20 Best Cheap Ballpoint Pens (2022 Updated)

This is a good pen. It replaced a Zebra pen Model that I loved (the Zmulsion). The writing touch is lighter than my favorite but the pen is definitely good and the ordering price and delivery process was excellent.

These pens write well. The ink unfortunately does transfer easily if you turn the page over so be careful to not ruin your desk. Otherwise these are nice when you can’t use a gel pen.

the best.

I was given one of these pens at work for a project that required a lot of hand written notes. For roughly 4 weeks I used the pen to write 7-10 pages full on a large legal pad 5 days a week. After two and a half legal pads chocked full to the brim with notes it was still going.

I’ve been using the same pen for 2 months and it’s still writes as smooth as the first day. Normally I can use a pen in less than 2-3 weeks. I was so impressed I went searching for more, I was pleasantly surprised by the price.

It’s also a very comfortable design to hold for long periods. Will definitely continue to buy.

These pens write smoothly. But the ink is too light in color, which makes it hard to read. But the most annoying aspect involves the cap that you take off the pen when you want to write. As with other stick pens, you put the cap on the end away from the tip.

But (unlike other stick pens) the cap doesn’t stay there: it slips off when you lay the pen down. And then, if your writing surface isn’t perfectly level, the pen rolls and rolls till it falls on the floor.

(If the cap had stayed on the pen, it would have prevented the rolling. ) Paper Mate could fix this defective design if it cared. Why doesn’t it? Home Essentials Direct: If you want us to rate these pens for “sheerness” and “thickness,” you’d better explain what those terms mean.

Same as the above. Bought from a major chain drugstore. 1 out of all the pens in the pack worked. That one pen is rather smooth for ballpoint, I’ll admit. The rest were very faint as if they were 20 years old.

I had memories from years ago of Write Bros pens being more vibrant and smoother than other major brands, but those days are long past. Add that to the inconsistency I’ve seen with the Inkjoy pens, I am done with this brand.

I bought these through Click & Collect and was very pleased that they were available to pick up 3 days before the estimated date. They are excellent value for money at 40 cents per pen and the bulk buy means you’ll have plenty on hand so you’re never running around looking for an available pen when one is needed.

A real bonus these days is they are made from 74% recycled plastic which is making a great effort towards achieving as close to a100% recycled goal. The Bic is renowned for it’s quality and also affordability and these pens are no exception.

They are nice to hold and easy to use. The cap fits really securely on the end so it can’t fall off or get lost. The barrel is see-through so you can clearly see how much ink you have left. The ink flows well, quickly and easily and produces a smooth continuous writing.

The ink is not wet and doesn’t smudge so you can be confident the finished product will stay that way. I was very happy with this product and can definitely recommend it for any future purchases. This review was collected as part of an in-home product trial, and these opinions are my own.

I was a little unsure of these pens when I took one out of the box and held in my hand to write. It felt a little different than my normal pens as in they didn’t seem as firm to hold, like they were bending slightly.

However, I wrote two full page letters using the pen and after awhile I didn’t notice the bend feeling anymore. The pen writes very smoothly on the paper just like my usual pens. I have now got used to these pens and will continue to use them for my letter writing work.

I usually write approx 14 to 18 letters a week in my volunteer work and I have been going through a lot of pens over the last 19 months and thrown them out afterwards and these pens do represent value for money and I love that they are made from 74% recycled plastic.

Yes I would buy these again now that I have overcome that initial feeling I had about them. This review was collected as part of an in home product trial, and these opinions are my own.

I received the multi-color option, as stated by other reviews, 25 pens of each color-blue, orange, pink/rasberry & green. Very lightweight. I also put them all around the house, in my cars and my home office.

Nice flowing black ink. Good value for the money. Tired of picking up a pen with dried up ink, this large set will eliminate the problem. Retractable design makes them safe to put in purses, briefcases or backpacks.

These pens are surprisingly comfortable to write with. Very lightweight and well-shaped. Writes very smoothly. The silicone at the fingertips prevents slippage. The ink is in standard refill cartridges – you can get them anywhere.

Also, kids love the brilliant colors. They were a big hit with the grandkids.

I hadn’t used this pen before buying the box of 60; I used the older Paper Mate ballpoint stick pens here and there throughout the years and they were pretty reliable. The look of these newer pens is what drew my attention to them; inexpensive pens of this kind are usually boring and forgettable (like the pens themselves), but these pens looked, dare I say, cool.

