12 Best Fonts for Resumes in 2025 (With Formatting Tips)

The font you choose for your resume can shape the first impression you make on employers. A simple resume font that’s sized and formatted correctly will ensure readability and convey professionalism. In contrast, a poor choice of font can make your resume look cluttered and unprofessional.

So, what are the best fonts for a resume? This article will help you make an informed decision. We’ll go over:

• Why resume fonts matter
• The 12 best fonts for resumes
• How to choose the best font for your resume
• Resume fonts to avoid
• Resume font sizing and formatting tips
• Answers to common questions about resume fonts

Why Your Resume Font Matters

Your resume communicates your top skills, assets, and hireability, and it needs to project professionalism. Choosing the right resume fonts impacts more than your resume’s aesthetics; it’s an important choice that ensures you can pass the initial round of resume reviews.

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) analyze your resume to check for must-have resume sections, required credentials, and skills and achievements. For the ATS to properly “read” your resume’s content, it needs to be able to easily scan your resume font. A font that’s too complex might not pass the ATS scan.

Beyond automated screening, recruiters take six seconds to decide whether or not to toss your resume. If a recruiter can’t read your words or is put off by an overly stylized font, you won’t even get a second look, so the right resume font and resume font size make a big difference.

12 Best Resume Fonts in 2025

Here’s a list of the best resume fonts, including serif and sans-serif styles, ATS-friendly options, pros and cons, and visual examples of how each font looks:

• Calibri
• Cambria
• Garamond
• Georgia
• Helvetica
• Lato
• Merriweather
• PT Sans
• Roboto
• Tahoma
• Trebuchet MS
• Verdana

1. Calibri

Calibri is a modern, sans-serif font that’s clean, professional, and easy to read on screens and in print. As the long-time default font in Microsoft Word, it’s widely recognized and accepted by recruiters, making it a safe choice for most industries.

• Pros: Readable and ATS-friendly, professional and familiar to employers, works well for both body text and headings
• Cons: Commonly used, so it may not stand out visually, and slightly less formal than traditional serif fonts
  
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2. Cambria

Cambria is a serif font designed for readability both on-screen and in print. It has balanced letterforms and slightly wider spacing that make resumes look polished and formal. Cambria is often considered a modern alternative to Times New Roman.

• Pros: Professional, classic serif font with high screen readability
• Cons: Less modern or trendy than sans-serif fonts, may feel too formal for creative industries
  
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3. Garamond

Garamond is an elegant, classic serif font known for its timeless style and readability. It gives resumes a professional and sophisticated look, making it a great choice for industries that are a bit more traditional, such as law or finance.

• Pros: Traditional serif font that’s visually appealing but still readable
• Cons: Can appear too formal for modern industries and startups
  
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4. Georgia

Georgia is a classic serif font characterized by slightly larger letters and an elegant style. This professional yet approachable resume font gives resumes a polished, traditional look without feeling outdated.

• Pros: Classic appearance suitable for many industries, works well in both digital and printed resumes
• Cons: May feel too traditional for very creative or tech-focused roles
  
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5. Helvetica

Helvetica is one of the most widely used fonts, with a huge impact in the world of graphic design. This sans-serif font is known for its high readability, simplicity, and modern design, often associated with Apple products and operating systems. If you want your resume to look professional and cutting-edge without sacrificing simplicity, Helvetica is the font for you.

• Pros: Sleek but professional appearance, versatile, widely recognized across industries
• Cons: May feel overused, can look impersonal
  
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6. Lato

Lato is a modern sans-serif font with a clean yet friendly appearance. Its balanced letterforms and open spacing make it an approachable font that works for all industries and professions without sacrificing professionalism.

• Pros: Highly readable in both digital and print formats
• Cons: May feel too casual for highly conservative industries
  
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7. Merriweather

Merriweather is a serif font with a classic, elegant design. This font has balanced letterforms and isn’t too decorative, making it a highly readable font appropriate for any industry.

• Pros: Elegant and approachable, high readability for a serif font
• Cons: Can be larger compared to other fonts, so you’ll need to resize appropriately
  
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8. PT Sans

PT Sans is a widely used sans-serif typeface characterized by its clean lines and excellent readability. Its slightly wider letter spacing and subtle character design create a professional yet approachable look, suitable for both creative and corporate fields.

• Pros: Clear, easy-to-read design that looks great on screens, widely available for free
• Cons: May appear too casual for very formal or conservative industries
  
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9. Roboto

Roboto is a modern sans-serif font with a clean, contemporary look that remains highly readable. Its geometric letterforms, combined with slightly rounded edges, create a professional yet approachable appearance. Roboto is highly legible on both screens and in print, and it works well for resumes in tech, corporate, and creative industries.

• Pros: Contemporary design and highly readable
• Cons: May feel too design-forward for more traditional industries
  
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10. Tahoma

Tahoma is a clean, sans-serif typeface that is slightly narrow, making it useful for fitting a lot of content into a small space. Ideal for the body text of a resume as well as headings, Tahoma has great screen readability.

