The safest email signature fonts are the ones already installed on the reader’s computer. Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Georgia and Times New Roman all appear on both the Windows 11 and the macOS Sonoma font lists we read. Pick one, finish the list with a generic family such as sans-serif, and keep body text at 13 pixels or more.
The font facts come from Microsoft’s Windows 11 font list (changed last in 2022), Apple’s list for macOS Sonoma, MDN’s font-family reference, and the Google and Microsoft signature help pages, all read in October 2026. We found no Google or Microsoft page that says which font Gmail or Outlook swaps in when yours is missing, so we do not claim one. Sizes marked emailfooter come from its engine. Everything else is our rule of thumb and says so.
Email signature fonts in six lines
- Pick from the table below: six of the eight fonts are on both the Windows 11 and macOS lists.
- Use one family, and end the stack with
sans-seriforserif. - Inter is on neither list, so its readers get the next font in the stack.
- Body text: 13 pixels is emailfooter’s default, and Microsoft’s accessibility page suggests 11 point or larger.
- Name: about 1.5 times the body size in most layouts.
- Limit: we could not verify what Gmail or Outlook substitute, or the iOS and Android font lists.
The email signature fonts table
These are the eight fonts emailfooter’s design settings offer. The last column is the stack it writes into the signature, and the two middle columns say whether the font is on the lists we opened.
| Font | Windows 11 list | macOS Sonoma list | Stack emailfooter writes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arial | Yes | Yes | Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif |
| Verdana | Yes | Yes | Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif |
| Tahoma | Yes | Yes | Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif |
| Trebuchet MS | Yes | Yes | ‘Trebuchet MS’, Helvetica, sans-serif |
| Georgia | Yes | Yes | Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, serif |
| Times New Roman | Yes | Yes | ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif |
| Helvetica | No | Yes | ‘Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif |
| Inter | No | No | Inter, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif |
Helvetica Neue is on Apple’s list but not Microsoft’s, which is why Arial sits behind it in the stack. Inter is the default font in emailfooter’s design settings. A PC without Inter, Helvetica Neue or Helvetica would reach Arial, if the app follows the stack. If you want no doubt at all, choose Arial.
What happens when an email signature font is missing
MDN describes the browser rule: the list is a set of alternatives, and the browser takes the first font that is installed or can be downloaded. It also says to always end with a generic family, because there is no guarantee that any given font exists. That is the browser rule. A mail app is free to do something else.
For Gmail, two pages are worth reading and neither is conclusive. Google’s CSS support page, updated on 15 September 2026, lists font-family among the supported properties and warns that Gmail might ignore unsupported ones. It says nothing about web fonts or fallbacks.
Unlayer’s help page, written by an email-builder vendor on 24 November 2025, goes further. It says Gmail renders only natively supported fonts, falls back to a default system font for others, and does not support Google Fonts or other web-hosted fonts. Its list holds Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS and Verdana, plus Roboto, but not Inter. That is a vendor’s claim, not Google’s, and we have not confirmed it.
Campaign Monitor’s font-family guide is undated and marks the property as fully supported in Gmail, Outlook.com, Apple Mail and Outlook 2007 to 2016. That is support for the property, not for any one font.
Outlook for Windows runs on Windows, so the Windows 11 list is the relevant one for it. That is our reading. Microsoft’s help pages do not say it.
Serif or sans serif for email signature fonts
Microsoft’s accessible Outlook email page recommends plain, well-known sans serif faces (it names Arial and Calibri), at least 11 point, without all-capital text or heavy italics. The aim is a lighter reading load.
Calibri is on Windows 11 but not on Apple’s list, so a Mac reader would see something else. Arial avoids that. Georgia is the safe serif choice, since it is on both lists. We have not measured readability, so treat a serif as a brand decision and not an accessibility one.
