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Zed A Sans

Shares rank 24 of 26 typefaces by recommenders

People 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.

People 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.

8 people gave an opinion

recommend it
5
criticize it
3
approval share
63%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 1 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: not recommended
  2. December 2025: not recommended
  3. January 2026: not recommended
  4. February 2026: not recommended
  5. March 2026: not recommended
  6. April 2026: recommended
  7. May 2026: not recommended
  8. June 2026: not recommended
  9. July 2026: not recommended
  10. August 2026: not recommended
  11. September 2026: not recommended
  12. October 2026: not recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Why it doesn’t carry the badge

  • 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
  • 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
  • Recommended in 1 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

  • Looks quite nice

    “Looks quite nice except the lowercase s is too tall.”

    Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”
  • Well-executed design

    “seems to be well-executed”

    Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Zed: A sans for the needs of the 21st century”

What people warn about

Each mark is one comment

  • Lowercase letters look too tall

    “Looks quite nice except the lowercase s is too tall.”

    Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”

    “clearly taller than other x-height letters like e, o or r”

    Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”

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.

Zed A Sans compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
Times New Roman352856%4——
Atkinson Hyperlegible23292%6—Approved
Shantell Sans19195%2——
Calibri163631%1——
Zed A SansThis page5363%1——
See all 26 typefaces, ranked

What people said

6 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“it is motion-sickness inducing”

CriticizesComment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”

“Looks quite nice except the lowercase s is too tall.”

MixedComment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”

“clearly taller than other x-height letters like e, o or r”

CriticizesComment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”

“Capital I and lowercase L are identical, not ideal, but maybe not that much of a problem for the use cases of this font.”

MixedComment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”

“the price feels extremely expensive, and I don't like having to keep track of which of my library of typefaces are allowed to be used”

CriticizesComment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Zed, A sans for the needs of 21st century”

“seems to be well-executed”

RecommendsComment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Zed: A sans for the needs of the 21st century”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.