How to Change the Default Font in Outlook (Windows, Web and Mac)

By Mirko Peters · 2026-11-12

How to change the default font in Outlook for new messages, replies and plain text on Windows, web and Mac, plus fixes for a font that won't stay set.

To change the default font in Outlook, open the font settings for new messages and pick a font, style and size, then do the same for replies and forwards. In classic Outlook for Windows that's File, Options, Mail, Stationery and Fonts. In new Outlook it's View settings, Mail, Compose. In Outlook for Mac it's the Fonts button in the Outlook settings. This article is for Outlook users who are tired of retyping Arial in every message, and it covers the web app, plain text, the font that won't stick and what your recipients will see.

Key points

• In classic Outlook, go to File, Options, Mail, Stationery and Fonts, and set the Font under New mail messages and under Replying or forwarding messages.
• In new Outlook, open View settings, then Mail, then Compose, and choose the font, size and style under Message format before you select Save.
• The default for new, reply and forward messages is 11-point Calibri, and you can reset it by choosing Body, Regular and size 11.
• If a recipient doesn't have your font installed, their mail program substitutes another one, so standard fonts are the safe choice.
• Outlook for Mac sets the default font under Fonts in the Outlook settings, and a reported problem keeps some font variants, such as Calibri Light, from being chosen.

Which Outlook are you using?

If you see a File menu in the top left of the window, you're on classic Outlook. If you see a Settings gear and no File menu, you're on new Outlook or Outlook on the web. The menu names below follow that split. Microsoft's own pages are split the same way: one for new Outlook and one for classic Outlook.

One fact before you start: the default is Calibri in black, and for new, reply and forward messages in Outlook 2016 Microsoft names 11-point Calibri. You can change the font, its color, size and style, for all the messages you send.

How to change the default font in classic Outlook for Windows

1. Go to File, then Options, then Mail.
2. Under Compose messages, select Stationery and Fonts.
3. On the Personal Stationery tab, under New mail messages, select Font.
4. On the Font tab, choose a font, a font style and a size. A preview shows the result.
5. To set replies and forwards separately, select Font under Replying or forwarding messages and repeat step 4.
6. Select OK in every window, not just the last one.

Microsoft's example is switching from Calibri to Arial. The same dialog has a button for Composing and reading plain text messages, which is where you set the font for plain text. Plain text doesn't carry the formatting of HTML mail, so treat that setting as a display choice for your own screen.

Start a new message to check. The font you picked should be there immediately. If you have several email accounts, test one message from each account.

How to change the default font in new Outlook

These are the steps from Microsoft's new Outlook page.

1. On the View tab, select the settings icon, then View settings.
2. Select Mail, then Compose.
3. Under Message format, choose the font, size and style you want.
4. Select Save.

Microsoft says you can set font, color, size and style for new messages and for replies and forwards independently. The page doesn't say where the reply and forward setting sits in new Outlook, so look at the Compose page for a second set of font options. The message list font is a separate setting that Microsoft covers in a different article. If you want everything on screen bigger, the reading pane has its own zoom: select a message, go to View, then Zoom, and use plus or minus. Reset brings back the default view.

Outlook on the web

In Outlook on the web, you can always change the font of the message in front of you. Microsoft's page on customizing an email message in Outlook on the web says to select Show formatting options next to Send, then Font, to change the font, size, color or style for that message.

For a permanent default, check Settings, then Mail, then Compose and reply. Microsoft's article doesn't describe a message format option there, so I can't confirm a default font setting from a Microsoft page. If your version has one, it's in that Compose and reply screen. If not, you'll have to set the font per message, or write in new Outlook or classic Outlook, where the default is documented.

Outlook for Mac

On the Mac, the default font setting sits behind a Fonts button. Microsoft's accessibility page for Outlook for Mac describes it this way: open Outlook's preferences (called Settings in newer builds), select Fonts, and in the Fonts dialog choose New mail, then pick the font on the Font tab. The same dialog sets defaults for replies and forwards and for plain text messages.

A reported problem exists. In a Microsoft Q&A answer about the new Outlook for Mac, a user could not set Calibri Light as the default font. The answer says that variants such as Light and Bold can't be set as the default through the standard interface, that Microsoft was investigating and that no timeline was given. Suggested workarounds there were clearing the cache, setting the font in Outlook on the web (Settings, Mail, Compose and reply), or using a legacy version. Treat that as the state at the time of the answer and check whether an update changed it. If your preferred font is a variant, pick the regular weight of the same family as a stand-in.

One message or every message?

The default font applies to every message you start. Sometimes you only need a different look once, for example a bigger size for a reader who has trouble with small text, or a plain font for a formal letter. Change that one message in the compose window. In classic Outlook, select the text and use the font box on the formatting ribbon of the message window. In the web app, use Show formatting options next to Send. The default stays as it was, and the next message starts with your normal font again.

Two habits save time. First, set the default once and stop formatting each message by hand. Second, if you copy text from a document, use the paste option that keeps only the text, so the pasted part doesn't bring its own font into your message.

Install a font first

A font only appears in the lists if it is installed on your computer. In practice, that means installing it in Windows or macOS first. Install the font in the operating system, close Outlook, open it again and check the font list. For company-licensed fonts on managed devices, ask IT, because the font may need to be deployed.

Here's the catch most people forget: your recipients need that font too. Microsoft states that when a recipient doesn't have your chosen font, their mail program substitutes an available one. So a special brand font may look fine to you and different to everyone else. For people outside your company, use common fonts such as Arial, Calibri or Verdana.

Choosing a font and size

These are my recommendations, not Microsoft rules.

• Use one clean font for the whole message. Arial, Calibri and Verdana are common and easy to read.
• Keep the size at 10 to 12 points. Calibri 11 is the default for a reason.
• Keep body text black or very dark. Colors become hard to read for some people and in dark mode.
• Don't mix more than two fonts. If your signature uses a different font, make it a plain one.
• If your readers have trouble with small text, choose 12 points. A font designed for readability, such as Verdana, may help, and some people choose a dyslexia-oriented font like OpenDyslexic. Install it in the operating system first, and remember that recipients only see it if they have it too.

When you change the font, test it in both light and dark themes.

When the font won't stick

Work through these in order.

1. You didn't confirm every window. In classic Outlook you need OK in Stationery and Fonts and in the Options window. Closing with the X throws the change away.
2. You changed new messages only. Replies and forwards have their own setting. Set both.
3. You're writing in plain text. Plain text doesn't carry HTML formatting, so font choices don't travel with the message. Check the message format of your draft.
4. You pasted text from somewhere else. Pasted text keeps its source font. Use paste as text, or clear formatting.
5. A policy sets it. On a managed computer, IT can control the setting. If Stationery and Fonts is grayed out or missing, ask your admin.
6. It's a font variant on a Mac. See the Calibri Light note above.
7. The font isn't installed. Install it, restart Outlook, and pick it from the list.

To go back to the standard look in classic Outlook, open the same Font dialog, select +Body, choose Regular as the style and 11 as the size. Do it for new messages, and again for replies and forwards.

Common mistakes

• Setting the font in the message instead of the settings. The change then applies to one message only.
• Using a rare font for external mail. The recipient sees a substitute.
• Forgetting replies. Your new messages are Arial and every reply is Calibri.
• Pasting from Word. The pasted text carries its own font and breaks your consistency.
• Picking a tiny size. If the reader zooms in to see you, you've lost them.
• Assuming one setting covers every account. Check a message from each account after you change it.

Related topics to explore

• Your signature font. The signature has its own editor, so set it separately. See our article on how to change your signature in Outlook.
• Dark mode. Dark mode changes how colors look, so check your color choices on a dark background.
• Fonts on managed devices. Admins can ask how to deploy a company font to all PCs.
• Message list size. The font of your inbox list is a separate setting from the font you write in.

Next step

Open the font settings in your version of Outlook, set the font for new messages and for replies and forwards, and then send yourself a test mail. If it looks right on your phone as well, you're done with how to change the default font in Outlook, and you won't need to touch it again.