconds.

How to Read a Font's Version Number

Open the WildandFree Font Metadata Viewer and drop your TTF, OTF, or WOFF file onto it. The Version field shows the version string embedded by the font author.

Common formats:

• Version 1.003
• Version 2.001; PS 2.001; hotconv 1.0.88; makeotf.lib2.5.64775 — extended string including build tool info
• 1.000 — minimal version-only string

The relevant number for comparison is the first version value. The rest of the string (after the semicolon if present) is build metadata that doesn't affect the font's rendering.

Why Font Versions Don't Always Match

Several situations create version mismatches:

Font updates: Many foundries release updated versions of their fonts that fix spacing errors, add glyph coverage, or correct kerning. If one machine auto-updated a system font and another didn't, they have different versions installed.

Different sources: The same font family available from multiple sources (a foundry's direct download, a font marketplace, a bundled OS font) often ships at different version numbers. "Helvetica Neue" from Adobe Fonts is not the same version as Helvetica Neue bundled with macOS.

Trial vs full: Trial versions of commercial fonts are often an older release than the current full version. If a client is working with the full version and you're using a trial, the versions will differ.

Renamed forks: Some free font projects fork a commercial font, rename it, and release it under an open license. The version string may match the fork's versioning, not the original's.

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How to Confirm Two Machines Have the Same Font Version

The fastest way to compare: find the font file on both machines and check each one in the metadata viewer.

On macOS: installed fonts are in /Library/Fonts/ or ~/Library/Fonts/. Open Finder, press Cmd+Shift+G, paste the path.

On Windows: installed fonts are in C:WindowsFonts. Paste that path into the File Explorer address bar.

On Linux: fonts are typically in /usr/share/fonts/ or ~/.fonts/.

Drag the font file from each machine's font folder into the viewer and note the version string. If they differ, you've found your rendering discrepancy.

Checking Font Version via Command Line

For power users and automated checks, fonttools reads the version string from the command line:

python3 -c "
from fontTools.ttLib import TTFont
f = TTFont('yourfont.ttf')
for r in f['name'].names:
    if r.nameID == 5:
        print(r.toUnicode())
"

nameID 5 is the version string. This works on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

For batch version checking across a font directory, this approach scales easily — loop through files and print name + version for each one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the version number stored in a font file?

The version string is stored as nameID 5 in the font's name table — one of the standardized metadata tables in OpenType and TrueType font files. It's embedded by the font author during the font creation process.

How do I check which version of a font is installed on my computer?

Find the font file (C:\Windows\Fonts\ on Windows, /Library/Fonts/ on Mac) and drop it into the font metadata viewer. The Version field shows the embedded version string.

Do all fonts have a version number?

Virtually all modern OpenType and TrueType fonts include a version string. Some very old or poorly-made freeware fonts may have an empty version field. If the Version field is blank in the viewer, the font author didn't embed one.