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Subtitle Font: What Are the Best Fonts for Subtitles?

Christopher Nguyen
Christopher Nguyen
Posted in Zoom Sep 6 · 7 Sep, 2022
Subtitle Font: What Are the Best Fonts for Subtitles?

What is the best subtitle font? Subtitles are not only added text on top of a video. There is more to it especially if you’re a YouTube creator, a filmmaker, and someone involved in film and video production.

Choosing and using the right subtitle font for your video will improve accessibility and boost engagement. We compiled the best fonts for subtitles in the following. Check them out.

Subtitle Font: The Most Popular and Used Subtitle Fonts for Closed Captions and Subtitles

In the following, we’re going to discuss the top fonts used by video creators and marketers to attract more viewers, gain more views, improve SEO, and make content more accessible for all types of viewers. 

1.Arial

The font is easy to read and very simple. It is neutral, not hard for the eyes, and very efficient.

It’s an outstanding font for a wide range of applications like for creating presentations, writing reports, and publishing.   It can be used for running promotions and advertisements, too. 

Arial is an easy to read font for subtitles and captions; however, you might want to stay away from the ARIAL BLACK version because it can be a little heavy for users because the letters will be placed closer together.

Other versions of Arial you can choose for a subtitle font are Arial Narrow, Arial Bold, and Arial Regular, to name some.

2.Poppins

This font is one of the newcomers in the classic sans serif typefaces.

It is an internationalist font that has support for Latin and Devanagari writing.

The font that you can use as a subtitle font is based specifically on circles and geometry.

3.Barlow

It is a low contrast and moderately rounded font that belongs to the grotesh type family.  

It is designed and drawn from the visual California public style and shares characteristics with the highway signs, car plates, trains, and buses signs of the state.

4.Open Sans

It’s a humanist sans serif interface by Steve Matterston and features open forms, approachable and neutral appearance, and upright stress.

You can choose the subtitle font for its easy readability.

It is also chosen by users who publish online, for mobile, and for print. The font offers users with an excellent readability and legibility and in fact has been used on a few Google web pages.

5.Lato

This typeface font is one of the sans serif typeface fonts, which have started for use back in 2010.

This subtitle font is unique in that the objective behind it was to create something that is transparent when being used as a component of the body text and would still appear showing the original typeface characteristics even with a large typeface.

Lato can convey a feeling of warmth for its semi-rounded letterings, while also conveying seriousness and stability for its strong structure. 

6.Roboto

Readability is very high because millions of people are familiar with it.

Being the default font on many Google services, including Google Maps and YouTube, you might have been familiar with Roboto if you’re using android.

7.Times

It is one of the most used and known fonts in the world just like Times New Roman.

You might choose it for a subtitle font because a lot of people are already familiar with it. And since it was one of Microsoft World’s default fonts, many people are really familiar with it.

This version was designed as a solution to the demands of newspaper printing that used a more affordable paper and faster printing machines.

It is another commonly used subtitle font for its readability and versatility.

Check it out if you’re looking for a simple and non-distracting font.

8.Archivo

This is another suitable subtitle font to consider when creating captions and subtitles. It is commonly used for headlines and highlights.

Its design is both on the aesthetic and technical sides and is created for high performance typography. The font is also commonly used in online platforms and printed publications and can support more than 200 languages.

9.Verdana

Its typeface is composed of four different fonts with the objective of addressing the different problems on reading and on-screen display.

The different weights in the typeface can ensure excellent dreading even at small sizes and can offer contrast.

This font is designed for a computer screen and has characteristics originating from writing for the pixel not for the pen.

The subtitle font is notable for its curved, diagonal, and straight strokes, showing clear pixel patterns, which are pleasing to the eyes and are legible.

Even when the text is small, it is still readable. Due to this, global retailers like IKEA had already switched to this font for its signage and print catalog.

The font, which was the more modern font than Times New Roman and Arial, was created to improve screen legibility.

