APA style does not require one specific font. The 7th edition of the Publication Manual gives you several approved options, each at a designated point size. The most commonly used is 12-point Times New Roman, but it is one of seven fonts you can choose from.
Approved Fonts and Sizes
APA groups its accepted fonts into two categories. The key detail many people miss is that different fonts require different point sizes to maintain readable, consistent formatting.
Sans serif options:
- 12-point Aptos
- 11-point Calibri
- 11-point Arial
- 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode
Serif options:
- 12-point Times New Roman
- 11-point Georgia
- 10-point Computer Modern (the default font in LaTeX)
Notice that Calibri and Arial are set at 11 points, not 12. Setting Arial at 12 points would make your text slightly larger than intended. Each font was assigned a specific size so they all produce roughly the same visual density on the page. Whichever font you pick, use it consistently throughout your entire paper, from the title page through the references.
Why Times New Roman Is Still the Default
Many professors and journals still expect 12-point Times New Roman because it was the only accepted font for years under earlier editions of the APA manual. If your instructor or program hasn’t updated their guidelines to reflect the 7th edition, Times New Roman is the safest choice. When submitting to a journal, check the journal’s specific submission guidelines, since some override APA’s general list with their own font requirement.
Fonts Inside Figures and Tables
Text that appears within a figure, such as axis labels on a chart or callouts on a diagram, follows a separate rule. APA requires a sans serif font between 8 and 14 points for any text embedded in figure images. This means even if your body text is in Times New Roman (a serif font), the labels inside your graphs should use a sans serif option like Arial or Calibri. The flexibility in size lets you scale labels to fit smaller or more complex visuals without sacrificing readability.
Table text, including column headers and cell data, should use the same font as the rest of your paper.
Footnotes and Running Heads
For footnotes, APA recommends using whatever default footnote formatting your word processor applies. In most programs, that means 10-point font with single spacing. You don’t need to manually adjust these settings unless your software does something unusual.
The running head, the shortened title that appears at the top of each page alongside the page number, should be in the same font and size as your body text. Your word processor’s header function handles placement automatically.
Picking the Right Font for Your Paper
If you’re writing a class paper, check your syllabus or assignment instructions first. Many instructors specify Times New Roman regardless of what APA technically allows. If no font is specified, any of the seven approved options will satisfy APA formatting rules.
For practical purposes, Calibri at 11 points and Times New Roman at 12 points are the two most widely available choices. Calibri is the default font in recent versions of Microsoft Word, so selecting it saves you a formatting step. Aptos, a newer addition to the approved list, is the default in the latest Microsoft 365 versions. Computer Modern is relevant only if you’re writing in LaTeX, a typesetting system common in math and engineering fields.
Whichever you choose, pair it with double spacing, 1-inch margins on all sides, and a half-inch first-line indent for each paragraph. The font is one piece of a larger formatting picture, and getting it right takes about 30 seconds once you know which option to select.