Storefront Notes

Grow your ecommerce store · Email marketing · 2 min read

Best Font Size for Email Marketing: Tips and Recommendations

By the Storefront Notes Editorial Team · Updated

Short answer

Use 14 to 16 pixel body text (16px is safest on mobile), 22 to 32 pixel headlines, at least 14 to 16 pixels on button text, and no smaller than about 12 pixels for footer text. Pair that with a line height around 1.4 to 1.6 and high contrast.

Most marketing emails are opened on phones. Text that looks fine on a desktop preview can be too small to read comfortably on a small screen. These guidelines keep emails readable everywhere.

Element Size
Body text 14–16px (16px preferred for mobile)
Main headline 22–32px
Subheadings 18–22px
Button text 14–18px, bold
Footer and legal text 12px minimum

Line height and spacing

  • Line height: about 1.4 to 1.6 times the font size.
  • Paragraph spacing: a blank line between paragraphs.
  • Line length: single-column layouts around 600px wide keep lines comfortable.

Fonts that work everywhere

Email clients have limited font support. Safe choices:

  • Sans-serif: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS.
  • Serif: Georgia, Times New Roman.

If you use a custom web font, include a fallback stack, e.g. 'Your Font', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif.

Contrast and readability

  • Dark text on light background is easiest to read.
  • Avoid light grey body text.
  • Check dark mode: some clients invert colours, so test logos and text.

Buttons

  • At least 44 pixels tall for easy tapping.
  • Short, clear labels ("Shop the sale").
  • Use real text on buttons, not images, so they show when images are off.

Testing

Send test emails to your own phone and use preview tools in your email platform. Mailchimp, Klaviyo and others offer previews across clients.

Accessibility checklist

Readable emails are accessible emails. A few habits help everyone, including people with low vision or reading difficulties:

  • Contrast: aim for strong contrast between text and background. Grey-on-grey designs look elegant and read badly.
  • Real text over images: screen readers cannot read text baked into images. Add alt text to every meaningful image.
  • Left-aligned body text: centred paragraphs are harder to read beyond a line or two.
  • Descriptive links and buttons: "Shop rain jackets" rather than "Click here".
  • Semantic headings: in coded templates, use proper heading tags so assistive technology can navigate.
  • Avoid tiny legal text: footers still need to be readable.

Dark mode

Many people read email in dark mode. Some clients invert colours fully, some partially, and some leave your design alone. To avoid surprises:

  • Use transparent PNG logos with an outline or padding so they show on dark backgrounds.
  • Avoid pure black text on pure white backgrounds in images that cannot invert.
  • Test in Apple Mail, Gmail and Outlook dark modes before big sends.

A quick way to test readability

Send the email to your phone, hold it at a normal distance and read it in daylight. If you squint at any part, increase the size or contrast. Then forward it to someone older than you and ask whether anything is hard to read. These two low-tech tests catch most problems faster than any tool.

Common sizing mistakes

  • Body text set at 12px because it "fits more in".
  • Headlines so large they push the main message and button below the fold.
  • Buttons with small text and tiny tap areas.
  • Different font sizes in every section, which makes emails look chaotic.

Best image size for Mailchimp, how to add columns in a Mailchimp template and 7 email copywriting examples.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my email text look tiny on iPhone?

Some email clients scale small text, and fixed-width layouts can shrink on mobile. Use a responsive template and body text of at least 14px, ideally 16px.

Can I use custom fonts in email?

Some clients, including Apple Mail, display web fonts; others such as many versions of Outlook and Gmail fall back to system fonts. Always set a fallback font stack.

What is the best font for emails?

Web-safe fonts like Arial, Helvetica, Georgia and Verdana display reliably everywhere. Use a branded web font for headings with a safe fallback.

Sources and further reading

Platform features, prices and policies change. Check the official help pages linked above before you act on a detail that matters to your store.

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