OpenDyslexic is a free, open-source typeface designed to make reading easier for people with dyslexia. Created by Abbie Gonzalez, it uses weighted letter shapes, distinct characters, and wider spacing to reduce common reading difficulties like letter confusion and visual crowding. It’s available on e-readers, web browsers, and operating systems at no cost.
Whether it actually improves reading performance is a separate question from its popularity, and the research on that front may surprise you.
How the Font Is Designed
The core idea behind OpenDyslexic is that people with dyslexia sometimes perceive letters as flipping, rotating, or swapping places on the page. To counter this, each letter has a heavier, weighted bottom. Think of it like a small anchor: the thicker base is meant to give the brain a consistent reference point for which end of the letter is “down,” making it harder to mentally flip a “b” into a “d” or a “p” into a “q.”
Beyond the weighted bottoms, the font uses several other strategies. Each letter has a slightly unique shape, so characters that look similar in standard fonts (like lowercase “b” and “d”) are more visually distinct. The spacing between letters and words is wider than in most typefaces, which aims to reduce a phenomenon called “visual crowding,” where letters seem to blur together. The overall effect is a typeface that looks a bit unusual compared to what you’re used to seeing, with letters that feel rounder and more grounded on the line.
Where You Can Use It
Because OpenDyslexic is open-source, it’s free for personal, educational, and commercial use. You can download and install it on Windows, Mac, or Linux computers like any other font, and it will then be available in word processors, browsers, and other applications.
Several platforms have built-in support. The Kindle app includes OpenDyslexic as a font option, and some users credit this feature with getting them back into reading. One Reddit user noted they’d read 13 books after switching to the font on their Kindle app. Chrome browser extensions also exist that automatically convert webpage text to a dyslexia-friendly typeface. Older e-reader hardware, like earlier-generation Kindle Paperwhites, may not support custom font installation, so compatibility depends on your specific device.
What the Research Actually Shows
Here’s where the story gets complicated. Despite the font’s thoughtful design and enthusiastic user base, controlled studies have not found measurable improvements in reading performance.
A study published in the Annals of Dyslexia tested OpenDyslexic against Arial and Times New Roman with elementary students diagnosed with dyslexia. Researchers measured performance across three tasks: letter naming, word reading, and nonsense word reading. The results showed no improvement in reading rate or accuracy for individual students or the group as a whole. None of the participants reported preferring OpenDyslexic over the standard fonts, even though some noticed it looked “new” or “different.”
Similar findings came from research on Dyslexie, a comparable specialized font. In a study of 170 Dutch students with dyslexia, children showed no better performance with Dyslexie compared to Arial, and more children actually preferred Arial. A second experiment with 147 students (both dyslexic and non-dyslexic) confirmed the same pattern: no reading difference between fonts, and no preference for the specialized option.
This doesn’t necessarily mean the font is useless for every individual. Some people with dyslexia report a strong personal preference for it, and subjective comfort matters when you’re trying to read for extended periods. But the evidence so far suggests that the font alone doesn’t change how accurately or quickly someone reads.
How It Compares to Other Options
OpenDyslexic isn’t the only typeface designed for dyslexic readers. Dyslexie uses a similar approach with distinctive letter shapes, clear spacing, and heavier character bottoms, but it’s a commercial product rather than a free one. Lexie Readable takes a slightly different approach, prioritizing clean letter shapes and spacing without the heavily weighted bottoms. All three fonts share the same goal of reducing letter confusion, and none have strong scientific evidence of measurable reading improvements over standard fonts.
The British Dyslexia Association, notably, doesn’t recommend any specialized dyslexia font. Instead, their style guide suggests using plain, evenly spaced sans-serif fonts like Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, or Comic Sans. Their other recommendations focus on practical formatting: use 12 to 14 point font sizes, avoid italics and underlining (which can make text appear to run together), use bold for emphasis, and avoid blocks of capital letters.
Why People Still Choose It
Given the research, you might wonder why OpenDyslexic has such a loyal following. Part of the answer is that reading comfort and reading performance aren’t the same thing. A study can measure words-per-minute and error rates without capturing whether someone felt less fatigued after 30 minutes of reading, or whether they were more willing to pick up a book in the first place. The Kindle user who read 13 books after switching fonts experienced something real, even if a lab test might not detect a speed difference.
There’s also a practical reality: OpenDyslexic is free, easy to install, and carries no risk. If you or your child finds it more comfortable to read, there’s no downside to using it. The key is to treat it as one tool among many rather than a solution on its own. Formatting choices like larger text, wider line spacing, shorter line lengths, and off-white backgrounds often do as much or more for readability than the specific typeface you choose.
For anyone exploring font options, the most useful approach is to test a few side by side. Try OpenDyslexic, try Arial or Verdana at a larger size with generous spacing, and see what feels best for sustained reading. Your own experience is a better guide than any single study when it comes to personal comfort.