The 6 Best Pens of 2023 | Reviews by Wirecutter

The good news is you don’t have to spend a lot to get a pen that’s worthy of your signature. After researching 45 pens and writing zealously with 26 of them, we have recommendations for ballpoint, rollerball, and gel pens that are affordable and satisfying to write with.

Whether you’re signing a check, taking notes, or writing a love letter, a great pen can make your handwriting look its clearest and nicest (and it can also provide some joy along the way).

If you’ve ever had a pen mysteriously wander away from your desk and then had to write with a poor substitute (the kind you might find at a bank or with some company’s phone number on it), you know how important a quality pen is.

These are the best pens for reducing hand stress. Their large grips are easier to hold, and they’re available in ballpoint, rollerball, and gel versions.

Gel pens are best for writing precisely, and they come in a rainbow of ink colors. A subset of rollerballs, gel pens write smoothly but typically with thinner lines.

These pens are great for writing on all types of surfaces, including slick or cheap paper, which inkier pens smudge or bleed through.

Our picks include:

All of our recommendations are refillable, and many have different variations (capped or retractable, for example).

In most situations, the Uni-ball Jetstream RT is the best pen for the job. It dries quickly, so it’s great for lefties and anyone concerned about smudging (especially when writing on slick paper, labels, or receipts). Thanks to its “hybrid” or “low-viscosity” ink, the Jetstream RT produces the darkest lines of any ballpoint pen we tested, and its ink flows out smoothly and evenly without skipping—like a gel pen, but with the quick-drying advantages of a ballpoint. Also, this pen’s ink is water-resistant, fade-resistant, and formulated to resist check washing—for added security and peace of mind. A Wirecutter pick since 2013, the Jetstream RT comes in a variety of tip widths and colors. And our testers found that it felt and looked better than other, more-plasticky ballpoint pens.

Style: ballpoint
Tip width tested: 0.7 mm
Widths available: 0.7 mm, 1.0 mm
Colors: black, blue, red; RT BLX version: blue-black, brown-black, green-black, red-black, brown-black

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If you like to color-code your notes or journal entries, the Uni Jetstream Slim Multi-Color is a thin, handy alternative to cluttering your desk or bag with several pens. The same shape and size as the Jetstream RT, this pen is much slimmer than most multicolor pens, which tend to have chunkier barrels. The pen’s knocks (the buttons at the top of the pen that make the pen nibs retract) operate smoothly, with a satisfying click (unlike cheaper multicolor pens with knocks that get stuck or don’t hold the pen nibs in place). The Jetstream Slim Multi-Color has a rubber grip that’s pleasant to hold. And this pen comes with the same refillable smooth ink found in other Jetstream pens. The ink refills are smaller than those in a regular Jetstream, however, so they are a bit less cost-effective. But if you often write in different colors, we think the convenience is worth it.

Style: ballpoint
Tip width tested: 0.5 mm
Widths available: 0.38 mm, 0.5 mm
Colors: black, blue, red, green

Among pens designed to reduce writing stress, the Pilot Dr. Grip Center of Gravity is the best we’ve tested. Our testers, including a retired medical professional who has arthritis, found the Dr. Grip Center of Gravity’s wide grip easy to hold, with the best balance of softness and firmness. What sets this pen apart the most from other ergonomic pens is its weight distribution: It’s balanced closer to the tip, so writing is effortless and requires less pressure. The Center of Gravity is also just a great pen in general. Its hybrid ink combines the long-lasting elements of a ballpoint with the dark, vibrant lines of a gel pen.

Style: ballpoint
Tip width tested: 1.0 mm
Widths available: 0.7 mm (“fine”), 1.0 mm (“medium”)
Colors: black, blue

If you like dark lines, prefer a bit of resistance from your paper when writing and drawing, or have handwriting that produces especially small letters, consider the Pilot Precise V5 RT. Some experts and most of our testers preferred this pen’s finer point compared with those of other rollerballs (which produce wetter, thicker lines). Although the Precise V5 RT doesn’t dry as quickly as the Jetstream and therefore can smudge (not ideal for lefties), it performs well on most paper. It’s also the least expensive pen we recommend, on a per-pen basis.

Style: rollerball
Tip width tested: 0.5 mm
Widths available: 0.5 mm (V5), 0.7 mm (V7)
Colors: black, blue, green, pink, purple, red, turquoise, orange, yellow, lime green, navy, burgundy, hunter green, caramel, periwinkle, teal

If you like writing with dark, vivid lines and can’t bear any smudging, the Pentel EnerGel RTX is our gel pen pick. Refills are available in tip sizes as small as 0.3 mm and as large as 1.0 mm, making this pen suitable for people with different line-thickness preferences. In our tests, the EnerGel RTX wrote smoothly and never skipped or smudged, and its needle-point tip was as precise as that of the Pilot Precise V5 RT. Available ink colors include ones we haven’t often seen with other pens, including gray. The EnerGel RTX has a slightly thicker barrel and grip section than the Jetstream and the Precise V5 RT, so some people might find it more comfortable to hold. But this pen’s bright blue body and colored grip section displeased testers who preferred a less-flashy-looking pen. That’s why we also recommend the similarly performing Uni-ball Signo RT1.

Style: rollerball with gel ink
Tip width tested: 0.5 mm
Widths available: 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 1.0 mm
Colors: black, blue, red, brown, orange, sky blue, green, pink, lime green, violet, magenta, gray, lilac, yellow, turquoise

The aesthetics of a pen can contribute to the overall writing experience. And this was confirmed in our testing: Several of our testers preferred the Uni-ball Signo RT1 to the Pentel EnerGel RTX because of the Signo RT1’s understated (albeit all-plastic) design. In our tests, the Signo RT1’s performance was nearly identical to that of the EnerGel and the Precise V5 RT (with just a bit of smudging when we forced it). So the main difference between these pens is how they look, as well as their available colors and tip sizes. In addition to a 0.28-mm tip size, the Signo RT1 comes in 0.38-mm and 0.5-mm sizes, so you can find the exact line width you want for fine drawing or handwriting. And this pen has more color options for the 0.5-mm and smaller pen-tip sizes than other pens we tested.

Style: rollerball with gel ink
Tip width tested: 0.5 mm
Widths available: 0.28 mm, 0.38 mm, 0.5 mm
Colors: black, blue, blue black, light blue, violet, green, lime green, red, orange, baby pink