How Typedex ranks fonts
Typedex isn't an editor's pick list. Its rankings are computed from live community signal and recompute as that signal changes. This page explains the inputs, how they're weighted, and how momentum is measured, so you know exactly what a ranking on Typedex means.
The signals
Every ranking is built from real actions people take on fonts. Not all actions are equal.
Saves & list adds
HighestAdding a font to a favorites or a curated list is the strongest signal of intent — it counts for roughly three times a single vote, because someone chose to keep it.
Votes
BaselineUp and down votes set the baseline. The balance can go negative when downvotes outweigh upvotes, so a font can lose ground, not just gain it.
Discoveries (extension)
LowerWhen someone clicks through to a font via the Typedex browser extension, that's a discovery. It counts for less than a deliberate vote, and is tallied once per user per font so it can't be farmed by repeat clicks.
Newness boost
TemporaryBrand-new independent releases get a small launch boost that decays linearly over their first week, so fresh type isn't buried under accumulated all-time favorites before anyone has seen it.
Three time windows
The same signals, scored over different spans. Momentum matters more in the short windows.
This week
Rolling 7 daysMomentum. We compare this week's votes, saves, and discoveries against the previous seven days and reward the change, so a font climbing fast outranks one that's merely large. This is what powers /trending-fonts.
This month
Rolling 30 daysThe same velocity model over a longer window — steadier than the weekly view, quicker to react than all-time.
All time
LifetimeAccumulated signal with no velocity component and a gentler curve. This is the leaderboard of fonts that have earned sustained attention, not just a recent spike.
How a score is built
- Weighted sum, then a saturating curve. Signals are combined by weight, then passed through a curve that flattens as the number grows. That keeps one viral spike from permanently owning the top spot and keeps the list legible.
- Velocity for the short windows. The weekly and monthly scores reward the difference between the current window and the one before it, so acceleration counts, not just volume.
- Ubiquitous fonts are discounted. Discoveries of system fonts (Arial, Calibri, and the like) and, to a lesser degree, Google Fonts are weighted down, because everyone already has them and they'd otherwise drown out genuine finds.
- Ties break predictably. When scores match, Typedex falls back to weighted trending score, then lifetime vote balance, then recency, then alphabetical order.
- Daily snapshots power the charts. Each day a snapshot records a font's rank, score, and growth rate, which is what draws the trend line on every font page.
Frequently asked
Can the rankings be gamed?
There are guards: discoveries are counted once per user per font, system and Google fonts are discounted, downvotes can pull a score down, and the saturating curve stops any single runaway signal from dominating.
How often do rankings update?
Continuously. A font's weekly, monthly, and all-time scores recompute whenever it gets new votes or saves, and a daily snapshot records the trend history.
Why isn't this just sorted by votes?
A pure vote count rewards age and audience size, not what's interesting now. Weighting saves above votes, measuring velocity, and giving new releases a brief boost surfaces type you wouldn't find by popularity alone.