Top 6 compared
The best brush pens
Thick and thin lettering, bright journal headings and soft watercolour washes, all from the tip of a pen.
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The top 6 at a glance
A brush pen has a flexible tip that draws a thin line with a light touch and a thick one when pressed, which is how brush lettering gets its fine upstrokes and heavy downstrokes. Lettering pens tend to be small and firm, colour sets come single-ended or with a fine tip at the other end, and watercolour pens have soft bristle tips, like a small paintbrush.
Most of the coloured sets here use water-based ink that blends, one colour into another or into a soft wash under a damp brush, while archival pigment ink dries waterproof so paint can go over it. Brush tips last longest on smooth paper, because rough paper frays them: laser printer paper or a marker pad for lettering, heavier watercolour paper for washes.
What matters
- A fine second tip, if you’ll outline as well as colour in.
- Colours to suit the job: black for lettering, dozens for colouring books.
#1Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens (3 hard tip, 3 soft tip, black, 6-pack)
$10–$20
A small, springy brush tip in water-based pigmented black ink, in two firmnesses: the hard tip keeps everyday writing neat and the soft one swells for bolder headings. Black lettering is the job most people buy a brush pen for.
What owners say: Owners call them smooth-flowing and close to a real calligraphy brush, with tips that last and plenty of pens in the pack. No complaint recurs.
A closer look: Tell the pens apart by the barrel: the three blue ones have the hard tip and the three black ones the soft. They can’t be refilled, so a cap pushed back on straight after use makes each pen last longer.
- Neat writing to bold headings
- Blue barrels mark hard tips
Best for: Black lettering for journals and cards
- Pens
- 6, black ink (3 hard, 3 soft)
- Tips
- Brush only, hard and soft
- Ink
- Water-based pigment, black
#2Tombow Dual Brush Pens, Muted (9 colours and a blender, 10-pack)
$30–$50
A flexible nylon brush at one end and a fine tip at the other, so a journal heading and the small writing under it come from one marker. The nine muted shades blend into one another or into the colourless blender, and the brush keeps its point.
What owners say: Calligraphy, brush lettering and watercolour effects all work well with these pens, say owners, who also like how easily they blend.
A closer look: The colourless blender softens an edge or pales a shade, and any tip used for blending cleans itself as it writes on. The brush can also ink a rubber stamp directly, in one shade or several, before it’s pressed onto a card.
- Tips self-clean after blending
- Brush keeps its point
Best for: Coloured headings with fine detail
- Pens
- 9 muted colours + blender
- Tips
- Nylon brush + fine tip
- Ink
- Water-based, blendable
#3Pentel Brush Touch Sign Pens (SES15C, 24 colours)
$30–$50
Pentel’s Sign Pen with a tip that flexes like a brush: it writes small and neat like a felt pen, then widens as you press, which suits lettering in a planner’s tight spaces. The cap and barrel are made from recycled plastic.
What owners say: A tip firm enough for thin strokes yet soft enough for thick ones wins owners over, along with the colours and the watercolour look they give. How the ink dries splits them.
A closer look: The tip is firmer than a full brush, so it forgives a heavy hand. The box is printed in Japanese, so a quick swatch card of all 24 colours, kept with the clear case, makes each one easy to find.
- Writes small and neat
- Comes in a clear case
Best for: Notes and lists in colour
- Pens
- 24 colours
- Tips
- Fibre brush only
- Ink
- Water-based dye, blendable
#4Kuretake ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Pens (89 colours and a blender)
$150–$200
Watercolour in pen form: each colour sits behind a fine bristle brush, held upright for detail or laid on its side to fill an area, and the dye ink thins out with a water brush. Kuretake began in Nara, Japan, in 1902, making traditional ink sticks.
What owners say: The colours blend into each other seamlessly, owners say, and the brushes suit loose sketches. They’re pleased with the price, though not everyone finds the brush easy to handle.
Heads up: Kuretake asks for the pens to be stored lying flat, out of direct sun, with the caps clicked shut.
A closer look: For a gradient, lay a darker colour down and add a lighter one over it before the first dries, or touch the tip of a darker pen to a lighter pen’s tip, then draw with the lighter one. A tip that feels rough when you write fast is how the brush is made, Kuretake says, not a sign the pen is drying out.
- Fine lines or wide fills
- Colours layer into gradients
Best for: Sketchbook painting and loose washes
- Pens
- 89 colours + blender
- Tips
- Bristle brush only
- Ink
- Water-based dye, blendable
#5Sakura Archival Brush Pens (Pigma Brush, 8 colours)
$20–$30
Archival pigment ink behind a pressure-sensitive brush tip, in eight colours from black to rose. The pH-neutral ink dries waterproof and resists fading, which suits inked illustrations, journals and brush lettering meant to last or to be coloured over with watercolour.
What owners say: Good strokes for lettering and vibrant, well-pigmented colours are what owners report. Durability, smoothness and bleed resistance get mixed reviews.
A closer look: Let each line dry fully before a wet brush or a marker goes over it, and the ink won’t lift or smudge. Easing the pressure at the end of a stroke tapers it to a point, handy for leaves, hair and the tails of letters.
- Ink resists fading
- Tapers to a point
Best for: Ink drawings painted over later
- Pens
- 8 colours
- Tips
- Brush only
- Ink
- Pigment, waterproof
#6KEMYR Dual Tip Brush Markers (80 colours, with case)
$30–$50
A colouring set with two tips on every pen: a fine end for outlines and small spaces, and a brush end for filling, shading and simple lettering. Each pen has its colour name printed on the barrel, and all 80 travel in a zip-up case.
What owners say: A really nice set, by owners’ accounts, with colours dense enough to hide a slip outside the lines. The recurring complaint is pens that arrive dry or dry out quickly.
A closer look: Work the brush in small circles for even colour across a large area. Slip a scrap sheet behind thin pages too, since KEMYR makes the ink to keep bleed-through down on most colouring-book paper, not to stop it on every page.
- Colour name on every pen
- Zip-up storage case
Best for: Colouring books and planner pages
- Pens
- 80 colours
- Tips
- Brush + fine tip
- Ink
- Water-based, blendable
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 6.
| Feature | #1Tombow Fudenosuke 6-pack | #2Tombow Dual Brush Muted | #3Pentel Brush Touch 24 | #4Kuretake ZIG Real Brush 90 | #5Sakura Archival Brush 8 | #6KEMYR 80 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best for watercolour | Best waterproof ink | ||||
| Picked Rating | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 8.9 |
| Price | $10–$20 | $30–$50 | $30–$50 | $150–$200 | $20–$30 | $30–$50 |
| Pens | 6, black ink (3 hard, 3 soft) | 9 muted colours + blender | 24 colours | 89 colours + blender | 8 colours | 80 colours |
| Tips | Brush only, hard and soft | Nylon brush + fine tip | Fibre brush only | Bristle brush only | Brush only | Brush + fine tip |
| Ink | Water-based pigment, black | Water-based, blendable | Water-based dye, blendable | Water-based dye, blendable | Pigment, waterproof | Water-based, blendable |
| Best for | Black lettering for journals and cards | Coloured headings with fine detail | Notes and lists in colour | Sketchbook painting and loose washes | Ink drawings painted over later | Colouring books and planner pages |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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