When comparing TheSans Mono vs Bitstream Vera Sans Mono, the Slant community recommends TheSans Mono for most people. In the question“What are the best programming fonts?” TheSans Mono is ranked 41st while Bitstream Vera Sans Mono is ranked 69th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
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 Not a free font
This is not a free font. It doesn't either come free with any software. So this isn't very accessible. There are free downloads for the wide version and the Condensed version, but none for the SemiCondensed width, which is the medium width.
Con Lacks in Unicode coverage
This font doesn't cover WGL4, therefore it lacks a lot in Unicode coverage.
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".