Best Fonts for a Resume in 2026 (and Which to Avoid)

Best Fonts for a Resume in 2026 (and Which to Avoid)

Your font won't get you hired, but the wrong one can make your resume harder to read. The best resume fonts are clean, professional and work well on screen, on paper and in applicant tracking systems.

What makes a good resume font?

• Readable at small sizes.
• Professional and not distracting.
• Widely available, so it looks the same on any computer.
• ATS-friendly, with standard characters that software can read.

Best resume fonts

Sans-serif fonts (modern and clean)

• Calibri: a safe, familiar default.
• Arial: simple and available everywhere.
• Helvetica: clean and professional, popular in design.
• Lato: friendly but professional.
• Roboto: modern and very readable on screen.
• Inter: designed for screens, great for digital resumes.
• Verdana: wide letters, very readable at small sizes.

Serif fonts (classic and formal)

• Georgia: elegant and readable on screen.
• Cambria: designed for on-screen reading and print.
• Garamond: classic, good for law, academia and publishing.
• Times New Roman: traditional, but can look dated.

Sans-serif fonts usually look more modern. Serif fonts can suit traditional fields like law, finance or academia.

Best font sizes

• Name: 18 to 24 pt
• Section headings: 12 to 14 pt
• Body text: 10 to 12 pt
• Margins: around 1.5 to 2.5 cm

If your resume only fits by shrinking the font below 10 pt, cut content instead.

Fonts to avoid

• Comic Sans and other playful fonts.
• Script fonts like Brush Script, which are hard to read.
• Very thin or condensed fonts, which can blur on screen.
• Unusual custom fonts that may not display on the recruiter's computer.
• Mixing many fonts. Use one, or two at most (one for headings, one for body).

Other formatting tips

• Use bold for headings and job titles, not for whole paragraphs.
• Keep line spacing between 1.0 and 1.15.
• Use a single-column layout for ATS compatibility.
• Save as a PDF so your font and layout don't change.

For more formatting problems to avoid, read 7 resume mistakes that get you auto-rejected by ATS.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most professional font for a resume?

Calibri, Arial, Helvetica and Georgia are all safe, professional choices.

Does the font affect ATS?

Standard fonts are read without problems. Unusual fonts, symbols or text in images can cause errors.

Should my cover letter use the same font?

Yes. Using the same font and style makes your application look consistent.

Skip the formatting

The free JobStacky Resume Builder uses clean, ATS-friendly fonts and layouts for you.