The best typefaces, according to hackers
26 typefaces recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendedTimes New Roman35 people recommend it
- Least regretGaramond font10 recommend, 0 criticize
All typefaces
- Times New RomanFamiliar serif font that renders correctly on almost any computer and is easy to read for many. Critics say it looks poor on screens and that better alternatives exist.35recommend
- Atkinson HyperlegibleFree font from the Braille Institute, built for letter clarity and easy reading; some find it too round for body text.23recommend
- Shantell SansPeople recommend it for its playful yet readable handwritten style and variable font axes that let you adjust informality and bounce.19recommend
- CalibriLiked for clear, readable screen text at small sizes. Critics find it too casual for official documents and dislike its commercial Microsoft license.16recommend
- Nebula SansFree sans-serif typeface that people find readable and pleasant, with a license they like. The most common caveat is that critics find it generic and barely different from Source Sans.16recommend
- FurifontJapanese font that displays furigana reading aids through ligatures, useful for learners and decoding unknown kanji. Critics say readings are often wrong, especially with arbitrary pronunciations and line wraps.16recommend
- Avería fontRecommended for its printed-ink look that feels calm and comfortable to read; the most common caveat is uneven letter forms.15recommend
- InterRecommended as a readable interface font that works at small sizes, with many weights in one file. Critics call it overused and its thin weights too faint.13recommend
- Public SansFree, neutral government typeface that reads well at small sizes and tells lowercase l from uppercase I. Common caveat: limited international character coverage.13recommend
- RobotoRecommended as a dependable, broad sans-serif family for web text and code, with many font weights and a good emoji pack. Some find it generic or hard to read at small sizes.12recommend
- Fran SansA free typeface modeled on San Francisco light rail displays, recommended for its fun look and a name people find clever and personal.12recommend
- Garamond fontPeople recommend Garamond for its classic, elegant serif style and prefer it over many alternatives. The most common caveat is that most versions have too little x-height for good legibility.10recommend
- Google Sans FlexFree variable font with a roundness control and clean, pleasant look. Most common caveat: l, I and 1 are hard to tell apart.10recommend
- Shop SansAdmired for its attractive letterforms and curved-text design, though it only works on circles or arcs and its license bars embedding in apps or e-books.9recommend
- Comic SansPeople recommend it as a clear, legible font that suits dyslexic readers and friendly text, though critics call it overused and lacking in personality.8recommend
- Georgia fontA readable serif font that people prefer to Times New Roman, especially on screens. Caveat: some find it too fancy for long text and say its characters dip below the line.8recommend
- IBM PlexPeople recommend IBM Plex for its high-quality typefaces, which they find lovely and well designed. No recurring caveat appears in the quotes.7recommend
- Noto fontsFree, open-source font family of good quality, recommended for fixing missing-character boxes in text. Critics say it adds many fonts that clutter the font picker.7recommend
- LINE SeedFree under the SIL Open Font License, with Latin, Japanese, Thai, Korean and Chinese support. Critics find the Roman design generic and unadventurous.7recommend
- ArialPeople recommend Arial as a legible, accessible sans-serif with mature hinting and locale support; critics say its letter shapes are overly simplified.6recommend
- HelveticaA classic sans-serif that people pick for signage and as a default choice; critics say it works poorly for longer body text.6recommend
- TabFontA font that renders guitar tabs as you type, which people say solves a long-standing problem, though critics question using a font for it and its non-standard notation.6recommend
- Geist SerifPeople like its distinctive letterforms and playful serif details, though the most common caveat is that it is hard to read at small sizes.6recommend
- VerdanaRecommended for being easy to read, including on low-resolution screens, and for working as one font for everything.5recommend
- Geist font by VercelA clean, popular sans-serif font that people recommend for its look and wide use. Critics say it looks like a downscaled vector font and is not especially original.5recommend
- Zed A SansPeople recommend it as a well-executed, nice-looking sans typeface. Critics say the lowercase s and other x-height letters look too tall, and that it is expensive.5recommend