The 47 Best Pens for 2026: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

This will likely be different for everyone, but at JetPens we confidently recommend the Uni-ball Signo UM-151 as the best gel pen. It glides across the page whether you pick the reliable 0.5 mm tip size for everyday note-taking or the ultra-fine 0.28 mm for precise writing in tiny planner squares. Its ink is wonderfully vibrant and comes in an array of beautiful colors.

There’s more to the Signo’s ink than just appearances, though. Its pigment-based ink is water resistant, archival quality, and resists fading from light exposure. This makes it an excellent choice for writing checks, signing important documents, and anything else you want to stand the test of time.

Be sure to check out the entire Signo lineup, which includes retractable pens, metallic inks, and more.

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The Pilot Acroball is an excellent ballpoint pen for writing. Like our top choice, it uses low-viscosity ink that flows smoothly. In our tests, we found that the Acroball felt a little more “textured” on paper than the Jetstream, which meant it was easier to control.

The Acroball’s body is made from recycled plastic, and it has a firm rubber grip that’s comfortable to hold. Other pens that use Acro ink have metal or plastic grips. We found them pleasant to hold, but writers with sweaty hands might notice their grasps slipping easily on the smooth surfaces.

The Acroball also comes in multi pen form, and some versions include mechanical pencil components.

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The unique tip of the Pentel Pulaman JM20 Pen makes it especially well-suited for writing. Its plastic nib is expressive and creates different line widths depending on the angle and pressure that you write with. Over time, the tip wears down according to how you use it, creating an experience that’s entirely unique to you and your writing style. Its conventional body style also makes it comfortable to hold for long writing sessions.

For more color options, check out the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pen. It has as 0.3 mm felt tip that’s reinforced with a metal sleeve. Its dry-safe feature keeps the pen from drying out if you leave it uncapped for a few days (but we still recommend keeping your pen capped!).

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The Zebra Sarasa Dry is the fastest-drying gel pen. Even the largest and wettest 0.7 mm tip size dried in less than five seconds on Rhodia paper, a paper that inks tend to dry slowly on. The Sarasa Dry puts down a wonderfully saturated line, writes smoothly, and comes in three tip sizes. Like many other Sarasa pens, this gel pen has a hinged clip that opens wide so it slides easily over notebooks and pockets.

As with many water-based gel inks, the Sarasa Dry smears readily beneath highlighters. Color-coders should consider using ballpoint pens like the Pilot Acro and Acroball instead. Oil-based ballpoint inks won’t react to water-based highlighter inks, so you can go over your notes without worrying about smudges.

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The most comfortable ergonomic pen will differ from person to person, with the best options depending on factors like hand size. Even so, we think the Uni-ball Signo 207 Premier is the best ergonomic pen for most writers. It uses the same ink as other Signo Gel Pens, so it flows freely and glides across the page with little pressure. The pigmented ink is satisfyingly dark regardless of how lightly you write. If you hold your pens tightly, its squishy grip will relieve your achy fingers. In addition, the 207 Premier has a lightweight body with a low center of gravity that won’t tire your hand as you write.

If you prefer ballpoint ink, the Pilot Dr. Grip is another excellent ergonomic pen. It has a carefully balanced barrel, and its double layer grip design is moderately soft without being too squishy or too hard.

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The Pilot FriXion is by far the best “erasable” pen. This remarkable pen offers the best combination of vibrancy, consistency, and “erasability.” It accomplishes this with a special thermosensitive ink that writes just like any other ink, yet disappears without a trace when rubbed with the hard “eraser” on the end of the pen. The friction generated by this rubbing action raises the temperature of the ink and turns it invisible.

The Pilot FriXion comes in several colors, tip sizes, and body designs so that you can find one that fits your style. FriXion ink technology can be found in highlighters, markers, and stamps.

FriXion inks are less saturated in color than standard gel inks. This is most noticeable with the black ink, which can appear gray.

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For those who frequently switch between writing and using a touchscreen, a good stylus pen like the Uni Jetstream Stylus is a must-have. Not only can it reduce finger pain from repetitive swiping on digital devices, but it lets you change work surfaces without losing track of your pen. The Uni Jetstream Stylus comes equipped with a replaceable capacitive stylus made with silver-covered fibers. This lets it move across your screen more easily than typical rubber styli.

