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A project I'll be working on in the near future requires me to do some font replacement for some headings and small portions of the copy (blockquotes, etc)
The catch is that the designer wants to use Helvetica Neue.
I've looked at Typekit, Fontdeck, Google Fonts, and FontSquirrel and they don't seem to have said font nor anything really all that comparable.
I'm aware that we could use something like sIFR or Cufon, and I haven't ruled those out.
Are there any services on the web that this font can be purchased/rented/etc from?
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Nimbus Sans Designed by type foundry URW, Nimbus Sans is a great Helvetica replacement.
It's legal to ask the browser to use Helvetica Neue if it's available on the system, but you'd need a license if you want to serve the font yourself. One option is to use Helvetica Neue if it's system-installed and fall back to some other sans-serif font like Arial if it's not.
Helvetica is licensed by Linotype, so you would have to pay for it. Helvetica® font family | Linotype.com has the information you would need. You can buy a Web only license for less than a full license. Another option would be to look for free or less expensive alternatives.
What is the difference between Helvetica and Neue Helvetica? First, a bit of history. The original Helvetica design was created by Max Miedinger and released by Linotype in 1957. The second, Neue Helvetica, was a re-working of the 1957 design and was released in 1983 by D.
You can host fonts on your server, and use the CSS @font-face rule to display those fonts on your web site. However, you need check the font license very carefully. The fonts hosted by Google and others tend to be chosen because they have an open license.
Fonts like Helvetica have fairly strict commercial licenses. So although you could buy one of the Helvetica variants for around $30, you might not be able to use it on the web site. This article may be of some assistance:
http://fontfeed.com/archives/new-end-user-licence-agreement-for-fontfont/
You might also want to have a look at Helvetica Neue: The Ugly Truth, which describes how some browsers have trouble rendering your designer's font of choice.
It may be that other fonts have less restrictive licenses. Bitstream's Swiss 721, for example, is very similar to Helvetica, but at first glance (and that's as far as I have got), the license is a little less restrictive.
A quick email to the font forge might be easier than reading the license. Helvetica is a Linotype font.
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There's a font over at Font Squirrel called 'TeX Gyre Heros' that is very similar to Helvetica and has some versions that might fit the bill for what you are trying to do:
http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/TeX-Gyre-Heros
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I've just found this and its absolutely great!! you gotta check it. One of the best Helvetica copies i've seen, and its free:
http://www.google.com/fonts/#QuickUsePlace:quickUse/Family:Roboto:300
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