ATS-Friendly Fonts for Resumes in 2026: 10 Safe Choices

The safest ATS-friendly fonts in 2026 are Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Helvetica, Georgia, Garamond, Verdana, Roboto, Lato, and Times New Roman. For most resumes, use 10–12 pt body text, 13–16 pt section headings, and one font family throughout. The bigger ATS risks are usually not the font itself but complicated layouts, image-based text, tables, text boxes, unusual symbols, and weak keyword matching.

If you want the simplest recommendation: use Arial 10.5–11 pt or Calibri 11 pt, keep your resume to one or two columns only if you know the export parses correctly, and run the final file through an ATS checker before applying.

Best ATS-Friendly Fonts at a Glance

Recent 2026 resume-font guides from Monster and other resume-focused publishers consistently prioritize simple, professional, readable fonts and body text around 10–12 pt. The specific ranking varies, but the pattern is clear: readability and clean structure matter more than choosing a fashionable typeface.

What Makes a Font ATS-Friendly?

An applicant tracking system primarily needs to extract the text in your resume into recognizable fields such as your name, work history, education, skills, dates, and job titles. A normal text font usually does not create a major parsing problem by itself.

What causes more trouble is how the font is used. A resume can look perfect on screen and still parse badly if important content is inside graphics, icons, headers, footers, shapes, or text boxes. Decorative characters can also turn into unreadable symbols after export.

That means an ATS-friendly font should be:

• easy to read at normal resume sizes;
• available or safely embedded in the exported file;
• used consistently across headings and body text;
• paired with normal characters and standard bullet symbols;
• placed in real text, not converted to an image.

This is why a simple Arial resume can outperform a visually impressive design if the second document hides contact details, skills, or dates inside decorative elements.

1. Arial: The Safest Default

Arial is one of the easiest recommendations for an ATS-focused resume because it is widely available, neutral, and readable on almost every device. It works for trades, healthcare, IT, finance, retail, customer service, operations, and administrative roles.

Use 10–11.5 pt for body text and around 14–16 pt for section headings. If your resume looks crowded at 10 pt, the solution should usually be stronger editing rather than shrinking the font further.

2. Calibri: Compact and Familiar

Calibri remains a practical resume font because it fits a lot of text without looking compressed. It is especially useful for applicants trying to keep a detailed resume within two pages.

Use 10.5–12 pt. Keep section headings bold and simple rather than using all caps everywhere.

3. Cambria: Strong for Traditional Professional Roles

Cambria gives a resume a more formal appearance while staying readable. It works well for accounting, finance, engineering, government, policy, legal support, education, and management roles.

Use 10.5–12 pt for body text. Because it is a serif font, check the exported PDF at 100% zoom to make sure the text still feels clean.

4. Helvetica: Clean and Professional

Helvetica is popular because it looks polished without drawing attention away from the content. It can work especially well for technology, product, communications, architecture, and design-adjacent roles where the resume still needs to remain conservative enough for automated screening.

Use 10–11.5 pt.

5. Georgia: Readable Serif Option

Georgia was designed for readability on screens and can be a good alternative for people who want a more traditional resume without using Times New Roman.

Use 10.5–12 pt and keep line spacing comfortable.

6. Garamond: Good When Space Is Tight

Garamond is elegant and relatively compact. It can work well for experienced professionals with substantial content, but it should not be used too small simply to force a long resume onto fewer pages.

Use 10.5–12 pt and test the PDF on both desktop and mobile.

7. Verdana: Excellent Screen Readability

Verdana has wide letters and generous spacing. That makes it easy to read but can increase page length. If you choose Verdana, a slightly smaller size such as 9.5–11 pt can still look readable compared with more compact fonts.

8. Roboto: Modern Without Being Flashy

Roboto is a strong fit for technology, SaaS, engineering, analytics, and digital roles. It looks current but remains simple enough for a professional resume.

Use 10–11.5 pt.

9. Lato: Modern and Friendly

Lato is another clean sans-serif option that works for marketing, sales, customer success, product, operations, and modern corporate roles. It has more personality than Arial without becoming decorative.

Use 10–11.5 pt.

10. Times New Roman: Safe but Conservative

Times New Roman is still readable and widely supported. The main downside is visual: it can make a resume feel dated if the rest of the design also looks old-fashioned.

It remains reasonable for conservative industries, academic applications, or employers that prefer traditional documents. Use 10.5–12 pt.

Fonts to Avoid on an ATS Resume

Avoid fonts that force the recruiter to notice the typography before the qualifications. Script, handwriting, novelty, outline, condensed display, and decorative fonts are poor choices for a standard resume.