• Pros: Simple and space-conscious typeface ideal for screens
• Cons: Has bold and regular styles but no italics
  
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11. Trebuchet MS

Trebuchet MS is a unique sans-serif font characterized by a splay-footed “M” and a two-story “g” that gives this otherwise simple typeface some character. Trebuchet MS is a versatile choice that’s great for section headings as well as body text.

• Pros: A simple font for job seekers who want something a bit different
• Cons: Might not look formal enough for certain industries
  
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12. Verdana

Verdana is a sans-serif font designed specifically for low-resolution computer monitors, making it one of the best fonts for a resume for readability. Its modern, straightforward appearance makes it easy to scan, which is especially useful for online applications analyzed by an ATS.

• Pros: ATS-friendly and widely available
• Cons: May take up more space due to wider letter spacing
  
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How to Choose the Best Font for Your Resume

Now that you’ve explored the best resume fonts, you’ll need to choose the right one for your industry, role, and resume style. When selecting the best fonts for your resume, prioritize clarity, professionalism, and readability. The font you choose should look polished and be appropriate for potential employers while remaining easy to read for both human recruiters and an ATS.

Qualities of a Good Resume Font

A good resume font is visually appealing and easily readable. When deciding between fonts, consider the following characteristics to ensure your choice is appropriate for a professional resume:

• Readability: Choose a font that’s clear and easy to read. Each letter should have a consistent shape and spacing, without being too thin, too thick, or overly decorative.
• Professionalism: Use fonts that convey a polished, professional tone. Classic options like Calibri, Georgia, or Helvetica are safe choices, while playful fonts like Comic Sans can make your resume look unprofessional.
• Simplicity: Keep your font design clean and minimal. Avoid decorative elements or complex shapes that can distract from your skills and achievements.
• Compatibility: Pick fonts that display consistently across any device or ATS. Widely available options, such as Cambria, Garamond, or Verdana, ensure your resume looks the same for every recruiter.

If you want your resume to look polished without the guesswork, a resume builder can automatically format it using recruiter-approved fonts and optimal sizing.

Serif vs Sans-Serif Fonts: What’s the Difference?

Both serif and sans-serif fonts can work well on a resume because they’re clean, professional, and highly readable. Choosing between them often comes down to the impression you want to convey and the medium in which your resume will be viewed.

• Serif fonts (like Times New Roman or Georgia) have small strokes at the ends of letters, giving them a classic, traditional look.
• Sans-serif fonts (like Calibri or Helvetica) have clean, modern lines that are easier to read on screens.

If you’re unsure which to choose, sans-serif fonts are generally a safer bet for digital resumes and online applications.

Best Resume Fonts by Industry

If you want to further personalize your resume down to the typeface, you can pick resume fonts that match your target industry. Matching your font style to your field helps you make the right impression before a hiring manager even reads a word on your resume.

Here are some resume font suggestions based on industry:

Academic, Research, or Education

• Recommended fonts: Cambria, Georgia
• Why these fonts work: They’re classic fonts that look polished and credible. Their elegance conveys expertise and attention to detail.

Corporate or Business

• Recommended fonts: Calibri, Helvetica, Tahoma
• Why these fonts work: They’re clean, simple, and easy to read. They convey reliability and structure, making them ideal for traditional business settings.

Creative Fields (Design, Marketing, Media) 

• Recommended fonts: Lato, Garamond, Roboto
• Why these fonts work: They’re stylish yet readable and add personality without sacrificing professionalism.

Nonprofit or Public Sector

• Recommended fonts: Calibri, Garamond, Merriweather
• Why these fonts work: These balanced, approachable fonts communicate trustworthiness and professionalism while maintaining readability.

Technology and Startups

• Recommended fonts: Helvetica, Roboto, Lato
• Why these fonts work: They’re modern and minimalist fonts that project innovation with their sleek letterforms—perfect for forward-thinking industries.

Best Resume Font Combinations

While you can use the same font throughout your entire resume, it’s not uncommon to use a pair of complementary fonts for your body text and your headings. However, choosing two different fonts that pair well requires a good eye for design and aesthetics.

If you want your resume to stand out with this level of attention to detail, consider the following resume font combinations:

• Cambria and Calibri: A timeless serif and sans-serif pairing, use Cambria for section headings and Calibri for body text to create a clean, balanced, and highly readable resume design.
• Garamond and Lato: Blend Garamond’s elegant, thin strokes with Lato’s simple, modern forms. This combination delivers clarity and sophistication suitable for any industry.
• Georgia and Helvetica: Combine Georgia’s authoritative serif style with Helvetica’s modern, minimalist look. This pairing strikes the perfect balance between tradition and professionalism.
• Roboto and PT Sans: For an all-sans-serif option, pair Roboto’s structured, standout headings with PT Sans’ clean, legible body text. It’s a modern, professional look that adds subtle contrast without losing readability.

Fonts to Avoid on Resumes

Not every font works for a resume. Decorative, script, or heavily embellished fonts can distract from your content and appear unprofessional, and they may even be misread by ATS. To avoid these issues, stick to clean, simple typefaces for maximum readability.

