Can't find helvetica neue font in typekit

[poeticArt]

I have a PSD that uses helvetica neue heavy and helvetica neue light.  However, these exact fonts are not listed in Typekit but it's an Adobe font.  Is anyone able to get these fonts with the "portfolio and or performance" plan?  If not would you recommend that I buy the fonts from fonts.com or a similar seller?

Thanks,

Steve

[sarsaxen · Accepted solution]

Hi poeticArt,

Adobe does not bundle any version of Helvetica with any applications. Nor is it available via TypeKit.You can find the alternative for Helvitica from Adobe Typekit.

Photoshop uses the operating system fonts. Windows does not have Helvetica, Mac OSX does. Therefore it will show up in the Mac version of Photoshop.You might have used it as well.

You have to purchase it separately and install it yourself in Windows or get a Mac.

Refer How do I get "Helvetica" fonts for free when I use indesign by the creative cloud?

Regards

Sarika

[poeticArt]

Thanks, Sarika.

[Mike-Me-3000]

I'm not sure what that means

"You can find the alternative for Helvitica from Adobe Typekit."

What is the alternative?

Thanks!

[mollybd]

Sorry for the confusion - we have a list of Helvetica alternatives that are offered on Typekit. You can find that here:

Alternatives to Helvetica | List | Typekit

[Mike-Me-3000]

Thank you, Molly. That helped a lot.  I'm using Nimbus Sans now, which seems to be pretty close to Helvetica Neue.

[aleksandrl4075596]

The only thing I would expect from this useless reply by adobe is that. You can use ........  as an alternative to Helvetica!!!

[peters17473900]

Any plans for adding Helvetica and Helvetica Neue? 90% of all the work I do uses Helvetica Neue. An "alternative" won't suffice.

[rueez]

Agreed. Need Helvetica Neue!

[Adam24192741zvfv]

I fully agree. That is absolutely absurd for Adobe to cut out Helvetica when it is the MOST used font. So many of my clients have this as their brand font and there is NONE of them would be okay with using an alternative.

[Lumigraphics]

If you MUST have Helvetica then a Mac is a good investment.

[Bobby Henderson]

Adobe does not own the Helvetica typeface or have any legal rights to bundle it into the Adobe Fonts service. Helvetica is now owned by Monotype, due in part to Monotype acquiring Linotype in 2006. Linotype had the rights to Helvetica many years prior to that and developed the Helvetica Neue family in the early 1980's (via Stempel AG, a Linotype subsidiary). In recent years Monotype developed and released static and variable versions of Helvetica Now.

Adobe would have to make some kind of deal with Monotype in order to include any of the multiple versions of Helvetica available in digital form, be it the original 1957 cut, the 1980's neue versions or the recent now versions.

Nimbus Sans is a pretty close imitation of Helvetica Neue. Numerous other Helvetica clones (or Helveti-clones) have been made over the years, such as Bitstream's Swiss 721 family or Compugraphics' GC Triumvirate.

Monotype has around 40 or so type families hosted on Adobe Fonts. Two families are related to Helvetica. New Haas Grotesk is a revival of the original cut of Helvetica from Max Miedinger. New Haas Grotesk was the typeface's original name before it was renamed "Helvetica." Then there is New Haas Unica, which is a cross between Helvetica and Univers. I spent $100 (introductory price) buying a copy when it was first introduced. It's a little annoying spending money on commercial type only to find the same type families available on Adobe Fonts months or years later.

[andi_urra]

It seems these curated lists do not exist anymore on Typekit. Does anyone know if they have been moved elsewhere?

[benw52584159]

Hi Andi,

Currently, these have been removed from fonts.adobe.com. We're focusing on Font Packs going forward. Are there any specific Font Packs you'd like to see?

Cheers,

Benjamin

[andi_urra]

Hi Benjamin,

thank you for your explanation. It was a very helpful way of finding fonts for the quite typical scenario, that I receive files (Illustrator, Cinema 4d, etc.) from a designer, and will do an animation for the client. Oftentimes there are fonts used that I don't have and cannot price in, but having a similar font will do the job. So it was great to have an approach via "alternative to ...". For me it was the ease of use and the time saving, since I do not know the alternatives by heart.

