How to Make Text Bigger on Your Mac

If the words on your Mac screen look a little too small, you may be wondering how to make text bigger on Mac without changing everything else. The good news is that your Mac has several built-in options, and you can choose the one that feels most comfortable.

You can enlarge text in supported apps, make a webpage easier to read, or increase the size of almost everything on the screen. You do not need to install anything, and you can change the settings back whenever you like.

What you’ll need

• Your Mac, switched on and signed in.
• A few minutes to try the settings and see which size works best.

Step 1: Make text bigger in supported apps

The easiest place to start is the Text Size setting. It lets you choose a larger reading size for supported apps, rather than changing the size of every item on your screen.

1. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen.
2. Choose System Settings.
3. In the sidebar, click Accessibility.
4. Click Display.
5. Find Text size and open it.
6. Move the slider to the right to make text larger. Move it left if you want smaller text.

Look at the examples or open one of your usual apps to see how the change feels. You can return to this slider and adjust it again at any time.

Tip: Try moving the slider one step at a time. A small change may be all you need, and it is easier to judge the result when you make one adjustment at a time.

A note about which apps are affected: This setting does not change every word in every Mac app. It works with supported apps and areas of macOS, such as parts of Finder, Mail, Messages, Calendar, and Notes. In the Text Size options, you may also see individual app controls. Use those controls to choose a size for a particular listed app.

If an app does not respond to this setting, that does not mean anything is wrong with your Mac. That app may have its own text-size control, or it may not support the system-wide reading size.

Step 2: Enlarge text in Safari and other individual apps

If small text is mainly a problem when you read websites or messages, you may not need to change your Mac’s general settings. Many apps have their own zoom or text-size controls.

In Safari, you can make the words on a webpage larger while leaving the rest of the page mostly unchanged.

1. Open Safari.
2. Visit a webpage.
3. Press Command and + together to make the page text larger.
4. Press Command and - together to make it smaller again.
5. Press Command and 0 to return to the page’s normal size, if needed.

The Command key is the one marked with the ⌘ symbol, usually beside the space bar. In Safari, pressing Option, Command, and + together enlarges the whole webpage, including pictures and other page elements.

Some other Apple apps also let you change the size while you are using them. In Mail, Messages, and Calendar, try Command and + to enlarge the view, and Command and - to reduce it. The exact options can vary by app and view.

Good to know: These app-specific changes are useful when just one place is difficult to read. They may not carry over to other apps or websites.

Step 3: Make everything on the screen larger

Perhaps the text is not the only thing that looks small. If menus, icons, and windows are also hard to see, changing the display size may be a better choice.

Your Mac can use a display setting called Larger Text. It changes the way the screen is scaled, so text and other items appear bigger together. You will usually have a little less room for windows and items on the screen.

1. Click the Apple menu.
2. Choose System Settings.
3. Click Displays in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down to find it.
4. Look for the display size or resolution choices.
5. Select Larger Text, or choose a larger-looking option if your display presents several size choices.

Your screen may briefly change as macOS applies the new setting. Take a moment to check that menus and windows are comfortable to use.

Careful: A larger display setting makes more than the words bigger. You may see fewer items in a window at once, so try the options and choose the one that gives you a comfortable balance.

If you use more than one monitor, check that you have selected the display you want to adjust. The available choices can differ depending on the screen connected to your Mac.

Step 4: Zoom in temporarily when you need to

Sometimes you only need to look more closely at one part of the screen. macOS has a Zoom feature that can magnify the screen without permanently changing the size of everything.

1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
2. Click Accessibility in the sidebar.
3. Click Zoom.
4. Look through the available zoom options. For example, you can turn on Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom.
5. Follow the shortcut instructions shown there to zoom in and out.

The Zoom settings can offer different ways to magnify the screen, including enlarging the whole screen or showing a magnified area. Choose the option that seems easiest to control.

Tip: If you only need a closer look now and then, Zoom can be more convenient than leaving the entire screen at a larger size.

Troubleshooting: What if the text does not get bigger?

If you have changed a setting but the text still looks the same, try these checks.

• Check the app: The Text Size setting only affects supported apps. Look for a text-size or zoom option inside the app itself.
• Check the right display: If you use an external monitor, make sure you are changing the settings for the screen you are looking at.
• Try closing and reopening the app: Some apps may need to refresh before a display change is obvious.
• Search in System Settings: If you cannot find a setting, use the search field in System Settings and type Text size, Displays, or Zoom. The wording and layout can vary slightly between macOS versions.
• Undo a change that feels uncomfortable: Return to the setting you changed and move the slider or choose a different display size.

If your Mac is managed by a workplace or school, some settings may be restricted by its administrator.

Make your Mac easier to read

You do not have to settle for tiny text. Start with the Text Size setting, then try an app-specific control or a larger display option if you need more help. A couple of small adjustments can make everyday reading on your Mac much more comfortable.