When comparing Agave vs Bitstream Vera Sans Mono, the Slant community recommends Agave for most people. In the question“What are the best programming fonts?” Agave is ranked 56th while Bitstream Vera Sans Mono is ranked 69th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Sleek font and it looks good on the terminal
Pro Good design
Very nice, not boring, and clear to read even in small font sizes.
Pro Unusual “illusion” effect happens in word movement at smaller sizes!
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 No italics
Con No ligature support
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".