They write almost as good as they look. The pen is very smooth on paper, the medium point doesn’t require much pressure, and the ink is slightly darker (which I like) than other stick ballpoints. By comparison, the Bic equivalent of this pen has a slightly finer medium point that requires a bit more pressure to get the (faded black) ink flowing which leads to ghosting on the page underneath.

The one shortcoming of this pen is the barrel, specifically the ‘grip. ‘ It is a bit narrow and somewhat uncomfortable to hold after awhile. Maybe it just takes some getting used to. Other than that minor flaw, this is an excellent cheap ballpoint pen that looks way better than what it costs, and for a box of 60, you can’t beat the price.

Lot of pens for a good price. BUT: description says product may not be pens in picture. Its true; I wanted the thicker blue pens. They sent me the thin ones. Continue searching. But; at least I have backup pens.

I received a note from my son’s teacher about him having difficulty doing classwork during school due to him constantly losing pens. Sent him to class the next week with 60+ pens. Problem solved! Though the teacher did mention the fact that he initially tried trading the pens to other students for various items, vs giving to the teacher so he’d have a constant supply.

She wasn’t upset, so I guess neither am I. They work great, and any I find around the house with the cap still on I know will work. Without the cap. it’ll probably work, but I can’t count on it (if it’s been out for a few days/weeks it’s probably fine; months, not so much).

No it’s not stylish, and my wife wishes I’d buy the clicky ones instead. For the price, you can’t go wrong with these.

I was looking for a medium point non gel BLUE ink retractable pen, which I could also buy regills for. The package had 2 pens. Blue color was all over the pkg. Dont recall seeing where the ink color was spelled out but bc the pkg was blue, assumed ink was blue.

Not thrilled with any pen with comfort grip but there was slim pickings. Glad it’s medium point; seems they’re hard to come by non-gel ink. So, went to use. Ink is black! Not happy! Not sure they even have blue refills.

So overall, I’m not real happy. Out of a long wall of pen choices at OfficeMax, 3/4 were gel pens. Anything left were mostly fine point abd black ink. I would think papermate would keep the color in the pkg same color as ink inside.

Most companies package their pens this way. Hopefully I can find a blue medium refill that will fit. Even if it’s another brand, so long as it works in the pen. Everyone is into gel ik. It rubs, smears, gets on clothes, furniture.

I hate gel ink. Some say smear resistant. But if the ball touches anything porous, it bleeds in. So, I’ve used the pen, it’ll do. Wish for easier color ID packaging and not Everyone wants easy grip I don’t like that rubber feeling.

Some grops are removable. This one is not, already checked! But I like a metal pen with a clip for sliding over a shirt pocket or purse pocket. Medium blue non-gel ink pen. This meets all but the ink color.

These Paper Mate Profile Retractable Ballpoint Pens are great to use at home, school, office, or on the go. They are reliable for use in writing big or small projects. They have a dependable and smooth flow to ensure completion of your writing without skips or scratchy feel.

The vivid red ink makes it so easy to see the words/markings on the page with clear visibility. They offer a rubberized grip for a comfortable writing experiences. They are soft cushioned grips to help for a stress free writing times.

Being retractable helps to protect without the need of a cap that many times get lost anyway. No worries about that. This would be a great addition to anyone’s writing tool collection. Pleased with the results and recommend highly! COLOR: In terms of vivid BOLD red color I give it a 10! It stands out when marking mistake or highlighting/circling tasks to make clear what needs attention to.

FLOW: In terms of the smoothness of the writing, it’s exceptionally smooth. There is no skips or as scratchy sense to it during the writing process. BLOTTING: Many pens have a tendency to accumulate ink at the tip and give a smudge when starting to write and normally would have to wipe the tip clean before writing BUT NOT with this pen.

No accumulation or smudging which keeps your project/task looking pristine!!.

Over the course of my life, Ive used DOZENS of pens and many different brands Papermate, Scripto, Pentel, Pilot too many to really name to be honest. They all have their strengths, they all have their weaknesses; and of course there is the personal preference to take into account.

Like the black ones I got these are not metal per se, so much as metallic, likely thinner steel if not aluminum. That doesnt affect their function at all. If you use it for long periods, the lighter weight pen wont weigh your hand down.

The pen clip is a bit wide and can be awkward when using the pen. But it is definitely going to stay when clipped. The plunger is big enough for big thumbs or fingers. The grip isnt squishy, but is comfortable.

