OpenDyslexic is the most widely recognized dyslexia font in the world. Created by Abbie Gonzalez and released as open-source, it's available on Wikipedia, Kindle, Kobo, and countless apps and websites. Its design philosophy is straightforward: heavier weighted bottoms on each letter to give them a visual "gravity" that prevents the letter-flipping and rotation many dyslexic readers experience.
It's a compelling idea. But does the research support it — especially for speed reading? We went through every peer-reviewed study we could find. The answer is more nuanced than the marketing suggests.
What the studies say
The case against
A 2017 study published in Annals of Dyslexia (Wery & Diliberto) tested OpenDyslexic against Arial and Times New Roman with elementary students diagnosed with dyslexia. The results were clear: no improvement in reading rate or accuracy for any individual student or the group as a whole. In fact, students read slightly slower and less accurately in OpenDyslexic. None of the participants preferred it.
A 2013 eye-tracking study by Rello and Baeza-Yates found similar results: OpenDyslexic did not reduce reading time or shorten eye fixation compared to 10 other fonts. Participants actually preferred Verdana and Helvetica over OpenDyslexic.
A 2018 study on the similar Dyslexie font (Marinus et al.) found no benefit to reading accuracy or speed in children with or without dyslexia. Children preferred Arial.
The case for
Not all the evidence is negative. A study from Concordia University (Franzen et al., presented at the 2019 Annals of Eye Science) found that OpenDyslexic did improve reading comprehension in adults with dyslexia reading longer standardized texts. Eye-tracking data showed that dyslexic readers using OpenDyslexic had reduced visual search intensity, shorter fixation durations, and fewer incorrectly programmed eye movements.
A 2023 study with 10-year-old students in Turkey also found improvements in reading speed, accuracy, prosodic reading, and comprehension when using OpenDyslexic.
The difference may come down to what's being measured. Short word-level tasks (letter naming, nonsense words) show no benefit. Longer, connected text reading shows potential comprehension improvements — possibly because the weighted letter bottoms help maintain orientation over sustained reading.
OpenDyslexic probably won't make you read faster. The speed studies are quite consistent on that point. But it may improve comprehension and visual comfort for some dyslexic readers during extended reading. And user preference matters — many people with dyslexia report that it simply "feels easier," even if stopwatch measurements don't show a speed difference. We include it in ReadingQuick because offering the choice costs nothing and may meaningfully help some readers.
Why it might work for RSVP specifically
Here's an interesting wrinkle: most OpenDyslexic research tests traditional reading — eyes moving across lines of text. RSVP is a fundamentally different display method. Words appear one at a time at a fixed point, which eliminates the line-tracking and regression issues that are central to dyslexic reading difficulty.
OpenDyslexic's weighted bottoms serve as a visual anchor — they give each letter a consistent "down" direction. In an RSVP context, where words are flashing rapidly at a single point, that anchoring might be more beneficial than in traditional reading because there's no surrounding text to provide spatial context. This hasn't been directly studied, but the logic is sound.
How OpenDyslexic is designed
Understanding the design decisions helps you decide if it's right for you. OpenDyslexic uses three key techniques:
Weighted bottoms. Every letter has more visual mass at the bottom than the top. This creates a sense of gravity that helps prevent the perception of letters rotating or flipping — a common report from dyslexic readers where 'b' becomes 'd' or 'p' becomes 'q'.
Unique letterforms. Each letter is shaped differently enough that no two can be confused by rotation or mirroring. The 'b' and 'd' are not mirror images of each other — they have distinctly different shapes.
Wider spacing. OpenDyslexic has naturally wider letter and word spacing than most fonts, which reduces the "crowding effect" that makes reading harder for many dyslexic readers. Interestingly, multiple researchers have suggested that the spacing, not the letterforms, may be the real source of any benefit dyslexia fonts provide.
Should you use it?
If you have dyslexia and want to try OpenDyslexic for speed reading, absolutely try it. It's free, it's available in ReadingQuick's font selector, and switching takes one click. If it feels more comfortable, that's a valid reason to use it — regardless of what any study says about average results.
If you don't have dyslexia, you'll probably find that a clean sans-serif like DM Sans or Lexend gives you a smoother speed-reading experience. OpenDyslexic's wider spacing and unusual letterforms can feel "chunky" to neurotypical readers at high WPM.
The beautiful thing about having font options is that you don't have to guess. Try each one for a paragraph at your target speed and trust your own experience.
Try OpenDyslexic in the reader
ReadingQuick lets you switch between OpenDyslexic, Lexend, Comic Sans, Literata, and DM Sans with one click. Pair it with a research-backed color theme for the best experience.
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