Families you can use without a commercial foundry invoice: mostly OFL, plus a few other open or free-use licences.
sans · Partial nikud · OFL
sans · Full nikud · OFL
serif · Full nikud · OFL
serif · Partial nikud · OFL
serif · Partial nikud · OFL
sans · Partial nikud · OFL
serif · Full nikud · OFL
serif · Full nikud · free-personal
serif · Full nikud · OFL
sans · Partial nikud · OFL
sans · Partial nikud · unknown
serif · Partial nikud · unknown
serif · Full nikud · unknown
handwriting · No nikud · OFL
OFL is the usual Google Fonts licence (Heebo, Noto, Frank Ruhl Libre, David Libre, Alef, Gveret Levin, Cardo). That is the simplest path for a public website.
Ploni is OFL but not on Google Fonts, so self-host it. Ezra SIL is OFL from SIL for biblical text.
SBL Hebrew is free to use under the SBL font licence, which is not OFL and restricts selling the font itself.
Culmus (Simple CLM, Hadasim CLM, Taamey Frank CLM, Stam Ashkenaz CLM) is historically GPL with a font exception, not OFL. Read that licence before you embed the files in an app.
“Free” is not the same as “on Google Fonts,” and it is not permission to copy Almoni, Koren, Fedra, or Windows David.
Keep the licence file with the fonts when you self-host; OFL requires that you do not sell the font on its own as a new name.
Screen-first families that keep Hebrew readable at UI sizes and in mixed Hebrew–English layouts.
Tattoo lettering is permanent, so the brief is correct spelling, final letters, and a shape that still reads as Hebrew on skin.
Faces that mimic pen, marker, or school cursive, for notes, kids’ material, invitations, and practice sheets.
Square, Rashi, and biblical faces for Tanakh, commentary, and liturgical pages, not for app chrome.