Some examples of resume fonts to avoid include:

• Brush Script or Lobster: Overly stylized fonts that look handwritten are highly unreadable in a resume and aren’t compatible with all operating systems or an ATS.
• Comic Sans: This font is overly casual and unprofessional for a job application.
• Lucida Handwriting: Handwritten fonts like this one might feel elegant, but they can be hard to read in a letter-sized document with lots of text.
• Papyrus: Decorative fonts like Papyrus look out of place and are difficult to read in smaller sizes.

Resume Font Size and Formatting Tips

When choosing the best font for your resume, size and formatting play just as important a role as the font itself. Even the most professional resume font will fall flat if it’s too small to read, too large to look polished, or poorly spaced on the page.

As a general rule, set your resume’s body text between 10 to 12 points for optimal readability. Test different sizes within that range to ensure your content is easy to read and fits neatly on one page. Use slightly larger fonts, typically 14 to 16 points, for section headings to create hierarchy, and keep font choices consistent for a polished, cohesive look.

To ensure your resume has optimal readability and a balanced layout that supports your chosen font, follow these tips:

• Line spacing: Use 1.0 to 1.15 line spacing for body text. Extra spacing improves legibility and prevents your resume from looking crowded.
• Margins: Stick to one-inch margins on all sides to provide enough white space to frame your content without wasting space.
• White space: Don’t underestimate the power of breathing room. Strategic spacing between sections makes your resume easier to skim and more visually appealing.
• Standard section headings: A professional resume benefits from clear, standard section headings (like “Resume Summary” or “Work Experience”) set in the same font as your body text or a complementary style. Consistent headings improve readability, guide the reader’s eye, and ensure your resume looks organized and polished.
• File type: Always save and send your resume as a PDF to preserve font consistency across devices. Word documents and Google Docs can render fonts differently, depending on the reader’s settings.

Checklist for a Well-Formatted Resume

Resume formatting is key to making an effective resume that's easy for recruiters to scan and compatible with hiring algorithms. Because a lot goes into choosing the best font for you and ensuring your resume looks professional, we’ve compiled a checklist you can use when writing your resume:

• Avoid decorative, script, novelty, or overly stylized fonts for your resume.
• Use simple but professional resume fonts that are easy to read and have proportionate letterforms.
• Stick to one font family for your resume’s content, or use a combination of two resume fonts that pair well together.
• Choose a font that matches your industry, like classic fonts for corporate roles and modern fonts for creative fields.
• Use a smaller font size for your resume’s body text and a larger one for section headings.
• Use bold, italics, or underlining sparingly to emphasize section headings, employment details, and key achievements.
• Use line spacing to declutter your resume and improve readability.
• Establish consistent margins to prevent your resume from looking cramped.
• Save and send your resume as a PDF file to preserve your fonts and layout.

Frequently Asked Questions About Resume Fonts and Formatting

Here are answers to common questions about choosing and formatting fonts for a professional, readable resume.

1. What’s the most professional font?

While different people will have different opinions about the most professional font, some of the most popular professional resume fonts are Calibri, Times New Roman, and Helvetica.

2. Can I use different fonts for different sections of my resume?

Using different fonts for different sections would be a resume mistake because it would make your resume visually overwhelming. You want your resume to be consistent and well-structured so it can appeal to a wide range of hiring managers. It’s perfectly fine to use two complementary fonts (e.g., one for section headings and another for body text), but avoid using three or more fonts, as that can make your layout look cluttered and unprofessional. Prioritize readability above everything else.

3. Are custom or branded fonts safe to use on a resume?

Custom fonts can look unique, but they may not display correctly on all devices or be compatible with ATS software. If you choose a custom font, make sure to also save your resume as a PDF to preserve formatting. Using fonts that are easily associated with a specific brand can backfire, as it can be deemed unprofessional to a recruiter.

4. Do font choices affect how hiring managers perceive me?

Of course! Fonts are creative designs, and each style evokes a perception, such as uniqueness, elegance, modernity, or simplicity. Clean, readable fonts suggest reliability and competence, while overly decorative fonts can distract or appear unprofessional. Choose resume fonts wisely according to the way you want your target employer to perceive you.

5. Should I change fonts for a creative vs a corporate resume?

Yes, font style can subtly signal your fit for a given industry. Corporate resumes typically favor clean, traditional fonts like Cambria, PT Sans, and Georgia. Creative resumes can incorporate modern, approachable fonts like Roboto, Helvetica, or Merriweather, but always maintain readability.

Choose the Right Resume Fonts for a Strong Impression

While your resume’s content is what matters most, the font you choose plays a key role in the impression you make on potential employers. A clean, professional typeface helps you showcase achievements and qualifications clearly, while a poorly chosen resume font can distract from your experience.

Prioritize readability above all; less flourish is always better for a resume font. Classic, widely recognized fonts like Calibri, Helvetica, and Georgia are safe and professional choices. Modern, design-forward options like Merriweather and Roboto can help your resume feel polished and contemporary.

Ultimately, selecting a resume font that aligns with your industry, complements your style, and enhances your resume’s readability ensures your resume leaves a strong, positive impression.