Paired with the Jetstream’s low-viscosity ballpoint ink, this pen offers a smooth experience on paper and on a screen.

The Writech Swirl is a fantastic rollerball pen for left-handed writers. We found that it wrote smoothly with very little feedback. Amazingly, the ink dries almost instantly on copy paper, and it dries in under five seconds on high-quality papers like Rhodia.

The Swirl’s name comes from the marbled print on its barrel, which matches the color of the ink inside. Choose from eight vibrant shades.

The Uni Propus Window Q-Dry is the best highlighter for left-handed writers. Highlighters are often prone to smudging because of their wet inks, but the Q-Dry dried within a single second on Rhodia paper in our tests. Inks dry slowly on Rhodia paper, so this quick dry time is an incredible feat! Left-handed writers can highlight pages without the risk of smears. Additionally, this highlighter has a window in the chisel tip, so you can see where you’re highlighting. A fine bullet tip on the other side is great for underlining or circling key terms.

Just about any pen can work well for journaling, but the JetPens team is especially fond of the Zebra Sarasa Clip. Its vibrant pigment ink is smooth to write with and both water and fade resistant, so it won’t disappear if you accidentally spill a drink on your journal.

If you keep a journal like the Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal that you update with quick notations throughout the day, the Sarasa’s fast-drying ink will help prevent smudges. What really sets the Sarasa Clip apart, though, is its namesake clip. It opens wide to let you securely fasten the pen to a notebook so you’ll always be ready to make a new entry.

The Clip comes in a wide variety of hues for color-coding as well as tip-sizes from 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm to suit anyone’s preferences.

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These Kuretake ZIG Clean Color Dot Markers bring fun and versatility to journaling and planning. We’re big fans of the double-sided version, which features a 0.5 mm hard plastic tip on one end and a wonderfully squishy dot tip on the other. The single-sided pens only have the squishy dot tip, so they’re shorter and fit in more pencil cases.

Depending on the pressure you use, the dot tip can make marks from one to five millimeters wide, though we should warn that pressing very hard can put a lot of ink on the page and cause bleedthrough. It’s easy and fun to make quick flowers and other fun doodles, or—for a slightly more practical use case—to highlight important dates in your planner or calendar. You can even make expressive brush-like strokes with the dot tip by varying the pressure as you draw!

The Zebra Justfit Mojini Line is the most versatile student highlighter we’ve tried at JetPens. It didn’t smear the water-based or oil-based inks we tested it with—and it didn’t smear inkjet-printed handouts, either. One caveat: we used specific pens and inks for our testing, so be sure to test the highlighter with your pens before you do a lot of highlighting.

The JustFit Mojini Line has a flexible chisel tip that follows the curves of book pages, so your highlighted lines stay neat. Choose from five vibrant colors.

The Pilot Board Master is the king of school whiteboard markers. Its highly pigmented ink delivers intense color that’s easy to read from across the room, and its thick tip is easy to control. Its dry-erase ink wipes away cleanly without leaving behind “shadows” on the whiteboard.

Best of all, the Board Master has an ingenious twin pipe feeder system that equalizes the pressure inside and outside the marker. Lines remain crisp, vibrant, and consistent down to the last drop of ink. You’ll never have to struggle with faint whiteboard marker lines again! Once the marker does run dry, you can refill it, cutting down on waste. Even the tips are replaceable.

We have to pick the BIGiDESIGN Ti Arto EDC as the best metal pen for everyday carry due to its durability and versatility. This machined pen is made from solid titanium, a phenomenally strong material that can easily withstand the hard knocks of daily carry.

More importantly, the Ti Arto EDC can use almost any refill you want to try. An adjustable clutch mechanism in the nose cone securely holds refills in place, with no tip wiggle to distract from your writing experience. The Ti Arto EDC also features a telescoping barrel that lets you adjust the length of the pen to match the refill inside.

If you like the Ti Arto EDC but want different features, BIGiDESIGN makes other great pens. The Ti Click EDC has a similarly telescoping barrel with a handy click retraction mechanism for quick notes.

