Subtitle Font: 10 Best Fonts for Subtitles and Closed Captions

When it comes to making videos, a lot of professional creators and editors take careful consideration of the subtitles they place on the video. They consider how easy it is to read for the viewers, how it complements the video, and how it helps make watching the final product much more convenient and enjoyable for the audience to watch.

That is why the editors tend to be very nitpicky about the subtitle font style they choose for their subtitles, as they want to tick every box possible to make the final product be the best that it can be. 

Choosing the right font can be very difficult, as each one has its own nuance that can either make the video better or look plain and simple, but there are fonts that belong to the top picks of many professional creators and editors.

Why Place Subtitles at All?

If you’re one of those people who think that you don’t need subtitles for your video, then you’re probably unaware of how many people would actually prefer to watch one with subtitles. 

Furthermore, these are also the same people who will be very critical about the subtitle font and overall style of the subtitles and closed captions you choose to place on your video.

One important reason why you should consider placing subtitles on your video is for inclusivity and accessibility, as you have to think about the people who have hearing problems or illnesses that would want to watch your video. 

According to the World Health Organization, around 1.5 billion people suffer from a degree of hearing loss, making it harder for them to appreciate the audio in a video.

That is when your video consists mostly of speeches and dialogue, you have to consider adding in a legible subtitle font to make it easier for them to follow the flow. 

When making videos, it is important to also think about how accessible it is to not just healthy people, but also others who would want to enjoy the video but aren’t in the best condition to do so, especially those with hearing problems.

Another good reason why editors and creators should consider placing subtitles on their video with a good subtitle font is because not everyone speaks the language being used in the video. If the speaker or dialogue on the video is Mandarin Chinese, then native English speakers and people who don’t understand Mandarin Chinese will have a hard time keeping up with what’s happening in the video.

Lastly, you should consider placing subtitles on your video because it helps with increasing your views, as it gets a higher rank on search engines. 

This is because people find it easier to understand the final product, thus making it more likable and preferred than videos that don’t have subtitles at all.

Why Choosing the Right Subtitle Font is Important

Now that you know why you need to place subtitles on your video in the first place, now you should know why it’s important to be nitpicky about the subtitle font. 

One of the main reasons why you should carefully consider the right subtitle font is because some fonts are very difficult to read, especially for those who have problems with their eyesight.

Reportedly, 85% people on Facebook watch videos without sound on, for reasons that we don’t know. 85% is a large number, and could easily affect the views on your video, so think about what these viewers would think if you placed subtitles on your video with an illegible font. 

If they find that it’s too hard to read the subtitles as they watch the video, then they would rather just skip it than continue with audio, as they may be in a situation that prevents them from listening to something.

Another thing that only professional creators and editors seem to consider is when the subtitle font takes away the audience’s attention from where it should be: the video itself. 

A lot of fonts have too much flair in them or are too large that they end up taking space on most of the screen, distracting the viewers from the actual content of the video.

Lastly, when selecting your subtitle font, you should consider how accessible it is to you. How easy will it be to add the font to your editing software? How easy will it be to set up in code so your viewers can add subtitles as they wish? Think about the font not only for the viewer’s convenience, but also for your convenience.

How to Pick the Best Subtitle Font

Now let’s get to how you should actually go about picking the right font for the subtitles on your video. Don’t worry though, as it is a very short criteria that is easy to check if you’re already familiar with a couple of fonts.

1. Use a legible subtitle font

The first thing on the checklist is the legibility of your font. Think of it as reading someone else’s handwriting. Wouldn’t you prefer to read handwritten text that is easy to read and follow? 

Not too small that it becomes too hard to read and not too big that it takes up too much space on the paper. However, what’s most important is that the handwriting is good enough that reading it is easy on the eyes.

The same considerations should go into your subtitles, as people would rather watch a video with a subtitle font that is easy to read rather than one that only has aesthetic purposes. People lose more and more interest in content when it is hard to read the font or closed captions.

2. Make sure the font is easy to position in your video

The second consideration for the font style you will choose is how much space it will take up in your video. 

Remember that it is only there to accentuate your video, not take over it. Be sure that the font doesn’t block the subject or focus of the video, but only helps viewers understand what’s going on better.

3. Use subtitle font that is compatible with multiple video formats

For aspiring video editors, you have to know if the font style is compatible with different video formats, especially when you’re planning to send it to different companies or creators. Tendency is that these organizations will also prefer a different video format than others, so check to see if your font will work or look the same in different formats.

