Serif fonts are a great asset for brands and design projects that have a timeless and classic feel. As a graphic designer, web designer, or logo/brand identity designer, you should have a few high-quality serif fonts in your collection.
This guide will provide you with a list of the best serif fonts and expert tips for choosing the right font for your project. We'll also answer some of the most common questions people have about using serif fonts in their work.
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How to Choose the Perfect Serif Font?
There are a few important factors to consider when choosing the perfect serif font for your project. Read about them below to ensure you choose a font that is well-suited for your design.
- Consider your project’s style: Serif fonts are best for projects that have a sophisticated style. If your brand has a serious personality, a serif font is likely suitable for your design. From there, consider the different styles of serif typefaces. For example, if your brand is modern, use a contemporary font, like Silver South.
- Focus on readability: Ensure your font is readable by considering how it will look on your design. A font's height, shape, and spacing all affect how easy it is to read. Choose a proportionate font with high contrast against the background. This ensures your audience can easily see and understand the text.
- Evaluate suitability for medium: You should also consider how a font will look on the specific type of medium you're using. Some serif fonts, like DT Augustina Slab, are better suited for screens, while others, like Evans, are better suited for long-form print. Use the categories on each font in this list to find fonts suitable for the medium you're using.
- Think about visual hierarchy: Visual hierarchy is how designers visually organize text in a design. When choosing your fonts, consider what title, headings, or subheadings you'll use. You should also consider if your project requires long bodies of text. Use typefaces from the same font family for each level of your design's visual hierarchy. This will keep your entire project cohesive.
Best Serif Fonts
As designers ourselves, we know a great font when we see one. We created this list based on fonts we (and other designers) love. Their popularity, readability, and unique style are what make them top choices. Keep reading to discover your favorites and find the perfect font for your next project.
1. Recoleta
Best Serif Font Overall
The top pick on our list is Recoleta. This font is inspired by popular serif typefaces from the 70s. It will give your graphic designs a classic look.
The Recoleta font family consists of 14 fonts that range in weight from thin to black. We chose this as the best font because it's suitable for a wide range of projects. Save it for all your print and digital designs that need a timeless serif font.
2. DT Augustina Slab
Best Serif Font for Websites
If you're a website designer needing a serif font suitable for screen displays, DT Augustina Slab is the best font option. This elegant serif font comes in a total of 98 styles. This includes seven weights and widths.
With so many styles included, you'll have every type of font you may need for your website. There's a style for everything, from heavy text headers to headings. There are also styles for subheadings and even text highlights.
3. La Luxes Font Duo
Best Serif Font for Logos
La Luxes is an excellent choice for logo designers. It's also great for business owners designing their own logos. We love this font because it comes with a perfect font pairing. It includes a stylish and modern serif and a beautiful script.
Additionally, the download also comes with editable logo templates. Use these to spark inspiration for your unique logo design.
4. Quincy CF
Best Serif Font for Body Text
Quincy CF is our top choice for body text. The serifs on each letter have a combination of rounded and sharp edges, giving the entire font a unique and modern look.
Apart from giving your text an appealing visual style, Quincy CF will also ensure it's easy to read. Use it on all projects with long-form text like essays, digital eBooks, and blog articles.
5. Silver South
Best Modern Serif Font
The most modern-looking font on this list is Silver South. The clean letters have a contemporary style and razor-sharp serifs. It's a perfect choice for design projects that have an ultra-modern aesthetic.
If you need a soft font to pair with it, consider using the script versions included in the download. They'll add a soft touch that balances out the serif font.
6. Glamour Absolute
Best Bold Serif Font
For designers needing a high-quality bold serif font, we recommend Glamour Absolute. This popular serif font is loved by designers for its chic style and retro vibe.
It comes with stylish alternate letters that you can use to create a more stylized look. This font will look stunning on any project with headings or titles. Use it for everything from modern wedding invitations to apparel designs.
7. Juana
Best Serif Font for Headings
Juana is a modern font available in various weights and italics. Each letter is made up of a combination of thin and thick lines, which gives the text a stylish look.
We chose this font for headings because it's easy to create a visual hierarchy. Whether you're writing a blog post or designing an infographic, your text will be stylish and easy to read.
8. Evans
Best Serif Font for Print
This font is our best recommendation for printed documents and design projects. Evans has a journalistic feel to it and looks like the classic serif fonts you see in newspapers and magazines.
We love this font because of its versatile style. It comes in two versions: a regular version and a narrow version. It also includes a range of different weights. Use them together to create editorial spreads, posters, print ads, and more.
9. TT Norms Pro Serif
Most Readable Serif Font
The most functional font on this list is TT Norms Pro Serif. You might recognize its name. It's designed after the popular sans-serif font, TT Norms Pro.
This font is a serif version that's just as readable and is a favorite for designers. The slab serifs and slants on the letters give them a distinct shape. This allows the letters to have a sharp contrast against the background of a page or screen.
10. Times New Roman
Most Popular Serif Font
Times New Roman is undoubtedly the most popular serif font. This font is from the 1930s and first appeared in a London newspaper. Clearly, it stands the test of time.