The Sakura Pigma Micron is a fantastic fineliner for lettering (and art, too!). Its precise tip allows letterers to make consistent marks for drawing monoline styles and elaborate letterforms. Its rich, pigment-based ink delivers vivid color that is archival quality and waterproof, so your lettering will last for years. This iconic pen comes in several colors and fineliner tip sizes ranging from 003 (0.15 mm) for intricate embellishments to 12 (0.7 mm) for text that stands out. Pigma Micron tips can be a little delicate, so use a light hand and don’t press too hard while lettering. Otherwise, you might bend the tips.

Other tip types including bullet tips, plastic nibs, and brushes are also available.

The best dip pen for lettering is the Rohrer & Klingner Glass Pen. It’s a beautiful writing tool and a unique work of art at the same time. A glass pen has a tip with spiraling grooves that act as reservoirs. Dip the tip in ink to fill the grooves. As you write, ink travels down the grooves to the tip of the pen. When the tip feels like it’s running dry, turn the pen in your hand to allow ink from another groove to flow to the tip. Glass nibs will never rust, so they can last a lifetime as long as they’re cleaned of ink residue. Be sure to store them in a stable area like a pen cup or tray, too: after all, they’re made of glass, and can break if dropped!

If the designs offered by Rohrer & Klingner don’t strike your fancy, browse the different glass pens offered by brands like Clarto, Guridrops, Matsubokkuri, and Wearingeul.

The Pilot Parallel is the best calligraphy pen for broad edge calligraphy scripts like italic or blackletter. This unique calligraphy pen features a nib made of two metal plates stacked on top of each other. This allows the ink to flow between the plates and along the entire width of the nib for a juicy and consistent line. Its cartridge-filled design makes the Parallel particularly easy and convenient to use, and its mixable ink allows for fun gradation effects. This pen comes in six nib sizes for projects of all sizes.

Copic Multiliners are some of the best waterproof pens for art. Their archival-safe, pigment-based inks dry very quickly. We were able to paint over them with watercolors immediately and saw no bleeding whatsoever. And since Multiliners are made by Copic, they’re compatible with alcohol-based Copic Markers.

These fineliners have precise needlepoint-tips and come in sizes ranging from delicate 0.03 mm to bold 1.0 mm for every kind of line. They’re also available in ten colors, so you can line your artwork in a different color for visual appeal.

Artists who do a great deal of inking should consider the Multiliner SP. They require a higher up-front investment than their disposable siblings, but they’re refillable and even have replaceable tips.

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The best technical drawing pen for art is the OHTO Graphic Liner. Unlike traditional drawing pens with metal tips that must be held vertically, the Graphic Liner has a rollerball tip that can be used at your natural drawing angle. Since it’s made of metal rather than felt or plastic, the tip creates consistent lines without fraying or flexing. This makes it especially suitable for beginners, but even experienced artists can appreciate its natural feel and waterproof, Copic-proof, and archival pigment-based ink.

As its name suggests, the Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen is a great marker for art. It combines the permanence and vibrancy of India ink with the convenience of a marker. Other inks can fade when exposed to light, but the PITT Artist Pen uses ink that’s lightfast so you can confidently display your art. Because some colors are more lightfast than others, Faber-Castell prints a rating on each pen’s barrel to help you choose the right hues. A one-asterisk rating means the ink is lightfast for at least five years, while a three-asterisk rating is lightfast for more than 100 years!

Faber-Castell offers PITT Pens in marker and brush pen forms. And no matter which pen you prefer, it’s color-matched with other Faber-Castell products like Polychromos Colored Pencils and Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils for consistency in your multimedia projects.

The Sailor Shikiori Double-Sided Brush Pen is the best watercolor brush pen for art. Its felt brush tip puts down lovely swaths of color with each stroke. The well-balanced tip is neither too soft nor too hard, so you can achieve thin and thick strokes with ease. Shikiori Brush Pens are filled with water-soluble inks that blend easily and can continue to be layered and blended after they dry. You can even combine them with Shikiori Fountain Pen Inks, which come in many of the same colors.