[brandnewscience]

I'd like to see a Helvetica Neue Typekit. Does Adobe understand the cultural implications of stopping access to one of the most influential typefaces ever cut?

[Adam24192741zvfv]

I fully agree. That is absolutely absurd for Adobe to cut out Helvetica when it is the MOST used font. So many of my clients have this as their brand font and there is NONE of them would be okay with using an alternative.

[Bobby Henderson]

I fully agree. That is absolutely absurd for Adobe to cut out Helvetica when it is the MOST used font. So many of my clients have this as their brand font and there is NONE of them would be okay with using an alternative.

By @Adam24192741zvfv

Again, Adobe does not own the rights to any version of Helvetica. So it's not really up to them to "cut out" Helvetica from the Adobe Fonts service. Adobe and Monotype have to agree to some kind of a deal in order for any versions of Helvetica to be carried on the Adobe Fonts service. Monotype might be hesistant to do that since the various Helvetica type families have been steady money makers in the commercial fonts industry. I just looked at MyFonts' Top 50 list of Best Sellers. Currently at #1: Neue Helvetica. At #4: Helvetica Now. At #10: Helvetica. I'm kind of surprised to see New Haas Unica and New Haas Grotesk Display in the Top 20 (at #13 and #14) since both are available to sync at Adobe Fonts. Those two type families are Helvetica-adjacent.

[serendipitous_journey6440]

Font packs are fun.
How about a pack of stand-ins for the most popular fonts not offered with Adobe Fonts..... maybe start with Helvetica?
You know with Monotype offering a $200/yr plan for their fonts. It's only a matter of time before they stop inking deals with reseller.

[Bobby Henderson]

By "font pack of stand-ins" do you mean copycat "clone" fonts of typefaces such as Helvetica? Or do you mean font packs of the original typefaces? Either way, Monotype is buying up the rights to all of them. They own the rights to the original Helvetica families. Monotype bought type foundries that made the most popular clones of Helvetica. Bitstream and URW are two of those companies.

Anyone who likes fonts should be at least a little concerned with Monotype gaining ownership of so much of the type industry. Technically, they're not a monopoly, but it is staggering how many famous type families they do own. I worry Monotype's relationship with Adobe could become more adversarial, especially since Monotype has its own mammoth fonts subscription service now. Even people who create typefaces could be in a tough situation since Monotype owns all the most popular online fonts stores. Monotype could dictate terms far more favorable to them in return for carrying a type designer's fonts at a store like MyFonts.com.

I don't know what kinds of terms Adobe negotiates with established typographers, but having one's fonts carried on the Adobe Fonts service is going to gain a type designer a good bit of exposure. Adobe's graphics applications are pretty ubiquitous in professional environments.

[Piotr Chylarecki]

The fact Typekit, with its position and access price, doesn't include such a staple font is scandalous.

[michelle-renee-314]

SO what's the alternative to Helvetica Neue?

[DeboraKpk]

Yeah, what are the alternatives to Helvetica? I can't fint that. This is very frustrating. I'm going to have to change a font just to update an existing design that will be reprinted. Really unhelpful. 
Thanks.

[xensen]

If you're looking for the old curated lists, try the Wayback Machine at archive.org

The latest list of alternatives for Helvetica, from July 2018, were:

Acumin Pro | Nimbus Sans | Pragmatica | Runda | FF Dagny Pro | DejaRip | FF Basic Gothic Pro | Proxima Nova | FF Meta Pro | JAF Facit | Myriad Pro | Adelle Sans

https://web.archive.org/web/20180703235509/https://typekit.com/lists/alternatives-to-helvetica

Other old font lists can be found here:

https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://typekit.com/lists/*

[xensen]

Once you land on the Wayback page for an old URL, just click the date of the last save and it'll pull up a copy of that page. It's not an obvious process.

One drawback for these purposes: none of the old fonts work for Wayback. So you get no preview for the fonts listed - you have to search for them by name on the current Typekit page. But it's a start.