If you need a comprehensive set of characters, or a variety of weights, then a premium font family could be the answer. The exception is when a project is taken on by a community of volunteers, such as the team behind Montserrat, when it is able to grow into a wider set of fonts. Commonly you’ll get a regular and a bold, but no italic.
The sheer volume of work involved in designing a complete typeface family means that when typefaces are a labor of love, they normally focus on a few key weights or styles.
Bonus: 5 Premium Font Alternatives to Gotham
