Top 5 compared
The best brush pens
Hand lettering, bullet journal headings and coloring that looks painted, from a pen that feels like a brush.
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The top 5 at a glance
A brush pen has a flexible tip that draws a thin line with a light touch and a thick one when you press, which is the whole trick of brush lettering. Lettering pens come singly, in pairs or in small sets with a small, firm tip; coloring sets are dual-tipped, with a fine point at the other end for outlines; and watercolor brush pens melt into soft washes under a wet brush.
Every set here uses water-based ink, and most of the colored ones blend into each other under a damp brush; the big sets are numbered so a swatch card keeps track of the shades. Smooth paper is kind to the tips: laser printer paper or a marker pad for lettering, a watercolor weight for washes.
What matters
- Caps that seal well, so the tips don’t dry out.
- Spare nibs in the box, since brush tips fray.
- A water brush for blending, in the box or bought separately.
- Enough colors: a dozen for headers, 36 or more for coloring books.
#1Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens (hard and soft tip, black, 2-pack)
Under $10
The small, springy brush tip that hand-letterers start with: press for a thick downstroke, ease off for a hairline upstroke, and learn control on the firmer hard tip before trying the soft one. Tombow’s name is Japanese for dragonfly, a symbol of good luck there, and the firm began in 1913 as a pencil shop in Asakusa, Tokyo.
What owners say: Owners find them excellent for learning calligraphy and for bullet journals: they write smoothly and the two tips cover most lettering styles. The black runs a little light for some tastes, and a pen now and then dries out sooner than expected.
Heads up: Push the caps on firmly after every session so the tips don’t dry out.
A closer look: Start with the hard tip, which is easier to control, and move to the soft one once thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes come naturally. Letter on smooth paper, such as laser printer paper or a marker pad, since rough paper wears a brush tip down quickly.
- Line changes with pressure
- Extra-fine to medium strokes
- Best on smooth paper
- Recycled plastic barrels
- Odorless ink
Best for: Learning hand lettering
- Pens
- 2, black
- Tips
- Brush only (hard and soft)
- Ink
- Pigment, black
#2CHROMATEK 30 Watercolor Brush Pens (27 colors, water brushes and tutorial pad)
$30–$50
Twenty-seven named and numbered watercolor pens with handmade brush tips, plus water brushes for blending and a 15-page pad of 300gsm cold-pressed paper printed with templates for the maker’s online lessons. It suits anyone who wants to paint with pens rather than color with them, and learn how as they go.
What owners say: Vivid, well-pigmented color, quick to dry and easy to blend, is what owners report, and the tutorials and practice pad get real credit for teaching the techniques. Several use them to keep up watercolor when there’s no room or time for a full paint set.
Heads up: Thirty pieces means 27 colors plus the water brushes, so plan a palette around 27 shades.
A closer look: Lay down color straight from the pen, then pull it out with a water brush for a wash, light shades first and each layer left to dry. The pad’s templates follow the video lessons in order, so work through them before moving on to your own paper, which should be a watercolor weight.
- Named and numbered colors
- Handmade brush tips
- 15-page tutorial pad included
- 7-part online video course
- Lightfast artist pigments
Best for: Painting with pens, and learning how
- Pens
- 27 colors + water brushes
- Tips
- Brush only
- Ink
- Watercolor, water-soluble
#3WRITECH Arts Sign Brush Pens (12 pastel colors)
$10–$20
A lettering and journaling set first: WRITECH’s single-ended pens have flexible, pressure-sensitive brush tips that make thick and thin strokes easy to control, and the twelve muted pastel shades suit headers, quotes and borders more than filling in whole pages. The water-based ink blends with water and with the other colors.
What owners say: The vintage-leaning colors and the medium-firm tips are what owners like, saying the pens handle changing pressure well for both soft and hard lettering strokes, and the ink stays on the page without bleeding through.
A closer look: Twelve pens cover a journal’s headers, dates and dividers for a long while, and the pastel shades sit well together, so any pair blends into a gradient under a damp brush. Practice the basic strokes on a marker pad first: thin on the way up with a light touch, thick on the way down with pressure.
- Thick and thin by pressure
- Blends with water
- Single-ended pens
Best for: Colored lettering and journal headers
- Pens
- 12 pastel colors
- Tips
- Brush only (soft)
- Ink
- Water-based
#4Soucolor Dual Tip Brush Pens (36 colors)
Under $10
Soucolor’s dual-tip coloring set: 36 numbered pens, each with a flexible brush end for coloring, shading and lettering and a fine end for outlines and small writing, in a plastic carry case. A blank color card comes with them for swatching and arranging the set.
What owners say: Owners put them to coloring books, journaling and Bible art, and like the strong colors and having two tips, with the fine end singled out for detail. Opinions differ on bleed-through and on how long the pens last.
A closer look: Fill in the blank color card first, swatching each number with both tips, and keep it in the case as a quick guide. For smooth color in a coloring book, work in small circles with the side of the brush rather than pressing the point down hard.
- Numbered barrels
- Blank color card for swatches
- Plastic carry case
Best for: Coloring books and fine outlines
- Pens
- 36 colors
- Tips
- Brush + 0.4mm fine
- Ink
- Water-based
#5Ohuhu Maui Dual Tip Brush Pens (60 colors, water-based)
$10–$20
Ohuhu’s Maui set has the widest palette here: 60 numbered colors in white barrels, each with a 1 to 6mm brush and a 0.4mm fineliner, in water-based ink that can be worked into watercolor-style blends with a wet brush. Three spare brush nibs and two fine tips come in the box, along with a numbered swatch card.
What owners say: Bright colors at a fair price and two ends that both pull their weight is the gist, with owners using them for coloring, journaling and first tries at brush lettering, and most finding they don’t bleed through. Fraying tips and pens drying out are the complaints.
A closer look: Swatch all sixty on the card before starting, since the numbers on the barrels are the only guide to the shade inside. Ohuhu suggests mixed-media or watercolor paper for blending, and for gradients it recommends an aqua brush, bought separately, pulled across two neighboring colors.
- Spare brush nibs and tips
- Numbered swatch card
- Watercolor effects with water
- Odorless, non-toxic ink
- White barrels
Best for: A wide palette for blending
- Pens
- 60 colors
- Tips
- Brush 1–6mm + 0.4mm fine
- Ink
- Water-based, acid-free
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 5.
| Feature | #1Tombow Fudenosuke | #2Chromatek 30 | #3Writech 12 | #4Soucolor 36 | #5Ohuhu Maui 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best for watercolor | Most colors | |||
| Picked Rating | 9.3 | 9.4 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Price | Under $10 | $30–$50 | $10–$20 | Under $10 | $10–$20 |
| Pens | 2, black | 27 colors + water brushes | 12 pastel colors | 36 colors | 60 colors |
| Tips | Brush only (hard and soft) | Brush only | Brush only (soft) | Brush + 0.4mm fine | Brush 1–6mm + 0.4mm fine |
| Ink | Pigment, black | Watercolor, water-soluble | Water-based | Water-based | Water-based, acid-free |
| Best for | Learning hand lettering | Painting with pens, and learning how | Colored lettering and journal headers | Coloring books and fine outlines | A wide palette for blending |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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