# Serif fonts for long reading on screens > Text serifs drawn for screens or for long reading: large x-heights, moderate contrast and real italics for articles, blogs and documentation. Reading several thousand words on a screen is a different test from glancing at a headline. The typeface has to disappear, and on screens that depends on a few measurable things. A large x-height makes lowercase letters look bigger at the same font size, which matters at 16 to 18 pixels. Moderate stroke contrast keeps thin parts from flickering or dropping out on low-density displays, the usual failure of print serifs moved to the web unchanged. Sturdy serifs and open counters keep similar letters apart. Beyond the letterforms, check what the family includes. Long text needs a true italic for titles and emphasis, and a bold that is clearly darker than the regular. An optical size axis is a real advantage in this group: it thickens fine strokes and loosens spacing at small sizes, then sharpens the design for headings, all in one font file. Families with a weight axis let you adjust the regular slightly, which helps when light text is set on a dark background. Set the measure to about 60 to 75 characters per line and the line height near 1.5. How these were chosen: Serif and slab-serif families tagged for body text whose records describe a screen-first or text design; display serifs and historical revivals are listed elsewhere. ## Fonts (15) - [Merriweather](https://trendhub.net/fonts/merriweather.markdown) (Serif, 14 styles · variable, OFL): A screen text serif with a very large x-height, variable in weight, width and optical size. - [Lora](https://trendhub.net/fonts/lora.markdown) (Serif, 8 styles · variable, OFL): A moderate-contrast text face with brushed curves and firm serifs, optimized for screens; four weights with italics and Cyrillic. - [Libre Baskerville](https://trendhub.net/fonts/libre-baskerville.markdown) (Serif, 8 styles · variable, OFL): A taller x-height and lower contrast than its 1941 model, tuned for 16px reading. - [PT Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/pt-serif.markdown) (Serif, 4 styles, OFL): Drawn for continuous reading, with moderate contrast, sturdy serifs and a fairly tall lowercase; Regular and Bold with italics, Latin and Cyrillic. - [Noto Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/noto-serif.markdown) (Serif, 18 styles · variable, OFL): Moderate contrast, solid bracketed serifs and a tall lowercase aimed at text; nine weights with italics for Latin, Cyrillic and Greek. - [Bitter](https://trendhub.net/fonts/bitter.markdown) (Slab Serif, 18 styles · variable, OFL): A slab serif made for comfortable reading on screens, variable from Thin to Black with italics. - [Source Serif 4](https://trendhub.net/fonts/source-serif-4.markdown) (Serif, 16 styles · variable, OFL): Made to match the proportions and text color of its companion sans, with an optical size axis from 8 to 60 and eight weights with italics. - [Literata](https://trendhub.net/fonts/literata.markdown) (Serif, 16 styles · variable, OFL): First made as the typeface of an e-book app; sturdy, low-contrast serifs with an optical size axis from 7 to 72. - [Newsreader](https://trendhub.net/fonts/newsreader.markdown) (Serif, 14 styles · variable, OFL): Drawn for long, uninterrupted reading on content-heavy screens, with an optical size axis from 6 to 72 and seven weights with italics. - [Spectral](https://trendhub.net/fonts/spectral.markdown) (Serif, 14 styles, OFL): A screen-first text serif in seven weights with italics and Cyrillic. - [Vollkorn](https://trendhub.net/fonts/vollkorn.markdown) (Serif, 12 styles · variable, OFL): A sturdy text serif with dark, meaty serifs, variable from Regular to Black with italics. - [Gelasio](https://trendhub.net/fonts/gelasio.markdown) (Serif, 8 styles · variable, OFL): Drawn for continuous reading, with moderate contrast and softly rounded terminals; four weights with italics on a weight axis from 400 to 700. - [Crimson Pro](https://trendhub.net/fonts/crimson-pro.markdown) (Serif, 16 styles · variable, OFL): A Garalde-style serif made for long texts such as textbooks and editorial websites, variable across eight weights with italics. - [Petrona](https://trendhub.net/fonts/petrona.markdown) (Serif, 18 styles · variable, OFL): A low-contrast text serif with a large x-height, variable across nine weights with italics. - [Yrsa](https://trendhub.net/fonts/yrsa.markdown) (Serif, 10 styles · variable, OFL): A text serif for long reading on screens, in five weights with italics. ## FAQs ### Are serif fonts harder to read on screens? Not on current displays. The old advice dates from low-resolution monitors. A serif with a large x-height and moderate contrast reads comfortably at normal text sizes. ### What size should body text be on a website? Start at 16 to 18 pixels for body text and adjust by eye, since faces with a large x-height look bigger than their nominal size. Keep lines to roughly 60 to 75 characters. ### Can I use these fonts on a commercial site or in an e-book? Yes. Their open licenses allow commercial use and embedding in websites, apps and e-books. Download the family and host the files yourself. ### What does an optical size axis do for text? It changes the drawing with the size. At small sizes strokes get sturdier and spacing looser; at large sizes details get finer. The browser can apply it automatically. ## Related collections - [Old-style and revival serif fonts for books](https://trendhub.net/fonts/for/old-style-serif-fonts-for-books.markdown) - [Humanist sans-serif fonts for readable text](https://trendhub.net/fonts/for/humanist-sans-serif-fonts.markdown) - [Fonts for newspapers and magazines](https://trendhub.net/fonts/for/newspaper-and-magazine-fonts.markdown) - [Variable fonts with an optical size axis](https://trendhub.net/fonts/for/variable-fonts-with-optical-size.markdown) - [Serif fonts for academic and scholarly writing](https://trendhub.net/fonts/for/fonts-for-academic-writing.markdown) - [Slab serif fonts](https://trendhub.net/fonts/for/slab-serif-fonts.markdown) --- Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/for/serif-fonts-for-long-reading (trendhub)