Best Fonts for Email Signatures

The font you choose for your email signature affects how professional you appear. But unlike web design where you can use any font, email has significant limitations.

The Problem with Fonts in Email

Email clients don't load fonts like websites do. Web fonts (Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, custom typefaces) are blocked by most email clients for security and performance. If your font isn't available, the email client substitutes its own default — which might look very different. The solution: use fonts already installed on virtually every computer and phone.

Web-Safe Fonts That Work

These fonts are pre-installed on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. They're your safest choices.

1. Arial: Clean, modern, neutral. The most universally available font — can't go wrong.
2. Helvetica: Sleek and refined. Native to Mac; Windows substitutes Arial (nearly identical).
3. Georgia: Traditional serif that reads well on screens. Best for law, finance, academia.
4. Verdana: Wide and open. Designed specifically for screen reading, excellent at small sizes.
5. Trebuchet MS: Friendly and approachable. More personality than Arial while staying professional.
6. Times New Roman: Classic and formal. Can feel dated — Georgia is often a better serif choice.

Fonts to Avoid

Script and cursive fonts (Pacifico, Dancing Script, Brush Script) are hard to read and often render incorrectly. Very narrow/condensed fonts become illegible at signature sizes. Decorative fonts (Impact, Comic Sans, Papyrus) look unprofessional. And web fonts like Montserrat, Open Sans, Lato, or Roboto simply won't load — recipients see a fallback font instead.

Font Sizes for Email Signatures

Name: 14-16px (most prominent) | Title/Company: 12-14px | Contact details: 12-13px | Legal text: 10-11px (never below 10px)