Best Font for Resume (2026): 8 Top Fonts, Sizes & Fonts to Avoid

On this pageBest fonts for a resume in 2026

1. Best fonts for a resume in 2026
2. What font size should a resume be?
3. Are these fonts ATS-friendly?
4. Fonts to avoid on a resume
5. Resume font tips
6. Serif or sans-serif?
7. Skip the formatting work
8. Resume font FAQ

SummaryCopy

The best font for a resume is a clean, widely installed font such as Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, Aptos, Garamond or Georgia, set at 10 to 12 points for body text and 14 to 18 points for your name. Moreover, these fonts read well on screen and on paper, and applicant tracking systems (ATS) convert them to text without errors.

Below is a comparison, the sizes to use, and the fonts to avoid.

#Best fonts for a resume in 2026

In practice, any of these is a safe choice. Then pick one that matches your field: sans-serif fonts feel modern and clean, while serif fonts feel formal and traditional. If you would rather not build that look from scratch, start from a modern resume template and swap in your own text.

#What font size should a resume be?

• Your name: 16–22 pt, bold.
• Section headings: 12–14 pt, bold or all caps.
• Body text and bullets: 10–12 pt. Below 10 pt is hard to read; above 12 pt looks padded.
• Contact details and dates: the same size as body text or 1 pt smaller.

Also, because different fonts run larger or smaller at the same point size, check the printed page: 11 pt Garamond looks noticeably smaller than 11 pt Arial. For exact numbers, see the best resume font size for name, headings and body text.

#Are these fonts ATS-friendly?

Yes. After all, an ATS reads the text layer of your file, so any standard font works as long as the document contains real text. Instead, problems come from layout, not typefaces: text boxes, columns and text placed inside images are what cause parsing errors. For the full list of layout rules, see our ATS-friendly resume templates, and test your finished file with the free ATS resume checker. Design-tool fonts can cause trouble too, as our guide to Canva resumes and ATS shows.

#Fonts to avoid on a resume

• Comic Sans and Papyrus: they read as unprofessional.
• Script or handwriting fonts: hard to read at small sizes.
• Very condensed or ultra-light fonts: they blur on screens and in print.
• Times New Roman: not wrong, but it can look dated; Georgia or Garamond give a similar feel.
• Uncommon downloaded fonts in a Word file: if the reader does not have the font, Word substitutes another one and your layout shifts. Export to PDF to embed it.

#Resume font tips

1. Use one font, or two at most (for example, a serif for headings and a sans-serif for body).
2. Keep sizes consistent: every heading the same size, every bullet the same size.
3. Similarly, use bold for structure (job titles, headings), not for random words.
4. Finally, leave line spacing at 1.0–1.15 and margins at 0.5–1 inch.
5. Save as PDF unless the posting asks for Word, so your font displays exactly as you set it.

#Serif or sans-serif?

Sans-serif fonts like Calibri, Arial and Aptos look crisp on screens, which is where most resumes are read first. In contrast, serif fonts like Georgia and Garamond feel more traditional and suit law, academia and finance. Either way, consistency and readable size matter far more than the choice itself. Font is one half of the look. For the other half, see our rules on color on a resume.

#Skip the formatting work

As a shortcut, Rezoom’s AI resume builder includes 500+ ATS-friendly templates with fonts, sizes and spacing already set, so you can focus on the content. For layout ideas by role, also browse our resume examples.

#Resume font FAQ