When comparing IBM Plex Mono vs Bitstream Vera Sans Mono, the Slant community recommends IBM Plex Mono for most people. In the question“What are the best programming fonts?” IBM Plex Mono is ranked 50th while Bitstream Vera Sans Mono is ranked 69th. The most important reason people chose IBM Plex Mono is:
Bracket curves are more exaggerated, making them more distinct.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Distinct brackets
Bracket curves are more exaggerated, making them more distinct.
Pro Open source
Pro Sharp at 10-point
Using the "text" weight, this font is more clear at 10-point than other fonts out there.
Pro Embellished italics
Pro Compact
You can fit a lot of text on the screen.
Pro Font proportion is perfect
Width is just right (not too narrow, not too wide). Many other fonts lack this.
Pro Smooth with antialiasing
Smooth at small sizes while still clear.
Pro Readable at small sizes
All characters are easy to recognize at small sizes (comma, period, etc).
Pro Easy to read
This is subjective but this font is very easy to read. The letters are all spaced and sized properly.
Cons
Con Lowercase l (ell) is similar to 1 (one)
Con Tilde curves too subtle
Con Line doesn't cover text right
When using Neomutt or htop, the line drawn over is too low - the top of the characters cut into the top of the line.
Con "mp" clump together with smaller sizes
E.g. in "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog".