If you’ve spent any amount of time speaking with me about coding, you’ve probably heard me enthuse about typefaces. Much like mattresses are the unsung heroes of a full third of our lives, coding fonts are rarely discussed, but constantly stared at.

In the tradition of trying out new things for the new year, I want to share a few of my favorite coding typefaces. If you’ve been staring at the same letterforms for a while, maybe consider a change!

SF Mono

A relative newcomer, SF Mono is Apple’s monospace variant for its fantastic San Francisco family. It comes in six weights (useful if you use multiple sizes at once) and features some of the same personality its proportional cousins bring to macOS. If you own a Sierra-or-thereafter Mac, you already have it, though it takes some steps to install.

Fira Mono/Fira Code

I’m a huge fan of the Fira family (as of this writing, this blog uses Fira exclusively), and its monospaced version is no exception. The slightly whimsical serifs don’t detract from the business of programming, and it’s surprisingly readable at any size. The alternate “Code” version adds programming-specific ligatures, if that’s your thing.

PT Mono

The PT family traces its origins to Russian typefaces, and you can still detect the hint of Cyrillic letterforms in its monospaced form. It’s limited to two weights, so beware if you find yourself shifting between display pixel densities.

Verily Serif Mono

If a traditional, literary typeface is more your style, give Verily a try. Its refined serifs seem plucked from your favorite hardcover, though I find it grows quickly distracting on-screen.

Fantasque Sans Mono

If you like your text editor on the playful side, Fantasque is for you. For a typeface described as “the mutant child of Comic Sans and Helvetica Neue”, Fantasque looks quite good on languages from JavaScript to HTML.

As For Me…

I’m going to give Adobe’s excellent Source Code Pro a few weeks on my editor’s surface. It’s a lovely standby that always helps me clear my head. After that, who knows? I might just go nuts:

What about you? Have I missed your favorite? Have a visceral reaction to any of these? Weigh in below, and happy coding!