# Times New Roman

35 Hacker News commenters recommended Times New Roman and 28 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Familiar 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.

## Why people recommend it

- Preferred over Calibri (4 comments): "I'm dyslexic and I much prefer to read Times New Roman to Calibri" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46227869)) "More proof that the government chose correctly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283720)) "Is it better than Calibri? Yes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46436442))
- Classic, elegant look (4 comments): "It captures the beauty of old style and transitional types like Garamond and Baskerville" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46296453)) "I like how it looks, and I like it better than other fonts." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46297520)) "times new roman just looks better" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46228310))
- Renders on nearly any computer (4 comments): "may be a more portable default if you want the document to render identically across platforms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46435354)) "will render correctly on basically any computer built in the last 30 years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46437838)) "I find Times New Roman very easy to read and available on many platforms." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46307010))
- Readable for many people (3 comments): "I find Times New Roman very easy to read and available on many platforms." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46307010)) "most Times New Roman is perfectly legible with careful observation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46231862)) "I'm dyslexic and I much prefer to read Times New Roman to Calibri" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46227869))

## What people warn about

- Poor legibility on screens (3 comments): "on screen it is not fine unless you have a high resolution display" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46231718)) "Serifs on even the highest DPI displays look pretty terrible when compared with print, and lose readability tests every time they're measured." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46225199)) "a serif font that is provably more difficult to read on screens" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46224945))
- Better alternatives exist (4 comments): "Time New Roman is marginally better because there are several good, modern open source alternatives with the same metrics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46232416)) "it feels like there have always been a number of alternatives that are stylistically better or more readable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46290057)) "TNR is awful and anyone who actually cares about serifs knows there are better options." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46232392))
- Seen as generic or tacky (4 comments): "If you communicate in Times New Roman and Arial it tells me that you probably are apathetic about mold in the walls" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46436839)) "Using either Calibri or Times New Roman makes it look like you did not put any thought into your brand" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46433230)) "Imagine if all text in your favourite game was all Times New Roman, it would make the game worse." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46130600))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Atkinson Hyperlegible](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atkinson-hyperlegible.md): 23 recommend
- [Calibri](https://hackerapproved.com/p/calibri.md): 16 recommend
- [Garamond font](https://hackerapproved.com/p/garamond.md): 10 recommend
- [Comic Sans](https://hackerapproved.com/p/comic-sans.md): 8 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Times New Roman", https://hackerapproved.com/p/times-new-roman/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).