We recommend pairing the watercolor brush pens with thick watercolor paper because heavy applications of ink can bleed through thinner papers.

The Uni Posca is consistently one of the most popular paint pens at JetPens, and for good reason. Its opaque, water-based ink writes on a wide variety of porous and nonporous surfaces, including paper, plastic, wood, and metal. This marker has intense color payoff and is easy to remove from nonporous surfaces like glass, which makes it great for window signs. It comes in several different tip sizes from 0.7 mm to a giant 15 mm, and there’s even a brush version for lettering and art.

If you need a vibrant colored pen for drawing and coloring, you’ll want to check out the Stabilo Point 88. This fineliner has a 0.4 mm tip that’s great for creating fine outlines and filling in details with bright, even color. It comes in over fifty hues and shades, and it even works well for journaling and taking color-coded notes. Its water-based ink is specially formulated to resist drying out when left uncapped, so it won’t dry out while you’re thinking about what to do next. Make sure you cap your pens for extended breaks, though—it’s the best way to make sure your writing instruments last as long as possible.

If you want to fill in big areas with color quickly, try the Stabilo Pen 68, which has a bold bullet tip. A brush pen version is also available.

The Uni-ball One might look simple, but it’s hands down the best gel pen for coloring. Its fast-drying, bleed-resistant ink is specially formulated with large pigment particles that stay on the surface of the paper instead of getting absorbed into the fibers. Dark inks look darker and bright inks look brighter, so your coloring books will be packed with vibrant art. It comes in tons of different colors as well as three tip sizes, all of which are smooth to draw with. Its simple white barrel is accented by a detail near the clicker, which lets you know exactly what color is inside.

Fans of the Sarasa—another popular colored gel pen—can take a look at the Zebra Sarasa R. Its ink has 27% more color density than standard Sarasa ink, so colors are more saturated.

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It’s hard to find a white gel pen that really stands out, but the Uni-ball Signo fits the bill. Its ink is smooth, bold, and truly opaque, so it’s great for writing and drawing on dark paper. Some artists even use it to add highlights to inked artworks! Like other Signo pens, the Signo Broad’s ink is waterproof and archival safe for long-lasting art.

If you need finer lines, we recommend the White Sakura Gelly Roll Gel Pen in 0.5 mm. It’s a little more “watery” in appearance than the Signo Broad, but it’s hard to find a white gel ink in this tip size. The Gelly Roll’s broader tip sizes are just as opaque as the Signo Broad.

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The Signo Broad is our top pick for the best white gel pen, but there are plenty of other white ink gel pens and markers to try! Our White Ink Pen Sampler lets you compare several options to find the best white ink for you.

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If you want a simple effect that still grabs your attention, the Pentel Hybrid Mattehop is the best matte gel pen for art. It features an opaque ink that dries to a matte, plastic-like finish. Our JetPens team members especially liked the way that the Mattehop performed on glossy papers, like those found in yearbooks. It even shows up on dark papers, so you can write over backgrounds without worry. However, we found that the gel pen does take a while to dry, so be careful not to smudge your writing.

Using the Pentel Hybrid Dual Metallic is a fun way to add embellishments to holiday cards and art projects. Its ink combines a base color with sparkling glitter particles, and some even have contrasting pairings for cool dual-color effects! With its bold 1.0 mm tip, it feels buttery smooth and puts down a luscious line with every stroke.

The ink shows up well on both light- and dark-colored papers, making it suitable for paper crafts and fancy notes. Just be sure to give your writing plenty of time to dry.

You can also pick up brush pen versions of the Hybrid Dual Metallic.

Just like its glittery cousin, the Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight is packed with opaque ink that makes it the best pastel gel pen for art. It comes in two tip sizes, both of which put down smooth lines that stand out on light and dark papers. The water-based ink is archival quality, so you can rest assured that your projects won’t deteriorate over time.

We also want to recommend the Sakura Souffle, which has a unique ink with a three-dimensional effect! This finish isn’t as noticeable on porous surfaces like paper, so we recommend saving the Souffle for photos and glossy cards.

For a brush pen option, try the Pentel Milky. You can use it to create lettering with line variation, or to quickly fill in large areas with ink.