Pin screens to compare.

Your screen

Text size against distance

Gold is your selected screen; blue overlays are pinned comparisons. Drag to change distance.On a phone, swipe the chart sideways and use the distance slider to adjust.

Browse all screens Live estimates for the whole catalogue

Choose a card to select it. Use the Pin button above to compare up to three screens.

Explore the ideal screen dimensions Aspect ratio & text size
120
16'
60cm
For a given aspect ratio, target lines, and arcmin comfort, the half-angle is geometrically fixed regardless of distance. Change the distance slider — the angles don't budge.

A wider aspect ratio doesn't add lines — it adds horizontal space for splitting into panes. Vertical pixel count and arcmin determine density. Width determines layout flexibility. At equal physical height and viewing distance, an ultrawide with 120 lines has the same apparent character height as a 16:9 with 120 lines — the extra width lets you tile 3 panes instead of 2.
Experimental 3D score Illustrative model

An illustrative, unvalidated scoring model. Font axis uses physical point-equivalents (1/72 inch), not application font points. The marker uses the same physical text size as the main readout. Scores describe this model only.

Score = the lowest of legibility, viewing angle and edge-distance consistency × 4. Each component has a maximum of 25.

Read the trade-offs at a glance

Start with text size. Then check sharpness and how wide you need to look.

● Favourable● Trade-off● DifficultReference ranges, not a personal comfort test.

Text size Arcmin

How big the letters look from your chair. Bigger text is easier to see, but fits fewer lines.

<13′Very small13–16′Compact16–20′Larger20′+Generous

Viewing angle Half-angle

How far the screen extends to each side. Wider angles mean more eye or head movement.

≤15°Narrow15–30°Moderate30–46°Wide>46°Very wide

Sharpness PPD

Pixels in each degree of your vision. Higher PPD packs more detail into the same apparent area.

<36Coarse36–57Sharper57–94Fine text94+Fine images

Curvature Edge difference

How closely edge and centre viewing distances match. Near zero is the best geometric match.

NegativeEdges closer0%Equal distancePositiveEdges farther

Text capacity Lines

More lines means smaller letters. At the same physical text size, a taller screen fits more; extra width gives you more panes.

Fewer linesBigger textYour balanceWorkload mattersMore linesSmaller text

Viewing distance Two effects

Sitting farther back raises PPD but makes the same text look smaller. Enlarge the text to compensate.

Text sizeDetail / PPD
NearerLarger letters80cmReference onlyFartherFiner pixels

The two bands beneath the text chart

TextRed: coarse pixels · Amber: sharper · Green: finer detailImageGreen: density is useful · Amber: diminishing benefit · Red: a lower pixel tier crosses the model’s threshold too

Red in the image band means potentially less benefit from extra pixels, not a worse picture.

The useful comparison: hold text size constant, then compare how many lines each screen gives you. More pixels can sharpen those lines without making room for more of them at the same physical size.

Details: font units, Mac scaling & assumptions

Lines holds your requested line count. Arcmin holds apparent character size (one arcminute is 1/60 of a degree) and calculates how many lines each screen fits. PPD finds the minimum distance that meets your pixel-density target; it keeps your Lines setting for the text estimates.

Native font px is the font size expressed in panel pixels. Estimates assume full-height text, line height 1.2× and capital height 0.7× font size. Toolbars, tabs and actual font metrics reduce the usable line count. Small-font warnings are heuristics, not hard capacity limits.

On a Mac, pixels and application points are different. At exact 2× HiDPI, the logical workspace is half the native resolution on each axis: 3840×2160 becomes 1920×1080. Other scaled HiDPI modes can render a larger workspace and resample it. The same application font size then occupies a different physical area. This tool models the resulting physical text size; it does not yet simulate macOS scaling choices or application chrome. Apple: points and pixels · Display resolution settings.

Distance has two effects: farther away gives more pixels per degree, but makes the same text look smaller. Increase text size to compensate; fitting fewer lines is the trade-off. The 13′ / 16′ / 20′ and 36 / 57 / 94 PPD markers are reference thresholds in this model, not guarantees for your eyes.

Geometry, not a personal comfort score. The desk view approximates screen width and viewing angles. Curvature changes edge-to-centre viewing distance; a smaller mismatch is not automatically more comfortable. The 80cm resting-focus marker is a typical reference, not a prescribed sitting distance. Monitor positioning guidance.

Compare: choose a screen and press Pin. You can also right-click a card, or select it with Tab and Enter. Drag the charts with a mouse, or use the distance slider on touch screens.