When comparing TheSans Mono vs Microsoft Verdana, the Slant community recommends TheSans Mono for most people. In the question“What are the best programming fonts?” TheSans Mono is ranked 41st while Microsoft Verdana is ranked 105th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
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 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 Not monospaced
-if that is an absolute must for you. But don't assume it is until you've tried without...