Examples to avoid include Comic Sans, Papyrus, Brush Script, highly stylized display fonts, icon fonts used for important information, and any font that becomes unreadable when exported.

Also avoid replacing words with icons. A phone icon may look clean beside your number, but the safest version still includes the phone number as normal text.

The Best Font Size for an ATS Resume

For most job seekers:

• Name: 18–28 pt
• Section headings: 13–16 pt
• Job title/company: 11–13 pt
• Body text: 10–12 pt
• Small supporting details: avoid going below about 9.5 pt

If you need 8 pt text to fit the resume on two pages, the resume needs editing. Remove older irrelevant bullets, shorten repetitive descriptions, and prioritize evidence tied to the target job.

The Government of Canada Job Bank recommends keeping resumes clear, concise, strategic, and generally limited to two pages. That is a better goal than shrinking the font until every past responsibility fits.

Font Choice Is Only One Part of ATS Formatting

A safe font cannot rescue a badly structured resume. Use these formatting rules with it:

1. 1.Use standard headings such as Summary, Skills, Work Experience, Education, Certifications.
2. 2.Keep important information out of images, charts, and decorative shapes.
3. 3.Use consistent dates, ideally in a format such as `Jan 2024 – Mar 2026`.
4. 4.Use standard bullets.
5. 5.Follow the employer's requested file type.
6. 6.Include exact job-posting terminology when it truthfully matches your experience.
7. 7.Make sure your contact details are selectable text.
8. 8.Test the final export before applying.

You can upload the finished resume to Resumefy's ATS checker to identify structural and keyword issues before sending it.

ATS-Friendly Font Rules for Canadian Resumes

For Canadian applications, font guidance is largely the same as elsewhere, but the surrounding resume conventions matter. A Canadian resume should generally prioritize relevant qualifications rather than personal details. Avoid adding a photo, date of birth, marital status, SIN, or other unnecessary personal information.

For regulated Canadian occupations, make credentials easy to find. For example, a nurse, electrician, millwright, accountant, teacher, truck driver, or security professional should make relevant licences or certifications visible in normal text rather than hiding them inside a sidebar graphic.

If you are building a Canadian resume from scratch, use the Canadian resume builder or browse ATS-friendly resume templates.

Which Font Should You Choose?

Use this decision rule:

• Want the safest all-purpose option? Arial.
• Need a compact professional resume? Calibri.
• Applying to finance, government, legal, or traditional roles? Cambria or Georgia.
• Applying to technology or digital roles? Helvetica, Roboto, or Lato.
• Need a traditional serif style? Garamond or Times New Roman.
• Prioritizing maximum screen readability? Verdana.

Do not spend an hour debating Arial versus Calibri while your bullets still say “responsible for.” Strong evidence, relevant keywords, and clear structure have much more impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Arial ATS-friendly?

Yes. Arial is a strong default because it is common, clean, and readable. Use it with normal text, standard headings, and a simple layout.

Is Calibri ATS-friendly?

Yes. Calibri is widely used and works well for resumes, particularly when you need a compact layout.

Is Times New Roman ATS-friendly?

Yes. It is technically safe and readable, but many job seekers prefer a more modern font for visual reasons.

Is 10 pt font too small for a resume?

Not necessarily. Ten-point text can be readable in fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Roboto, or Lato. If the page feels dense, increase spacing or cut low-value content instead of shrinking below a readable size.

Can a font cause ATS rejection?

A normal professional font is unlikely to be the single reason a resume fails. Parsing problems are more often associated with complex layouts, image-based text, unusual formatting, or missing job-relevant terms. Focus on the whole document.

Should I use the same font in my cover letter?

Usually yes. Matching the resume and cover letter creates a consistent application package. You can build a matching letter with Resumefy's cover letter generator.

Final Recommendation

Choose a professional font, keep body text around 10–12 pt, use standard headings, and make every important qualification readable as real text. Arial and Calibri are the easiest default choices, while Cambria, Helvetica, Georgia, Garamond, Verdana, Roboto, Lato, and Times New Roman are also reasonable when used cleanly.

Then spend the rest of your effort where it matters most: tailoring the resume to the job description, adding measurable achievements, and checking the final file for parsing and keyword gaps.

Sources

• Government of Canada Job Bank, “How to write a good resume”: https://www.on.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/resources/write-good-resume
• Monster, “12 Best Fonts for Resumes in 2026”: https://www.monster.com/career-advice/resume/best-fonts-for-resumes
• Indeed Canada career guidance and resume/cover-letter resources: https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice