Aptos vs Calibri: Word's New Default Font Explained
Quick answer: Aptos replaced Calibri as the default font in Microsoft 365 from late 2023. It's a little wider and more open than Calibri. The catch is that computers without Microsoft 365, and many converters, don't have Aptos, so your document can change when you share it. Send a PDF, or switch your default back to Calibri.
What changed
Calibri was the default font in Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint for about 16 years, from Office 2007. In 2021 Microsoft commissioned five new fonts and asked users to try them in Microsoft 365. In July 2023 it announced the winner: Aptos, designed by Steve Matteson and tested under the name Bierstadt. It rolled out as the new default over the following months. Headings use a companion font, Aptos Display.
If you start a new document in an up-to-date Microsoft 365 and see "Aptos (Body)" in the font box, that's why. Documents you made before keep their original fonts.
Aptos and Calibri side by side
| Calibri | Aptos | |
|---|---|---|
| Default in Microsoft Office | 2007 to 2023 | From late 2023 (Microsoft 365) |
| Style | Rounded, humanist sans-serif | Crisp, neutral sans-serif |
| Width | Narrow: fits a lot on a line | Wider: the same text takes more room |
| Heading font | Calibri Light | Aptos Display |
| Exact free stand-in for converters | Yes (Carlito) | No; a close match is used |
| On older Office versions | Yes | Often not |
The sharing problem
Fonts aren't stored inside a Word file; the document just names them. When someone opens your Aptos document on a computer without Aptos, such as an older Office, LibreOffice, or an online converter, their computer swaps in a similar font. Because the letters are a different width, lines break in different places and a carefully fitted one-page CV can run onto a second page.
Calibri doesn't have this problem to the same degree. Almost every computer has it, and where it's missing there's a free font called Carlito with identical letter widths, so the layout holds.
We saw this in our own testing. Converting an Aptos document with SwapDoc's Word to PDF converter uses Liberation Sans, a close match, but lines can still shift slightly. Calibri, by contrast, came out with identical line breaks. The full results are in Why your font changed when you converted to PDF.
Which should you use?
- Documents you'll send as PDFs: use Aptos if you like it. Make the PDF in Word with File → Save As → PDF and the font travels inside the PDF.
- Word files you'll share or that others will edit: Calibri or Arial is safer, because everyone has them or an exact stand-in.
- Documents with a set length: CVs, forms and anything with a page limit should use whichever font you'll send in, and be checked in the final format.
- At work: follow your organisation's template. Many still use Calibri or Arial for consistency.
How to switch your default back to Calibri
Word for Windows
- Open a blank document and go to the Design tab.
- Click Fonts and choose Office 2013 - 2022 (Calibri Light for headings, Calibri for text).
- Click Set as Default on the same tab and confirm with Yes.
Alternatively, press Ctrl + D to open the Font box, choose Calibri, click Set As Default and pick All documents based on the Normal template. This changes body text only, not headings.
Word for Mac
Go to Format → Font, choose Calibri, click Default and confirm that you want to change the Normal template.
Changing an existing document from Aptos to Calibri
If the document uses Word's theme fonts (the font box shows "Aptos (Body)"), change them all at once with Design → Fonts → Office 2013 - 2022. If it shows plain "Aptos", select all with Ctrl + A and choose Calibri. Headings set separately may need the same treatment. Check page breaks afterwards: Calibri is narrower, so text will move up.
Frequently asked questions
- Why did Word change from Calibri to Aptos?
- Calibri had been the default since 2007. Microsoft chose Aptos in 2023 after testing several new fonts with Microsoft 365 users.
- How do I change Word's default font back to Calibri?
- Design → Fonts → Office 2013 - 2022, then Set as Default.
- What happens if I send an Aptos document to someone without Aptos?
- Their computer substitutes a similar font and lines can move. Send a PDF to avoid it.
- Is Aptos a good font for a CV?
- Yes, if you send the CV as a PDF. See our guide to PDF or Word.