Makes the pen easier to hold and grip as well. The ink flow is superb much all of Papermates pens. There is a plastic tip to protect it, but that is easily scraped off. Ive always liked the Profile line from Papermate, and this is no exception.

I’m not usually bothered to write reviews because most of the time, it’s just not a big deal. For this, though, I felt like I had to. And not in a good way. This has, in full seriousness, been the most frustrated I have ever been using a pen.

I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe from everyone with nice words for this pen. I have read reviews that talk about how it writes incredibly smoothly and the ink looks bold and good, and gaze down longingly at my page filled with words that are missing half their letters and tons of scribbled-out mistakes from where the ink refused to grant me its boon.

I would have an easier time writing in the passenger seat of a racecar driver on a direct collision course with ten other racers than I would writing with this pen. I’m willing to concede it’s somehow my fault.

Maybe I’ve angered the writing gods by failing to provide substantial tribute, and now, the land my homestead rests on has been cursed for its trees to never bear fruit, for all the men born within its boundaries to die young, and for anyone who dares write with a Pentel RSVP to never do so successfully.

I have tried just about everything to get this pen to work for me. I figured okay, maybe the first one’s just messed up. It happens. I try a second. Then a third. Then a fourth. Maybe I’m not putting down enough pressure.

Maybe I’m putting down too much. I scream into the void. The void screams back. No matter what I try, much like the songs in the Top 40s at any given time, nothing changes. If you buy this pen, I grant you my blessing.

May your writing turn out leagues better than my own. Godspeed.

I love that there are 8 distinct colors, as that is extremely helpful in keeping organized. But I keep wishing on my birthday candles (like, for 6 consecutive years now) that this exact pack would come out with a FINE TIP!!!! It would be the most perfect, best-selling Pentel item, because I personally would stock up on like 20 packs at a time, and I know multiple people who would too.

Right now, we are forced to buy these as well as the translucent fine tip versions/refills, and have to mix and match. Unfortunately, there are no Fine Tip versions of the Orange pen, so that is the only one where I am forced to use the medium, which makes my handwriting illegible (as opposed to the glorious Fine Tip, which makes even my messy handwriting pretty).

I really like these pens! They are great. They have a really premium feel to them, they aren’t flimsy at all. Very smooth like glass, but without the coldness, and very pretty. The pen ink itself flows very well even when you keep the cap off for long periods of time (though I don’t recommend this).

It’s not like gel pen flow, it’s more like traditional ballpoint pen flow. Which makes sense as it’s, uh, a ballpoint pen. Personally, I prefer ballpoint pens to gel pens even as an artist because gel pens are so watery, so this is great for me.

If you’re wondering if they are indeed refillable, well, they are! They sell refills on their website, but from what I can gather, they don’t sell the refills on Target. I don’t think I’ll be needing them anytime soon, though, these pens are lasting a LONG time as they are.

There is another listing that is cheaper than this by 3 dollars with a similar product offered by Pentel, but from what I can tell, it’s not refillable. This is the best value refillable pen I could find on Target.

Terrific colors. The 1. 6mm bold point, in some situations, is bold enough use where I might otherwise select a fine-point marker. Good for making assertive editing marks; not so great for taking notes due to the bold, thick lines.

Suggest keeping these alongside ballpoints with finer points. And store them flat; the ink can leak a little from the tip when stored with the point downward. All in all, I’m quite pleased and have been stocking up.

I will be disappointed if BIC stops making these.

These pens are great. They write well, they’re lightweight, and relatively inexpensive. While the one issue I have is unrelated to this particular pack of pens, it still gets on my nerves: I can purchase separate packs of black and blue, but I can’t buy these exact pens in RED.

I only use the red ones (I’m an editor) and I don’t need the entire rainbow. This isn’t Target’s fault, obviously, and I can’t find them elsewhere. Just a personal preference.

i LOVE these pens and have for years. i use them to color coordinate my notes. the only downside is that i have to buy a new pack every month or two because they dry out so fast. i honestly wouldn’t recommend them if you’re wanting them for heavy use unless you’re ok with constantly having to repurchase.

but other than that, they’re incredible. the colors are beautiful and looking at the notes i take using them makes me feel extra successful.

I’m a mobile notary who specializes in real estate documents which require lots of signatures and dates. I usually receive really high compliments from the clients regarding these pens. Many end up keeping them.

