Quick answer: A good font for a resume is clean, professional, and easy to read on screen and paper. The safest choices are Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, Garamond, Georgia, Cambria, and Times New Roman, with modern options like Lato, Roboto, and Source Sans working well too. Use 10–12 pt for body text, 12–14 pt for section headings, and 16–24 pt for your name. Stick to one font (or two at most), avoid decorative or script fonts, and choose a standard font so applicant tracking systems (ATS) and every recruiter's computer can read it.
Nobody has ever been hired because of their font. But plenty of resumes have been squinted at, skimmed, or quietly closed because the font was tiny, fussy, or looked like it belonged on a wedding invitation.
Your font has one job: make your experience easy to read. When it's right, nobody notices it. That's the goal.
This guide covers the best fonts for a resume, how to choose between serif and sans-serif, fonts to avoid, the right sizes, and how fonts affect ATS.
What Makes a Good Resume Font?
A good resume font is:
- Readable at 10–12 pt, on screens and when printed
- Professional, not playful or decorative
- Standard, so it displays correctly on any computer and in any ATS
- Consistent with clear bold and italic versions for headings and emphasis
- Space-efficient enough to fit your content without cramping
The 12 Best Fonts for a Resume
Sans-serif fonts (modern and clean)
Sans-serif fonts have no small strokes ("feet") at the ends of letters. They look modern and read well on screens.
1. Calibri. Clean, compact, and familiar. Long the default in Microsoft Word, so it's universally available. A great all-purpose choice.
2. Arial. Simple and highly readable. Available on virtually every device. Slightly wider than Calibri, so 10.5–11 pt often works well.
3. Helvetica. A classic, polished favorite of designers. Common on Macs; Arial is the usual fallback on Windows.
4. Lato. A friendly, modern font available free in Google Docs. Great for tech, startups, and creative-but-professional roles.
5. Roboto. Google's clean, geometric font. Readable and modern, especially for tech roles.
6. Verdana. Very readable on screens thanks to wide letters, but takes up more space. Use 10 pt if your content is long.
7. Source Sans / Open Sans. Open-source fonts that look professional and modern, available in many tools.
Serif fonts (traditional and polished)
Serif fonts have small strokes at the ends of letters. They feel classic and work well for traditional industries.
8. Garamond. Elegant and compact, so more fits on a page. Its letters run small, so use 11–12 pt.
9. Georgia. A serif designed for screens, so it stays crisp in PDFs. Great for law, education, and writing roles.
10. Cambria. Sturdy and readable at small sizes. Designed for both screen and print.
11. Times New Roman. Perfectly acceptable, if a little expected. Good for conservative fields. Use 11–12 pt.
12. Book Antiqua / Palatino. Refined and readable serif options for academic and traditional roles.
Serif vs. Sans-Serif: Which Should You Choose?
- Choose sans-serif (Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, Lato) for most jobs, especially tech, business, healthcare, marketing, and anything submitted online
- Choose serif (Garamond, Georgia, Cambria) for traditional fields like law, finance, academia, publishing, and government, or if you want a classic look
- Mix carefully: a serif for your name and headings with a sans-serif body (or vice versa) can look polished. Never use more than two fonts
Both types are ATS-friendly as long as they're standard fonts.
Best Resume Fonts by Industry
- Corporate, finance, law: Garamond, Georgia, Cambria, Times New Roman
- Tech and startups: Calibri, Lato, Roboto, Helvetica, Source Sans
- Healthcare and education: Arial, Calibri, Georgia
- Creative fields (marketing, design): Helvetica, Lato, or a clean serif like Garamond for headings
- Academia and research: Garamond, Georgia, Palatino, Times New Roman
- Government: Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman
What Font Size Should a Resume Be?
- Body text: 10–12 pt (11 pt is a safe middle ground)
- Section headings: 12–14 pt, often bold or in small caps
- Your name: 16–24 pt
- Contact details: 10–11 pt
Fonts vary in how large they look at the same point size. Garamond and Times New Roman look smaller, so use 11–12 pt. Arial and Verdana look larger, so 10–11 pt works. For a full size guide, see resume font size.