Since it was originally made for newsprint, Times New Roman is well-suited for long-form text. It also pairs nicely with decorative script fonts. Consider using it on wedding invitations or other formal projects you may be working on.
11. Creative Vintage
Best Retro Font
For retro designs, we love Creative Vintage. This font comes in three different variations: two serif fonts and a thin, handwritten script. It also includes many stylish ligatures. Use them to add some extra vintage flair to your text.
Whether you're a business owner with a retro-style brand or a DIYer looking to add a unique font to your collection, Creative Vintage will give all of your designs a bold retro look.
12. Fitzgerald
Best Classic Font
If you're looking for a classic font, look no further than this one. Fitzgerald has a timeless and elegant look with a modern touch. It's a great choice for anyone needing a simple and tasteful serif typeface.
This font comes in bold, italic, bold italic, and regular styles. Use them together or separately to create stunning print or digital designs.
13. La Roche
Best Font for Wedding Invitations
La Roche is a gorgeous serif and script duo that is perfect for formal wedding invitations. The thin modern serif contrasts perfectly with the smooth-flowing script. They're a match that's made for each other.
The entire character set includes uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and punctuation. The script also includes stylistic alternates. They'll give your invitations an extra touch of elegance.
14. Larken
Best Italic Serif Font
Most of the fonts in this list include italics, but Larken is an italic font that stands out. The slants and curves of each letter give the font a high contrast and a well-defined shape. It's easy to read and pairs nicely with other variations included in the font family.
Tip: Since italics provide emphasis on certain words or phrases, consider using them on the most important parts of your text.
15. Blacker Pro
Best Condensed Font
Our top pick for a condensed font is Blacker Pro. This font family includes several styles, but the condensed styles stand out from the rest.
Specifically, Blacker Pro comes with two different condensed styles. The Condensed Display typeface has a high contrast and sharp triangular serifs. It's ideal for large font sizes. The Condensed Text typeface has a low contrast and is best suited for small font sizes.
16. Cambria
Best Font for Resume
Cambria is a newer serif font that you're probably familiar with. It's a common font to use in Word documents and long-form text.
It's perfect for a resume because it was made for both digital and print mediums. Whether potential employers view your resume on the computer or on a printed page, they'll be able to see all of the text clearly.
17. EB Garamond
Best Free Google Font
The best serif font on Google is EB Garamond. Its style is modeled after the famous 16th-century font, Garamond. It has the same classic style with a few modern updates.
This is another popular font suitable for basic Word documents. Use it in essays, cover letters, and reports, and keep it on hand for any long-form writing you may do.
18. Caslon
Best Adobe Font
If you're working in Adobe, we recommend Caslon. Caslon is a basic serif that has a traditional look. It also comes in several different styles and weights, including italics.
This font is perfect for a variety of projects like brochures, web graphics, or logos. Adobe also offers plenty of templates that showcase this font. Use them to jumpstart your next design.
19. Libre Baskerville
Best Canva Font
For Canva, the best serif font to use is Libre Baskerville. It looks lovely in print and is suitable for digital designs. It's designed as a web font, which means it's easy to read on a screen.
It's also optimized for small sizes. It works especially well as body text on blogs, eBooks, and other digital documents.
20. Georgia
Best Serif Font in Word
Georgia is our favorite font in Word because it has a friendlier feel than most other serif fonts the program offers. If you're looking for a font that's less rigid and more soft, consider using this one in your documents.
While Georgia looks graceful in print, it's actually tailored for screen display. Because it's readable and has a high resolution, you can confidently use it in digital designs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are serif fonts easier to read?
Serif fonts are considered the most readable type of font. It's thought that the serifs gently lead the eyes across the page, helping readers read faster and avoid fatigue.
Traditionally, serif fonts have not been suitable for digital mediums. However, modern technology has allowed typographers to design serif fonts that are just as readable on screen as they are on paper.
What is the best serif font for body text?
In general, serif fonts with light or regular weights are best for body text. Quincy CF is our top recommendation for body text. However, other fonts on this list, like Georgia or Times New Roman, are also excellent choices.
Tip: Be sure to avoid heavy weights. These can look bulky, dark, and overcrowded when used as body text.
What serif fonts are best for websites?
If you’re looking for a good serif font to use on a website, stick to newer fonts. Modern serif fonts are created to be compatible with print or digital formats. Compared to older traditional fonts, they have this advantage.
DT Augustina Slab is a fantastic choice for websites, but we also recommend TT Norms Pro Serif or Juana.
What is the best serif font for logos?
La Luxes is our top recommendation for logos. It includes a font pairing and premade logo templates. It's best suited for sophisticated, modern, and stylish brands.
Of course, it's important to consider your brand's overall aesthetic. If your brand has a retro style, consider using Creative Vintage. If your brand has a simple and classic feel, try using a font like Fitzgerald.
What fonts pair well with serif fonts?
Since serif fonts have a straight and solid structure, they pair best with fonts that have a softer shape. Consider pairing them with a sans-serif font or a script or cursive font, depending on how you want your project to look.
For serif fonts that come as a pre-made pairing, use La Roche, Creative Vintage, or Silver South.