I like that they are not cheap looking, but are fairly cost effective for me as a business owner to give them to clients if they wish to keep them. My one suggestion is that the store needs to supply the blue ink ones.

They only supply black ink in the large box set. It would be nice if I didn’t have to have them shipped and could just buy them direct from the store.

I have been using these particular pens for 26 years now for my artwork. I like these pens for their very fine lines and sparing use of ink that does not leak out all over my subject drawing. When my first pens ran out of ink I was able to find this product online easily, harder to find in the stores, but the quality of these pens certainly made the search worthwhile.

As long as I continue doing my artwork, I will certainly be using this fine product. Ken K.

I absolutely love this pen! I use the fine point to make notes in smaller spaces on paper. It writes smooth almost like the medium point. I just absolutely love it. I would recommend these pens. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I looked a long time before I chose THIS item in particular; I chose it because it was made in the USA. The product was as I expected; perfect for me. It has the extremely fine line and is great for tiny notes on the side of pages.

I thought it pricey though. I’ve been more used to cheap pens. I love the extremely fine writing line though, so I paid the price. Should last me a long time as I got 1 dozen pens for the price of $9.

50.

This pack of BIC Cristal Fun Ball pens arrives from Stationery Packs in one of their brown cardboard packages. I chose the set of ten for 3 rather than the set of four for 2. 99 as it seemed a nobrainer value wise.

There is an option for twenty pens for just under 5 and these are available on the Stationery Packs Subscribe and Save programme so you can get them delivered every month or whichever frequency you choose at a discount.

The pens are in unusual and bright colours rather than the normal black, blue, red and green. In the ten pack set you receive three pink, three baby blue, two purple and two green. They are very similar to any other BIC ball point pens in shape and size but obviously the ink is different.

The lids and the end of the pens are colour matched to indicate the shade. The ten pack contains the pens in a plastic wrapper and the twenty pack is boxed. How do they work Well. To start I was a little confused as I could not get them to work.

I tried the usual tricks of doing ticks and squiggles and still no luck. Believing that the chances of all ten being duds, I persevered and noticed there was a blob of something on the end of each ball point.

I removed this blob and the pen works. All have this blob so I presume it is to prevent the ink from drying There is no reference to this on the packaging. Now I am up and running or writing with the pens, I love them.

They are fun and bright and dont seem to smudge or anything. I love them.

I bought these for college because I use them for notes and revision as I prefer handwritten notes over typed. These pens are really smooth to write with which I love as a good smooth pen is a must when writing consistently.

I also love how Stationery Packs allow you to subscribe and save money on the product, this is really good for me as I dont tend to order more of something until I literally have none of it left. The only negative was the packaging was a bit beaten up bought as the product was fine and Im not going to use the box for anything this really doesnt matter.

Dont waste your money. Look for much better ones. Worst pens ever bought in my lifeFirstly I had to scribble hard to even get ink flowing out of any of these pens. Then a bubble was forming I had to keep knocking off the tip.

They dont flow at all and trying to write fluidly felt like writing through mud. Appalling quality and Im getting a full refund. I get a lot of pens as Im a writer and do diaries. Worst ever. Dont bother.

I got an instant 3 refund to my Stationery Packs account on saying defective immediately. Maybe they have to refund lots Terrible.

I have used Bic Soft Feel pens for several years and am pleased with them. They are well-made. They last a long time. The ink comes out of the pens evenly. The grip is soft for long writing sessions.

The clip mechanics never break down like cheaper made pens of less quality.

I bought these pens because I was looking for some bold gel pens, I saw these, liked the colors and read on the package that it was “smooth like a gel. ” To me, they do not write like a gel pen at all, obviously, because they are still ballpoint pens, I don’t feel that they are any different than just a normal old ballpoint pen.

You can even see in some of these reviews with photos that the ink skips, even if the review is all positive. I actually returned these pens, and do not recommend them. I only gave two stars because they have nice colors.

It’s really hard to find ballpoint pens, and this one is great. It writes smoothly and I don’t have to press on the pen for the ink to be dark enough. And best of all, it’s retractable. I would have given it 5 stars, but the clip is not rounded so it is sharp and uncomfortable if it touches the skin.

If the clip was rounded, it would be the perfect pen.

I use pens at work all day long for important legal documentation. I serve many elderly people who have issues with hand control to write. These pens are a total hit lol. I ended up going BACK and buying 4 more packs because all of my coworkers fell in love with them.

