Tabular numerals
Tabular numbers / tabular figures
A font feature where every digit has the same width so numbers don't shift when they change — important for timecode displays, live counters, and subtitle timing.
In depth
Tabular numerals (also called tabular numbers or tabular figures) are a digit-spacing variant available in most modern fonts. By default, fonts use proportional figures — '1' is narrower than '0', so a counter ticking from 100 to 200 visibly jiggles as digits change width. Tabular numerals fix every digit at equal width, eliminating the jiggle. For captioning and subtitle tools, tabular numerals matter when displaying timecodes, running durations, or counters on screen. They're activated via the OpenType `tnum` feature tag or the CSS property `font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums`.
When to use it
Use tabular numerals whenever text contains numbers that change frame-to-frame: timecode overlays, live counters, prices that animate, or any subtitle editor showing timestamps. For static dialogue captions, proportional figures are fine.
Frequently asked
What are tabular numerals?+
Tabular numerals (also called tabular numbers or tabular figures) are digit glyphs that all share the same character width. This prevents the visual jitter you see when proportional digits change — a counter going from 1 to 10 to 100 stays stable in place instead of shifting.
What is the difference between tabular and proportional numerals?+
Proportional numerals have varying widths — '1' is narrower than '8'. They look better in body text. Tabular numerals are all the same width — identical to monospaced digits. They're essential wherever numbers change dynamically, like timecodes, counters, or animated prices.
How do I enable tabular numerals in CSS?+
Use `font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums` in CSS, or `font-feature-settings: 'tnum' 1`. Both activate the OpenType `tnum` feature. Most modern system fonts (Inter, Roboto, system-ui, SF Pro) include this feature.
Do all fonts support tabular numerals?+
Most modern professionally designed fonts do — Inter, Roboto, Montserrat, Geist, and system-ui all expose `tnum`. Some display fonts don't have tabular variants, but display fonts shouldn't carry changing numbers anyway.