Where the Speedee answer comes from
It's Nice That, a design publication, covered Turner Duckworth's redesign of McDonald's in July 2019. It names Speedee as a new typeface developed with Dalton Maag. The designers took ideas from the form of the Golden Arches, the McDonald's wordmark, and the lettering of the 1971 'You deserve a break today' adverts. The name comes from McDonald's Speedee Service System. The article says Speedee comes in three weights and replaced several fonts, most often Lovin' Sans.
Evidence for this attribution ↓No paid font selected
Free alternatives
Compare the actual letterforms with the same text. These are editorial alternatives, not fonts attributed to McDonald's.
Free alternative
Poppins (Bold)
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Regular · Latin specimen
A geometric sans with round bowls that feels as friendly as Speedee in bold headlines. It is more strictly geometric, and its a has one storey.
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Jost (Bold)
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Regular · Latin specimen
A Futura-style geometric sans with clean, round curves. It looks cooler and more formal than Speedee, and its a also has one storey.
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Questrial
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Regular · Latin specimen
A simple, rounded-feeling sans for body text or light captions. It comes in a single regular weight, so it cannot give you Speedee's bold headlines.
View fontWhat Fonts In Use adds
Fonts In Use, an archive of typefaces in real work, lists Speedee as a 2018 custom family from Dalton Maag, made for Turner Duckworth's McDonald's rebrand. It describes two widths, each in three upright weights, so it counts the family slightly differently from It's Nice That. It identifies the typeface of the 1971 adverts as Gill Kayo and lists Lovin' Sans as Speedee's predecessor. A Georgian version was drawn by Lasha Giorgadze and Mariam Merabishvili.
Evidence for this attribution ↓The Golden Arches behind the letters
Turner Duckworth, the design agency behind the identity, says on its project page that the Golden Arches inspired every part of the system, including the engineered curves of the custom font. So the curves in Speedee's letters are meant to echo the arches. The agency adds that the same identity runs through sub-brands, loyalty programmes, retail, corporate events and the head office. The arches themselves are a drawn symbol and are not part of the font.
Evidence for this attribution ↓How to get the look
Pick a friendly, heavy sans with round curves and set headlines in bold, tightly spaced. Poppins Bold or Jost Bold get close for short headlines; both have a one-storey a, so check whether that suits your design. Questrial works for lighter text, but it has only one weight. Use warm yellow and red, and keep shapes simple. Do not use the Golden Arches or the McDonald's name in your own work.
Common questions
Is the McDonald's font free?
No. Speedee is a custom typeface made for McDonald's with Dalton Maag, and it is not sold or offered for download. For a similar friendly look, try Poppins Bold or Jost Bold from Google Fonts.
What font did McDonald's use before Speedee?
Fonts In Use lists Lovin' Sans as Speedee's predecessor, and It's Nice That says Speedee replaced several fonts, of which Lovin' Sans was the most consistently used.
What font is the McDonald's logo?
The main McDonald's logo, the Golden Arches, is a drawn symbol, so no font produces it. Turner Duckworth says the arches inspired the curves of the Speedee typeface. We found no source that names a font for the McDonald's wordmark, so we do not claim one.
Sources & evidence
Editorial review completed November 10, 2026.
- It's Nice That — Behind the McDonald's redesign: from the Speedee typeface to the Archery logo system (Jenny Brewer, 2019)
Design publication
- Fonts In Use — Speedee
Design archive
- Turner Duckworth — McDonald's
Design agency