4. Use an accessible subtitle font

Most editing softwares gives you the ability to add subtitles to your video with built-in fonts. If the fonts available conform with the previous 3 criteria, then feel free to use it! 

Otherwise, it might help to install fonts from the internet and import it to your editing software. Remember, you also have to consider how accessible the font is to you as well as the other criteria above.

Best Fonts for Subtitles and Closed Captions in Videos

All those being said, there are a couple of fonts that a lot of professional editors and creators use as a safety font. These fonts fit the criteria above and can easily be styled to conform to the general aesthetic of your video. Here are the 10 best fonts for subtitles and closed captions in videos!

Arial

One of the most classic fonts that can be found on any operating software, Arial is a modern sans serif-style font, designed by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders for monotype back in 1982. It is one of the best fonts that is easy to read and accessible to many editors and creators, making it one of the top 10 best fonts for subtitles and closed captions.

This font has been used in many documents, may they be professional, academic, or simply just personal. That is why a lot of professionals prefer the font, simply because it is timeless and commonplace.

Inter

Developed by Swedish font developer Rasmus Andersson in 2019, inter is a variable font family made to aid users with readability on computer screens. Its tall x-height makes it one of the most legible fonts, even in both mixed-case and lower-case text. It’s tall x-height and adequate width makes the font look clean and very easy to read. 

Open Sans

Steve Matteson, the Type Director of Ascender Corp., developed the humanist sans serif font “Open Sans”. The characters were designed to be very upright with open forms, while still giving it a fairly neutral and friendly appearance. It also has the complete 897 character set, including the standard ISO Latin 1, Greek characters, and more recently the Hebrew character set. 

This is a great font to use especially when various languages are involved, or simply when your video requires characters that are not available on other fonts. The font style does look similar to Inter, but provides a much clearer and sharper design to the characters.

Lato

Belonging to the sans serif typeface family, Lato was developed by Lukasz Dziedzic in 2010. This font style was designed to be used in a large body of text, but still permitting it to retain its original characteristics even when surrounded by large fonts. It has semi-rounded letterings that are paired with a strong structure, giving the reader a sense of seriousness. This is a great typeface to use in serious videos, as it doesn’t take the audience’s attention away from the actual video.

Archivo

With the intention of seeing the font style in highlights and headlines, Omnibus-Type designed the grotesque sans serif typeface family “Archivo”. Due to its strong and aesthetic characteristics, this font style is perfect to use in closed captions. Furthermore, it can also be used as the font of subtitles to a video with a lot of colors and effects, as it will still stand out as an easy-to-read typeface.

Helvetica

Developed by Max Miedinger in 1957, the font style continues to gain popularity not only among the younger generations, but even those working with typefaces and typography professionally. Many designers prefer the typeface because of how versatile it is, and can easily be used for subtitles due to its clarity and distinctiveness.

Roboto

Despite its mechanical and geometric look, the Roboto font still proves to be a friendly typeface that provides both the letters and the audience’s eyes enough breathing space. It is a great font style to use in both subtitles and closed captions on a video that seeks to offer a peaceful and tranquil energy. The letters are not too tightly packed together and sharp that it offers a stern tone, but rather gently curved and well-spaced to offer a calming one.

Verdana

Developed in 1996 with the goal of improving legibility on a computer screen, the Verdana typeface offers a great contrast no matter the background, allowing for better on-screen reading. Because it was designed to still be readable at very small sizes, the font style is perfect to use for subtitles and closed captions when editors and creators want the audience to focus on the contents of the video, not just the subtitles.

Rubic

Belonging to the sans serif font family, the Roman and Italic styles of Rubic paired with its weight (which is 5) makes it one of the most legible font styles on any computer screen. It has very tight spaces, indicating a fast-paced reading tone and rhythm, so it’s perfect to pair with videos that also have a fast pace!

Tahoma

Just like the classic Arial, Tahoma is one of the font styles that can be found on any Microsoft-run computer. Its tall letters and tight spaces makes it one of the most legible font styles on any computer screen, even when it is read from afar. If you’re planning to post your video on a website with heavy traffic, then you’re going to want to use this font if you desire to let even those with problems with their eyesight enjoy the video.

Subtitle Font Conclusion

Choosing the right font style can be very difficult at times, especially when people can be so particular about certain design choices these days. However, if you take into consideration the criteria mentioned above and want to explore other font styles that are not on the list we provided, then we’re sure you’re still bound to make a great choice! If you do want to stick to what many already consider the best, then you can find the top 10 right here!

ORDER ACCURATE SUBTITLE SERVICES TODAY!