Stylish and Web-Safe: The 10 Best Fonts for Email Signatures

You want to close out each email newsletter with the same flair you used to introduce yourself. But finding the best fonts for email signatures can be tough. There are many variables to consider, like what industry you're in and what tone you want to convey. You also want to look your best all of the time — that means making sure that your signature looks perfect across devices and operating systems.

We've got you covered with information on what works, what doesn't, and what your font says about you. Plus, we've provided a list of the top 10 best email signature fonts. Soon, you'll be signing off in style.

What is a web-safe font, and why do you need one?

A web-safe font is any font that you can be certain will display properly on any computer system. Most operating systems come with these typefaces pre-installed.

Designers gravitate toward these fonts because they know that graphics and texts will always look their best, just as they intended.

Web-safe fonts are especially important for websites and email campaigns. You don't want to craft something beautiful and professional only to find your audience puzzling over distorted text or annoyed by odd spacing.

Even really popular fonts may not be web-safe. For example, Helvetica — the default font for Apple Mail — may be 100% compatible with Apple operating systems, but it's only 7.34% compatible with Windows. On the other hand, Windows users who love Franklin Gothic Medium (99.18% Windows compatible) should be aware that it's a disheartening 2.1% compatible with Macs.

What are the best fonts to use for email signatures?

When creating a professional email signature, it is important to choose a web-safe font that reflects your brand. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, and popular choices include clean sans-serif fonts, classic serif fonts, and vintage monospace fonts.

Our best font — email-signature division — winners are web-safe and (mostly) accessible fonts, meaning that they're considered inclusive and easy to read. (We've noted where accessibility issues might occur). In other words, even if you really love your Fosgate, there's probably a signature font your readers would appreciate more.

If you want to know how compatible your personal favorite is, you can check out the statistics on well-known fonts at Dan's Tools. But you don’t have to do that. We're all about saving you time and worry here at beehiiv. So, here are the top ten best fonts for email signatures.

Sans-Serif Fonts

The term "sans-serif" means without serifs — the small flourishes at the end of letter strokes. These typefaces are modern-looking with a minimal, clean design that won't distract from your message.

1) Arial

The one font to rule them all. Arial is the most universally-compatible font, which is one reason Gmail uses it as its fallback font. The font family is clear, but a little softer and fuller than many sans-serif fonts. If you want a slightly bolder choice, there's always Arial Black.

2) Tahoma

In appearance, the Tahoma font is similar to Arial, but it's more compressed, with letters that are closer together. Technical and scientific publications often use this formal font due to the ease of distinguishing between letters with similar shapes — such as the lowercase "L" and the uppercase "I." That can be vital when it comes to unit abbreviations.

3) Verdana

The keyword for Verdana is "legible." As with Tahoma, it's easy to distinguish between letters, but the font itself is wider.

It's also a very plain, blocky font that doesn't look particularly good in larger sizes. How big do you want your signature to be? If you imagine something grand and sweeping, choose something else.

4) Trebuchet MS

First, the bad news–Trebuchet MS has slightly curved elements, which may make it hard to read in a long passage of text. As such, it's not considered accessible. But for the short space of a signature, it may be just fine.

(It also has my favorite font name. I like to think of lobbing communications at people with a trebuchet catapult).

Serif Fonts

The word "serif" means the small lines at the end of a letter stroke. (Which you probably knew or could guess because "sans-serif" fonts don't have those flourishes.) Serif fonts are classic and give an impression of authority.

5) Georgia

When designers describe the Georgia font, they often wind up speaking in oxymorons and paradoxes. It's formal but intimate, and modern but old-world. Varying line thickness gives it a slightly calligraphic feel, but it's a versatile, clear font initially designed for the web.

6) Times New Roman

Is it dating myself to say that when I was a kid, everything had to be in Times New Roman? It's a classic serif font with a journalistic feel.

7) Palatino

Intended to invoke old-world, Italian-Renaissance lines, Palatino is often used on letterheads and other corporate outputs. It's an accessible font that still conveys a slight air of grandeur.

8) Lucida Bright

Lucida Bright has a grown-up feel, but there's an underlying friendliness to it. As with Palatino and Georgia, its lines are slightly thicker than more traditional serif fonts, giving it a modern twist.

Monospaced

In a monospaced font, every letter is given the same width — hence the term "mono" for one and "spaced" for space. These fonts hearken back to the days of the typewriter when regular spacing was necessary.

9) Courier New

Courier New is the closest you can come to the digital typewriter font. It's plain but functional and evokes bygone technology.

10) Lucida Sans Typewriter

Lucida Sans Typewriter is another monospaced font, with a more contemporary feel than Courier New. Its edges are slightly rounded, but it retains the same even spacing.

Other Fonts

If none of these feel right, you can explore more decorative fonts. Papyrus and Copperplate work on most devices, and they're easy to read in small amounts. As for handwritten script fonts, Brush Script performs well across operating systems.

These fonts are not considered accessible and might not make the best choice for ordinary content. But they might be just right in the small space your email signature takes up.

How to choose the best email signature font

There is no single best font for email signatures; only the best one for your brand. When picking any of your brand's email design elements, ask yourself what you want to communicate even before your audience starts reading. What should that first glance convey?

Your Brand’s Style

Find a font that matches your personality.

If you would describe your brand using any of these words, a sans-serif font might fit you well:

• Accessible

• Contemporary

• Efficient

• Practical

• No-nonsense

• Simple

• Versatile

Serif choices might be the best fonts for email signatures for brands that are:

• Classic

• Conservative

• Elegant

• Familiar

• Formal

• Mature

• Professional

• Sophisticated

And monospaced or decorative fonts might suit brands you'd call:

• Bold

• Creative

• Cutting edge

• Exclusive

• Innovative

• Playful

• Quirky

That said, there's no hard and fast rule. Find a font that speaks to you.

Other Email Signature Font Elements to Consider

As you make your choice, answer a few questions:

• Do you intend to create printed materials as well as digital ones? If yes, choose a versatile font that looks good both on the page and the screen.

• How extensively do you intend to use this font beyond your signature? If it's going to be part of a lot of copy, accessibility is all-important. It should also look good in different formats and sizes.

• What information do you want to include? Is all of it going to use the same font? If you intend your signature to include all of your contact information and a tagline, opt for a simpler font.

• Do you intend to use the signature for your email as well? If yes, does it still send the right message?

Get Started Designing Your Email Signature with beehiiv

Having a well-designed email signature shows that you are professional and attentive to detail. Remember to choose a font that's web-safe and sends the right message for your brand. Any of the top ten best email signature fonts would make a good choice, but you can also explore other options.

The sky's the limit with beehiiv's fully customizable newsletter components — in fact, there are so many options that we thought we'd provide some guidance. We want you to deliver the best first impression as well as a great send-off for every email you send.