What is the best font for subtitles?
A heavy sans-serif. Inter Black, Montserrat Black, and Anton are reliable defaults. Avoid thin fonts — they break apart on compressed video.
Detail
Subtitles compete for attention with the underlying video and for legibility against compression. Heavy sans-serifs with thick verticals win on both fronts. Inter Black, Montserrat Black, Anton, Bebas Neue, and Poppins Black are battle-tested on every major platform. Pair the font with either a 4–6px black stroke or a solid background plate. For broadcast-grade subtitles (long-form, theatrical), the convention is Arial Bold or a similar grotesque sans at smaller sizes. For short-form social, lean heavier — TikTok and Reels compress hard, and thin strokes disappear in 30% of frames.
- Short-form social: Inter Black, Anton, Montserrat Black, Bebas Neue
- Broadcast / TV: Arial Bold, Helvetica Bold
- Anime / fansub: Open Sans Semibold or custom typesetting
- Avoid: thin or display fonts on any compressed feed
56–72px on a 1080×1920 canvas — about 6–8% of frame width. Use heavier fonts at the smaller end of the range and thinner fonts at the larger end.
Place captions between 50% and 60% from the top of the frame. Avoid the bottom 22% (Reels UI) and the top 14% (close button and AR badge).