Consolas vs Monaco

Consolas and Monaco are both mono typefaces sharing a monospace foundation. Compare which suits your Code Editors project.

Design DNA

Design overlap:50%

Consolas

Structural
Monospace
Purpose
Tech

Monaco

Structural
Monospace
Visual
Retro
Purpose
TechDisplay

Highlighted traits are shared between both fonts

Visual Comparison

Consolas

Premium
1 / 5Consolas specimen 1 of 5
1x
1 / 5

Monaco

Premium
1 / 10Monaco specimen 1 of 10
1x
1 / 10

Feature Comparison

Feature Consolas Monaco
Type Premium Premium
Classification mono mono
Variable Font No No
Weights Multiple Multiple
Italics Yes Yes
License Commercial License Required Commercial License Required
Language Support latin, latin-extended, cyrillic, greek latin, latin-extended
Source Microsoft Apple

Best Use Cases

Code Editors
Consolas Monaco
Terminal

Typography for command-line interfaces, terminal emulators, and shell environmen...

Consolas Monaco
Developer Tools
Consolas Monaco
Documentation

Typography for technical documentation, user guides, and help content. Documenta...

Consolas Monaco
Legacy Systems
Consolas Monaco
Retro Interfaces
Consolas Monaco

Where You'll See These Fonts

Consolas

  • Visual Studio
  • Windows Terminal
  • PowerShell
  • Windows development
  • .NET ecosystem

Monaco

  • Classic Mac Terminal
  • TextMate (legacy)
  • BBEdit (legacy)
  • Vintage Mac applications
  • Retro computing enthusiasts

Which Should You Choose?

Recommended: Consolas

  • Suited for Developer Tools and Documentation
  • From Microsoft
  • 5 free alternatives available
  • Broader language support
View Consolas →

Consider: Monaco

  • display, retro design character
  • Suited for Legacy Systems and Retro Interfaces
  • From Apple
  • 4 free alternatives available
View Monaco →

Browse by Context

Consolas

For Terminal For Documentation With Monospace With Tech Supporting Latin Extended Supporting Cyrillic

Monaco

For Terminal With Monospace With Retro With Tech With Display Supporting Latin Extended

Free Alternatives to Consider

Free fonts that can replace both Consolas and Monaco

Source Code Pro

84%

85% to Consolas · 82% to Monaco

Google Fonts · OFL-1.1 · Variable

Inconsolata

83%

90% to Consolas · 75% to Monaco

Google Fonts · OFL-1.1 · Variable

Fira Mono

83%

80% to Consolas · 85% to Monaco

Google Fonts · OFL-1.1 · 3 weights

JetBrains Mono

82%

85% to Consolas · 78% to Monaco

Google Fonts · OFL-1.1 · Variable

Related Comparisons

Consolas vs Inconsolata

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Consolas vs Inconsolata

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Consolas vs Source Code Pro

85% similarity

Consolas vs Source Code Pro

85% similarity

Consolas

View all alternatives

Monaco

View all alternatives

mono Fonts

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