Shantell Sans
Ranked 3 of 26 typefaces by recommenders
People recommend it for its playful yet readable handwritten style and variable font axes that let you adjust informality and bounce.
People recommend it for its playful yet readable handwritten style and variable font axes that let you adjust informality and bounce.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 19
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 95%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 19 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 19 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Beautiful, charming design
“This font, however, is by far the most beautiful one I've encountered yet.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” “A beautiful font, and a beautiful gift from the creators.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” “gorgeous piece of human-computer engineering art”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” - Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans”
- Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans”
Playful yet readable
“I also love this font -- it seems very readable and could be a good go-to in many places.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” “the roboto example also highlighted a very stark difference in readability for me”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” “it has so much joyful charm while still being readable”
Comment from 6 Jun 2026 in “Shantell Sans” - Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans”
Variable font axes well used
“genuinely one of the coolest uses of a variable font axis i've seen in recent memory”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” “You could sample the informality variable for this font, it might work out.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” “That’s the coolest thing!And “bounce” slider. What a time to be alive…”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” Good for handwritten notes
“It’s a great fit for emulating hand-written notes on a whiteboard”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans” “this is already my favourite hand-written font”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Shantell Sans”
Other typefaces people recommend
The four most recommended other typefaces, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times New Roman | 35 | 28 | 56% | 4 | — | — |
| Atkinson Hyperlegible | 23 | 2 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Shantell SansThis page | 19 | 1 | 95% | 2 | — | — |
| Calibri | 16 | 36 | 31% | 1 | — | — |
| Nebula Sans | 16 | 21 | 43% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
20 of the 21 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Even old dogs can switch to new fonts”
“it has so much joyful charm while still being readable”
“wow just what i was looking for”
“this is so ugly that it's hard to even describe how ugly it is”
“this font has wonderful Cyrillic glyphs”
“You could sample the informality variable for this font, it might work out.”
“I also love this font -- it seems very readable and could be a good go-to in many places.”
“A beautiful font, and a beautiful gift from the creators.”
“That’s the coolest thing!And “bounce” slider. What a time to be alive…”
“It’s a great fit for emulating hand-written notes on a whiteboard”
“This font is so beautiful, I’d really love to see it in my terminal”
“the roboto example also highlighted a very stark difference in readability for me”
“this is already my favourite hand-written font”
“Looks really great, really well designed.”
“This font really does go further. Beautiful!”
“gorgeous piece of human-computer engineering art”
“genuinely one of the coolest uses of a variable font axis i've seen in recent memory”
“Somehow balances playfulness and readability.”
“she definitely prefers this to Roboto in the example”
“This font, however, is by far the most beautiful one I've encountered yet.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.