How wide is a line of 66 characters?
The usual advice is 45 to 75 characters per line. How wide is that column, in pixels, at 16 px?
It depends on the typeface: from 393 px in EB Garamond to 523 px in Montserrat.
| Typeface | Column for 66 characters at 16 px | Characters per line in a 600 px column | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montserrat | 523 px | 76 | |
| Poppins | 523 px | 76 | |
| Work Sans | 521 px | 76 | |
| Merriweather | 499 px | 79 | |
| Inter | 496 px | 80 | |
| Open Sans | 488 px | 81 | |
| Rubik | 487 px | 81 | |
| Lora | 487 px | 81 | |
| Playfair Display | 467 px | 85 | |
| IBM Plex Sans | 467 px | 85 | |
| Roboto | 462 px | 86 | |
| Lato | 449 px | 88 | |
| Source Sans 3 | 433 px | 91 | |
| EB Garamond | 393 px | 101 |
How it was measured
- A 787-character English text, spaces included, was measured in each typeface in the browser's canvas.
- Its width divided by its length gives the average character width, as a share of the font size.
- Column width = 66 × average width × 16 px.
What this test does not cover
- English text. German, with its longer words and more capitals, runs slightly wider.
- Regular weight only.
What to do with it
- Set the column width after you choose the typeface, not before.
- For 18 px text, multiply the widths in the table by 1.125.
- If you cannot change the column, change the size until a line holds 45 to 75 characters.
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