Ninety nine percent of Windows machines are running Verdana.

This font is also known for its large x-height and has more space between the letters.   If you’d look at it and compare this font with Helvetica and other fonts with the same style, you can clearly notice the standout features of Verdana.

10.Tahoma

This font, which is also suitable for a subtitle font, is one of the most commonly used fonts in the world.

It’s created by the same person who created Verdana and Georgia, Matthew Carter.

There are different forms of this font, having a narrow body structure with just a little space between the letters. 

Other forms of Tahoma are Wine Tahoma and Wine Tahoma bold.

In 1994, Microsoft released Tahoma as its default font and used it for other applications. 

11.Futura

The font is suitable for a subtitle font for a promotional video.

It remains as one of the best options for a lot of video creators for its flexibility and readability.

You can opt for the regular version for subtitles or the condensed variety for text if you’re looking to add longer sentences that will fit even small screens. 

The font is also excellent for just about any character or letter because it’s clear and readable, not mentioning how it’s giving a futuristic appeal to the video.

12.Helvetica

You should not miss this one if you’re looking for a great subtitle font.

In fact, it is also a top choice for a lot of advertising companies and broadcasting companies.

It gives a video a documentary appeal, looks concrete, and has a full fill.

There are different Helvetica typefaces, and they include condensed black, condensed bold, thin italic, thin, light italic, light, ultralight, to name some, giving video creators a whole wide range of choices.

The importance of subtitles

subtitle font

Your role as a video creator is not only about creating absolutely stunning video but also about improving the accessibility of your content for all audiences.

For a lot of content creators and filmmakers, they don’t fail to add in subtitles in their video for accessibility.

For example, if their film or video is in a different language and their target audience speaks another language, adding a subtitle in their language will be very much appreciated.

Without even saying, a subtitle font is an essential component of your video, especially if your audience is speakers of another language, which is not what is used in recording the video.

However, you don’t just add any subtitle but it must be clear and readable. It should be easy to read so that viewers can focus on your video, while also being able to read the subtitles easily. 

The problem is that choosing a subtitle font is not easy because there are a lot of them.  They are available in many designs and styles to choose from and using a unique one will give your video a better appeal. That’s why we’ve compiled the best subtitle fonts to help you come up with a decision.

subtitle font

Video Comprehension

Even without a sound, subtitles help viewers understand the content of your video, especially if you have used the right subtitle font, which will help them to read and understand the text. Choose the right subtitle font for the best video experience.

Viewer Engagement

Subtitles can help increase content engagement, especially when it comes to SEO. Without even saying, using the right subtitle font is necessary to help a huge audience find your video content, which has more chances of ranking higher on YouTube and Google.

Accessibility

Subtitles are also useful video elements because they allow anyone who is hard of hearing to consume your content as well as those who want to watch the video muted especially when in some public places. 

So if you’re video marketing, you should not overlook the importance of using subtitles for your videos.

Increased social media views

People on social media watch their video muted, particularly 85 percent of the people who watch on Facebook. Videos on Facebook auto play and most of the time are muted. 

This makes things more interesting for video creators and marketers. You can sense that using subtitles in a video can help boost engagement for your videos.

With people consuming their video muted, it helps to add a subtitle and use the right subtitle font to reach these audiences. Subtitles and captions can enhance their viewing experience and keep them engaged in your content.

But to get the most out of subtitling your video, you must use an accessible and easy to read font. The positioning of the font should also be considered. And depending on where you will submit your content, you must also format your video properly.

Final Thoughts

There you have a comprehensive list of subtitle fonts that you can choose from and use for your videos.

So, what’s the best font for subtitles?  The answer lies in your preference, like how you want the subtitles to display. Do you want it to have a classic or modern look? Do you want it to be a bit futuristic, clean, simple, and easy to read? By now, you will have a reference on the subtitle fonts to select from.

If you need more help, feel free to contact us. We can also help you create professional subtitles for your video.