Buy them for your office friends and be the new favourite colleague.

I got these before going into an engineering program in college, and I love them for everything! They’re super smooth to use and the ink is always consistent. I love these more than nearly any other pen I’ve used.

My favourite pens! Absolutely love the tip size and various vibrant colours. Makes me feel more confident when writing and looks great too.

Great product at a great price point. Gel is smooth and vibrant. My only issue is the diameter of the pen is a little thick for my grip.

I love these pens! These are comfort grip blue medium point pens. These are retractable pens making it nice not having to replace caps. The pens writes smooth and the grip is soft! Very nice.

Universal pens are an affordable product, but quality is not sacrificed. As stated, this blue pen truly is comfortable to hold while writting, even after a long time

Universal one comfort grip blue medium point pen has very good quality. It is smoother when you are writing. I am happy to find better price in webstaurantstore

I bought a package of six of these two days ago at an Office Max store. Opened them, tried four of them. They worked for a few words of writing and then stopped. I will be returning them and buying a different brand from a completely different store (not Office Max).

Also got a package of black ones. Decided not to even open them, given how horrible the blue pens were. Pathetic! I would give it zero stars if I could.

I never bought these pens before and was a bit unsure they would write the way I like my pens too. However, even as brand-new pen, there was no initial scratchy flow as the ink made contact with the paper.

The flow was easy with a continuous distribution of the ink. I also like the color of the blue which came as a bit of a surprise. I will continue using this pen for all the reasons I outlined and for the fact that is a bit less expensive than the other brand.

First time we used these pens and we like them! The pens are comfortable, with the soft grip so that it doesn’t make indentations on your finger. The pens write smoothly and easily – almost as good as gel pens, but with a significantly lower price! We use these for our office staff, and they are pleased.

Very smooth ballpoint and looks luxe – great to write with. Only thing for me is I wish the blue refill for this pen was brighter – it’s a bit pale for my liking but better than black!

I love these Swedish pens, stylish, cheap and writes well. I have a few now and have given some to friends who like them too. A great simple pen. I have spotted a few on the Swedish Wallander too.

I love this pen. Very light. I will be finding the refill and will order more. Nice pink.

I picked these up because I’ve been seeing them a lot with the watercolor artists I like and, believe it or not, these pens are water proof!! So they’re great for lining watercolor pieces to get a softer look then the harsh black of traditional inking pens, and I’ve even done quite a few illustrations just in ballpoint, because the pen is surprisingly easy to control.

You can press hard or draw very lightly and get a nice consistent coverage over even very large areas; it’s like sketching with pencil, but its pen!! HIGHLY recommend! They’re cheap, they work GREAT, and you can do a lot of good work with them.

The only thing I do feel the need to mention is that, because of the kind of pen it is, you will get those moments where you get a blob of too much ink. To avoid this, I’ve gotten into the habit of wiping it off on a small scrap of tissue or even just the back of my thumb after every five or six strokes, and as long as I don’t go too long without dabbing off, I don’t get those blobs.

Also these are the type of pens whose ink looks reddish/brown/oil slicky if you tilt it the right way in the light.

Great pens! They are a little more expensive than the cheapest ball point pens you can buy, but that’s because the quality is just better across the board. The click top is convenient, especially for us with having small children that like to draw on walls.

They haven’t quite figured out how to get the pen part to click out so we are temporarily saved from wall art. The rubber finger grip is nice and comfortable. The pen itself writes really smooth and easily, and doesn’t require a lot of scribbling to get the ink to start flowing at first use!.

Absolutely love these pens, I purchased all 3 colours and they all work great. The tips are fine, it glides smoothly across paper, and the colour of the blue ink is so nice. I’ve been looking for replacements for my Muji pens (since they don’t have NZ stores), and these ones are a great dupe! Also had a great shopping experience from Hobbyland with good prices and fast shipping!.

I’m a writer and artist and I do like even household pens to perform well and last the distance. This has always been my favourite and so I buy in multiples. Good Japanese engineering.

I used to use Papermate 1. 4mm retractable biros until someone mentioned Laknock by Uni-ball. The width of the point is the same but the ink flows more smoothly without messy smudges or build up. I buy various colours in packs of a dozen which last about a year.

The grandchildren always grab a few whenever they visit as they say it’s the best pen they have ever used. The width of the ink is wide and when used on rough newsprint, as I generally do, they flow beautifully.