Font Pairings That Work on a Resume
Using one font for everything is the safest choice. If you want a little more polish, pair a heading font with a body font:
- Georgia (headings) + Arial (body): classic and readable
- Garamond (name and headings) + Calibri (body): elegant and modern at once
- Lato (headings) + Lato (body, lighter weight): clean, single-family look
- Merriweather (headings) + Open Sans (body): a popular Google Docs combination
- Helvetica Bold (headings) + Helvetica Regular (body): crisp and minimal
Rules for pairing: use one serif with one sans-serif (two similar sans-serif fonts look like a mistake), keep the body font simple, and never use more than two fonts.
Best Resume Fonts in Microsoft Word and Google Docs
Available in Microsoft Word: Calibri, Aptos (Microsoft's newer default font), Arial, Cambria, Georgia, Garamond, Times New Roman, Verdana, Book Antiqua, Trebuchet MS.
Available in Google Docs: Arial, Lato, Roboto, Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Merriweather, Georgia, Garamond (EB Garamond), Times New Roman, Verdana. Click the font menu and choose More fonts to add Google Fonts.
How to change your font in Word: press Ctrl + A (Cmd + A on Mac) to select everything, then choose a font and size from the Home tab. For consistent headings, update the Heading 1 and Normal styles instead of formatting each line.
How to change your font in Google Docs: select all, then pick a font from the toolbar. Use Format > Paragraph styles > Normal text > Update 'Normal text' to match so new text uses the same font.
See how to make a resume in Word and how to make a resume in Google Docs.
What Your Font Choice Says About You
Fair or not, fonts create a first impression:
- Calibri, Arial, Helvetica: modern, straightforward, safe
- Garamond, Georgia, Cambria: polished, traditional, detail-oriented
- Times New Roman: formal and conventional, sometimes read as "default"
- Lato, Roboto, Open Sans: contemporary, tech-friendly
- Decorative fonts: unprofessional, or that you didn't know better
The goal isn't to impress with your font. It's to make sure your font never distracts from your experience.
Fonts to Avoid on a Resume
- Comic Sans: fun for bake sale flyers, not for job applications
- Papyrus, Curlz, and other novelty fonts
- Script and handwriting fonts (Brush Script, Lucida Handwriting): hard to read and may confuse ATS
- Impact and other very heavy display fonts
- Very thin or light weights: they can nearly vanish on screen or in print
- Unusual downloaded fonts: if you send a Word file and the recruiter doesn't have the font, it'll be replaced with something random. Export to PDF to avoid this
- Courier: readable, but looks like a typewriter manuscript from 1975
Do Fonts Affect ATS?
Most ATS read text, not fonts, so standard fonts are rarely a problem. Issues usually come from:
- Decorative or uncommon fonts that don't convert to text correctly
- Text inside images, text boxes, or graphics
- Special characters and symbols used as bullets or icons
Stick with standard fonts and a simple layout, and your resume will parse cleanly. See ATS-friendly resume templates.
Font Formatting Tips
- Use one font family for the whole resume, or two at most
- Use bold for job titles and section headings, not for random words
- Use italics sparingly, for dates or company descriptions
- Avoid underlining, except for links if needed
- Keep text black or dark gray on a white background
- Be consistent: same size and style for every section heading, job title, and date
- Match your cover letter to your resume font. See cover letter font and length
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good font for a resume?
Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, Garamond, Georgia, Cambria, and Times New Roman are all good, professional choices. Modern options like Lato and Roboto also work well.
What is the best font for a resume in 2026?
There's no single best font, but Calibri and Arial are the safest all-purpose choices. Garamond and Georgia are excellent for traditional fields, and Lato or Roboto suit modern and tech roles.
Is Times New Roman okay for a resume?
Yes. It's professional and ATS-friendly, though some recruiters see it as dated. Use 11–12 pt.
What font size should a resume be?
10–12 pt for body text, 12–14 pt for headings, and 16–24 pt for your name.
Should I use serif or sans-serif fonts on my resume?
Either works. Sans-serif fonts look modern and read well on screens. Serif fonts feel traditional and suit conservative industries.
Can I use two fonts on a resume?
Yes, one for headings and one for body text, but no more than two. Make sure they complement each other.
What font does Google Docs use for resumes?
Google Docs resume templates use fonts like Lato, Merriweather, Open Sans, and Source Sans Pro, which are all fine. See how to make a resume in Google Docs.
Get the Font Right Automatically
Our Resume Builder uses clean, professional, ATS-friendly fonts and sizes in every template, so you can focus on what you write, not how it looks.