Top 5 compared
The best colored pencils
Color for adult coloring books, children’s drawings and sketchbooks, laid on in light layers or pressed on bold.
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The top 5 at a glance
A colored pencil lays down color the way a graphite pencil lays down gray, in light layers that build up and blend. Break-resistant leads stand up to small hands; soft, thick artist cores lay down richer color and blend for shading, which suits adult coloring books and drawing. Most sharpen like any pencil, while twist-up ones wind up more lead instead.
Soft artist-grade cores can snap inside the wood if dropped, so a tin or case and a sharp sharpener help. Bigger sets give more close tones to shade with, and a number printed on each pencil helps find the same shade again.
What matters
- Leads that don’t snap when sharpened.
- A tin or case that keeps them in order.
- Lightfast pigments, which resist fading, for work worth keeping.
- The age on the box, for younger children.
#1Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils (48 colors)
$30–$50
Artist-quality pencils with soft, thick cores that lay down rich, lightfast color and layer and blend smoothly for shading. Forty-eight colors come in a tin, and the color-coded wood casings make each shade quick to find.
What owners say: Owners love how richly pigmented the colors are and how smoothly they glide on, layer and blend, in coloring books and drawings alike. Not everyone agrees on toughness, though: some find the leads snap often.
Heads up: The soft cores can break inside the wood if the pencils are dropped, so keep them in the tin and use a sharp sharpener.
A closer look: Build color in light layers rather than pressing hard on the first pass, and the soft cores blend into each other almost like paint. A final layer with heavier pressure, called burnishing, gives a smooth, polished finish with no paper showing through.
- Lightfast pigments
- Color-coded wood casings
- Blends almost like paint
- Burnish for a polished finish
Best for: Artists and serious colorists
- Colors
- 48
- Core
- Soft and thick
- Also in the box
- Tin
#2Crayola Colored Pencils (36 colors)
Under $10
Thirty-six colors with soft 3.3mm leads that lay down color without white gaps, presharpened and ready to use, from the brand that has been making children’s coloring things since 1903. Made for ages 3 and up.
What owners say: Rich colors and a good spread of 36 shades suit children and grown-ups alike, owners say, from school projects to adult coloring books. Some get breaks when sharpening, while others find them long-lasting.
A closer look: Pair them with a chunky coloring book with thick outlines: younger children find big shapes far more satisfying to fill than fine detail. A sharpener with a lid that catches the shavings keeps the table clean, and turning the pencil slowly keeps the soft tips from snapping.
- Pre-sharpened
- Cores won’t break easily
- Nontoxic
- For ages 3 and up
Best for: Young children from age 3
- Colors
- 36
- Core
- Soft, 3.3mm
- Also in the box
- None
#3KALOUR Soft Core Colored Pencils (72 colors)
$10–$20
Seventy-two colors with soft, velvety cores that lay down plenty of pigment and blend and shade easily, each pencil printed with its own number and color name. A big palette for adult coloring books and sketching, in basswood that sharpens cleanly.
What owners say: Owners love the rich, vibrant colors and the smooth, buttery cores that make blending and shading easy, for anything from quick sketches to detailed coloring pages. Some find the tips break and need sharpening often.
A closer look: Make a swatch page by number before starting, since a printed name and the color on paper don’t always match. Soft cores wear down quickly, so keep the sharpener handy and color big areas with the side of the point, saving the tip for edges and details.
- Each pencil numbered and named
- Basswood sharpens cleanly
- Pre-sharpened
- Ages 5 and up
Best for: Matching shades by name and number
- Colors
- 72
- Core
- Soft, highly pigmented
- Also in the box
- None
#4Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils (50 colors)
$10–$20
Twist-up colored pencils in plastic barrels: when the tip wears down, a twist brings up more, so there’s no sharpening and no shavings, and twisting it back down protects the tip in a bag. Fifty colors, twenty of them new to Crayola, for ages 5 and up.
What owners say: Owners rate them above ordinary crayons, love not having to sharpen anything and say teenagers and adults enjoy them as much as young children. The colors aren’t labeled on the pencils, though, and opinions differ on how well they blend and how easily they break.
A closer look: Twist up only a little at a time, since a long tip snaps under a heavy hand, and twist it back down before the pencils go in a bag. With no sharpener or shavings to deal with, they’re handy for car trips and restaurant tables.
- Twist down to protect tip
- 20 colors new to Crayola
- Plastic barrels
- Ages 5 and up
- Nontoxic
Best for: Kids who hate sharpening
- Colors
- 50
- Core
- Twist-up, no sharpening
- Also in the box
- None
#5PRINA Colored Pencils Set (120 colors, with case and sketchbook)
$20–$30
The biggest set here: 120 oil-based pencils with soft, thick cores, pre-sharpened and zipped into a case that keeps every shade in order, with a small sketchbook and a step-by-step drawing tutorial to start on. With that many colors a colorist can shade with a run of close tones instead of one green and one blue.
What owners say: Vivid colors and soft leads that blend into layered, lifelike shading, owners say, and the zipper case keeps every pencil in order. Leads snapping in use is the one steady complaint.
A closer look: Keep the pencils zipped in the case between sessions so the soft cores aren’t knocked about and the colors stay in order. Sharpen a little at a time with a sharp blade, and let the pigment build in light layers rather than pressing hard, which is what snaps a soft lead.
- Pre-sharpened
- Close tones for shading
Best for: Learning to draw from a tutorial
- Colors
- 120
- Core
- Soft, thick, oil-based
- Also in the box
- Zipper case, sketchbook, tutorial
How they compare
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| Feature | #1Prismacolor Premier 48 | #2Crayola 36 | #3KALOUR 72 | #4Crayola Twistables 50 | #5PRINA 120 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best budget | Best twist-up | Most colors | ||
| Picked Rating | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.3 | 9.2 |
| Price | $30–$50 | Under $10 | $10–$20 | $10–$20 | $20–$30 |
| Colors | 48 | 36 | 72 | 50 | 120 |
| Core | Soft and thick | Soft, 3.3mm | Soft, highly pigmented | Twist-up, no sharpening | Soft, thick, oil-based |
| Also in the box | Tin | None | None | None | Zipper case, sketchbook, tutorial |
| Best for | Artists and serious colorists | Young children from age 3 | Matching shades by name and number | Kids who hate sharpening | Learning to draw from a tutorial |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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