When comparing MT Andale Mono vs Microsoft Verdana, the Slant community recommends MT Andale Mono for most people. In the question“What are the best programming fonts?” MT Andale Mono is ranked 32nd while Microsoft Verdana is ranked 105th. The most important reason people chose MT Andale Mono is:
It's easy to distinguish "0" from "O", "a" from "o", and "I" from "l" from "1".
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Excellent legibility
It's easy to distinguish "0" from "O", "a" from "o", and "I" from "l" from "1".
Pro Good font variants
Boldface variant is not too heavy while italic face is not too spindly. Andale Mono contrasts with Source Code Pro, which is very similar in the regular font face.
Pro Free with Windows
Pro Compact while light
Packs lots of information into your screen space while remaining clear and never looking crowded.
Pro Renders perfectly at all sizes
Again, particularly in Windows
Pro Looks absolutely gorgeous in Windows
Looks good elsewhere as well, but the world-class hinting here really comes out with the windows rasterizer (probably optimized for it).
Cons
Con Not pure mono
Bold and italic are too wide, so it's not pure mono in combination with regular font.
Con Not monospaced
-if that is an absolute must for you. But don't assume it is until you've tried without...