A size scale for email signature fonts
In emailfooter the admin picks a base size from 11 to 18 pixels, with 13 as the default. Every other size follows from it, so a bigger base lifts the whole block.
| Base | Name (1.5 times) | Small labels (base minus 2) | Legal line (base minus 3) | Line height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 17 |
| 13 | 20 | 11 | 10 | 20 |
| 15 | 23 | 13 | 12 | 23 |
| 18 | 27 | 16 | 15 | 27 |
All values are pixels, and small labels and the legal line never go below 10. The name is 1.5 times the base in most layouts. The Executive layout uses 1.9 times, the Ribbon layout adds 2 pixels to the name, and the Compact layout sets it at the base size plus 2. In CSS, 1 point is 1/72 inch and 1 inch is 96 pixels (MDN), so Microsoft’s 11 point is about 14.7 pixels. Our rule of thumb: keep 13 for ordinary use and move to 15 when your readers need larger text.
Two email signature fonts, drawn
Same words, two stacks. The first uses the Georgia stack, the second the Verdana stack. Your own screen decides what you see, which is the point of this article.
|
Georgia stack: serif, on both lists. Example only. The company and person are made up.
|
Verdana stack: sans serif, on both lists. Example only. The company and person are made up.
Change email signature fonts in your mail app
These steps follow Google’s and Microsoft’s help pages, read in October 2026.
- Gmail: the editor sits in the Signature box under Settings > See all settings. Change the text style, then press Save Changes (Google). The page does not list the fonts the editor offers.
- New Outlook: open Settings > Accounts > Signatures, add or edit a signature, set the font, colour and styles in the editing box, and select Save.
- Classic Outlook: on the Message tab choose Signature > Signatures. In the Edit signature box you can change fonts, font colours and sizes. Another route is File > Options > Mail > Signatures (Microsoft).
Whatever you choose, send a test to a Gmail address and to an Outlook one, and look at both on a phone.
Keeping email signature fonts the same for everyone
One person choosing a font is easy. Fifty people each choosing their own is how a company ends up with five. In emailfooter the admin chooses one of the eight fonts and one size in the design settings, and the fields staff can edit are personal ones. The app shows each person how to install the result in their own mail app. It does not change mailboxes for them. Our email signature design article puts the font beside spacing, width and colour, and professional email signature examples shows finished signatures in these stacks.
Frequently asked questions
What are the safest email signature fonts?
Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Georgia and Times New Roman are on both the Windows 11 and macOS Sonoma lists we read. Arial is the most cautious choice.
What is the best font for email signature text?
There is no single best. Microsoft’s accessibility page suggests a familiar sans serif such as Arial or Calibri at 11 point or larger. Calibri is missing from Apple’s list, so Arial is the safer pick.
Can I use Google Fonts in a signature?
Unlayer says Gmail does not support Google Fonts or other web-hosted fonts. We found no Google page confirming that, so use a system font with a generic fallback.
Which web safe fonts work for an email signature?
The six fonts in the table that appear on both lists. Always end the stack with sans-serif or serif.
What size should email signature fonts be?
emailfooter defaults to 13 pixels for body text, 20 for the name and 10 for the legal line. Microsoft’s 11 point suggestion is about 14.7 pixels, so choose 15 for readers who need larger text.
Keep reading
- Email signature design: layout, spacing, colour and hierarchy rules: Email signature design as a one-page spec: width, grid, type scale, spacing and colour count, plus two before-and-after redesigns and a contrast check.
- HTML email signature: the code that survives Gmail and Outlook: An HTML email signature skeleton built from tables and inline styles, the CSS Gmail and Outlook ignore, and what each vendor’s own pages say about it.
- Professional email signature examples, annotated: what works and why: Twelve professional email signature examples, each annotated line by line so you can see what to copy and what to change for your own role.
Make every signature in your company match
emailfooter is a free WordPress plugin. You design the signature once, and each person adds their own details and installs it in their mail app. Prefer not to run a website? emailfooter Managed is the same software, hosted for you.