Which typeface is the best for reading? Serif or Sans-serif?

I have never given much thought to the font-style on my reading devices. I do tweak the settings occasionally, but it’s always been a matter of trial and error — never a conscious choice.

A bit embarrassed, I started wondering — what do other readers prefer? Is there a consensus, perhaps even one backed by scientific research?

NOTE: Mainly, I’m talking about reading books and blogs, which are primarily in English

So what do I mean by “best for reading”?

When I read, I would not want my eyes to be strained when deciphering the text. This aspect is known as legibility — the ease with which each letter can be distinguished from one another. A more legible font enhances the reading experience.

Another key factor, which relates to comprehension, is readability — how efficiently a reader can process and understand visual information. Comprehension largely depends on the content and the reader. However, I want to explore whether changing the font can enhance the readability of the same text for the same reader, especially when reading large blocks of text.

In short, the ideal font for reading should optimize legibility, readability, and overall comfort for long reading sessions.

What are serif and sans-serif fonts?

Serif:

Serif fonts feature small decorative strokes (serifs) on the glyphs, which help guide the eyes along the text, enhancing readability in books.

They are commonly used in print media such as books, newspapers, and magazines, where they improve the readability of long passages.

In digital mediums, serif fonts are primarility used in headlines and subheadlines. But they render poorly at low resolutions, as their fine details are lost when mapped to the pixel grid.

• Examples: Times New Roman, Palantino, Georgia and, Garamond.

• Subcategories: Old Style, Slab Serifs, Transitional, Modern, Glyphic

Sans-Serif

The term “sans serif” literally means “without serif”, which makes glyphs look cleaner and minimalistic.

These fonts are well-suited for digital medium as they take up less screen space and offer better legibility.

With their simple, straightforward letterforms, sans-serif fonts reduce the risk of misinterpretation, making them ideal for short text, such as road signs and digital interfaces.

• Examples: Arial, Helvetica, Roboto, and Calibri.

• Subcategories: Square, Humanist, Grotesque, Neo-Grotesque, Geometric

What other factors impact readability?

Beyond the distinction between serif and sans-serif typefaces, I want to explore additional factors that influence readabiity. This is not an exhaustive list — just the aspects that I find most important.

• Font-family: Each font-family is designed with a specific purpose in mind. If a font is not intended for reading, it shouldn’t be considered for that purpose.
• X-height: It’s the height of lowercase letters relative to uppercase. A larger x-height improves legibility.
• Character Spacing (Kerning and Tracking): Proper letter spacing prevents characters from merging visually, thus reducing legibility. However, excessive spacing can negatively impact readability.
• Word spacing: Good word spacing prevents words from running together or feeling too far apart.
• Line spacing (Leading): Proper line height (1.4x - 1.6x font size) improves readability.
• Font Weight: Medium weights (400-600) are easiest to read for body text.
• Line Length: Ideal line length is 50-70 characters per line for better readability.

So, I guess, I was mistaken in thinking that readability could be judged solely on whether a font is serif or sans-serif.

This discussion, serif or sans-serif, is most relevant in digital mediums, where lower resolutions have traditionally favored sans-serif fonts for technical reasons.

What’s the status quo?

Many internet blogs and articles suggest that serif fonts enhance readability by providing more visual cues to the reader. That’s why most of the books continue to prefer serif fonts.

Digital screens have long favored sans-serif fonts. Why? Because back in the day, low-res screens struggled to render serifs properly, turning their elegant strokes into blurry smudges and compromising legibility.

But modern screens don’t have that problem anymore. In fact, there are serif fonts designed specifically for digital reading.

Take my kindle, for example. Mindlessly, based on trial and error, I have been using Palatino Light. It’s a serif typeface, but renders beautifully on my device. But the choice to use serif was subconscious perhaps, to emulate the feeling of reading a physical book.

But sans-serif are still the go-to for digital content, with most sticking to Helvetica, Verdana, and Arial — probably because we’re just used to reading in sans-serif by now.

Conclusion

So, coming back to the question of readability and legibilty — there are very few studies on the exact topic, and most are inconclusive when it comes to settling broad debate like this.

What we do know is that sans-serif fonts dominate the web and serif fonts dominate the books.

The only real takeway?

People read best what they’re most used to — serif fonts on paper, sans-serif fonts on screen.