Best ballpoint pen UK
Which is the best ballpoint pen in 2025?
VIEW OFFERBest of 2025: Find the right ballpoint pen in the UK
No longer just a cheap disposable pen, ballpoint pens come in various styles and qualities, making it increasingly difficult to find the best ballpoint pen for your needs. This has left many stumped when choosing a ballpoint pen, unsure what is worth buying for general use and what is best saved for occasions. To help find the best ballpoint pens possible, check out the buying guide below for all the information you need:
The 10 best ballpoint pens in the UK (January 2025)
The bestseller list compares ballpoint pens from multiple brands
- Reliability: Delivers style, comfort, and dependable everyday use.
- Comfort: Specially designed comfort-ridged grip makes writing easy.
- Smoothness: Silky smooth, low viscosity ink ensures seamless writing.
- Smoothness: Quinkflow refill for optimal ink flow and smooth writing.
- Click: Signature retractable design with a satisfying click.
- Design: Streamlined style and iconic Parker Jotter clean lines.
- Ink: Black ink suitable for professional and everyday use.
- Presentation: Elegant gift box and velvet pouch ideal for gifting.
- Quality: Trusted Parker brand ensures reliable, smooth writing experience.
- Performance: Skilfully constructed tip for flawless, quick-drying lines.
- Material: Refined stainless steel barrel and sleek palladium plated trim.
- Design: Elegantly slim for a delicate, sophisticated silhouette.
- Performance: Click-action tip and Quinkflow Ink ensure smooth, reliable writing.
- Durability: PVD trims provide exceptional wear and corrosion resistance.
- Design: Sleek burgundy metal perfect for the young professional.
- Visibility: Transparent barrel for checking ink levels.
- Precision: Medium 1.0mm tip writes a 0.4mm line.
- Durability: Ideal for home, school, or office use.
- Experience: Quinkflow refill ensures smooth writing with satisfying click.
- Quality: Stainless steel barrel with high-shine trims and arrowhead clip.
- Design: Streamlined style with clean lines for an iconic look.
- Color: Blue ink for standard document-proof usage.
- Softness: Extra soft writing with large capacity refill.
- Ergonomics: Triangular, non-slip shape ensures comfortable, tireless writing.
- Style: Stainless steel tip provides a sleek appearance.
- Smoothness: Consistent ink flow offers effortless writing.
- Comfort: Textured grip and rubber barrel ensure ease in every position.
- Smoothness: Advanced quick dry ink for seamless writing.
- Ink-Level: Transparent barrel displays remaining ink.
- Grip: Patterned design ensures anti-slipper, controlled writing.
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- Read the definitive ballpoint pen buying guide
- View the ballpoint pen picks and see how they rank in the top list
ballpoint pen buying guide
Do you want to buy a good ballpoint pen? This is all you need to know.
A short explanation: What are ballpoint pens?
A ballpoint pen is a common type of writing instrument in which a small metal ball at the end transfers ink onto a surface. This ball is usually made from brass, steel, or tungsten carbide, while the outer casing is typically steel, brass, or aluminium. Ballpoint pens contain waterproof and quick-drying ink that writes smoothly and with precision.
What are the benefits of good ballpoint pens?
The best ballpoint pens are a joy to write with and most people feel more comfortable when using a pen that writes well. As many pens are sold that have bad ink, buying a quality ballpoint pen is less likely to result in lost ink or have the pen stolen. A ballpoint pen is an excellent tool for many situations, whether you need it for work, school, or just general use at home, so it’s always worth having a quality one on you.
How to choose the best ballpoint pen in 2025?
Since finding the best ballpoint pen for your needs can be rather difficult, it helps to know what you should look for to find a great pen:
- Nib Size: Like fountain pens, ballpoints come with different nib sizes so be sure to choose one that offers comfortable writing. The fine print of ballpoint pens can be hard to see, especially under poor light, so going for a thicker nib is recommended. Fine and medium are the most common ballpoint nib sizes.
- Ink Color: The ink color of ballpoint pens can be subjective, much like the nib size. However, it is generally recommended that you choose a color slightly darker than others. This is because one drawback of ballpoint pens is their tendency to produce a lot of ink, which causes the writing to appear greasy and stain the paper over time. Color choices often range between black, blue, red, and green.
- Grip: As ballpoint pens use a thicker ink, they often have a little heavier of a build due to the added ink. This results in many pens having a contoured or rubberized grip to ensure they remain comfortable to hold for long periods. So, pens with comfortable grips are a feature worth keeping an eye out for, especially if you need to sign lots of documents or will be writing for extended periods.
Which types of ballpoint pens are available to buy in the UK?
There are many different types of ballpoint pens out there, any of which may be to your liking. Some of the most popular types of ballpoint pen include:
- Disposable Ballpoint Pens: A ballpoint pen that is designed to be disposable, this type of pen does not have any replaceable cartridges, being thrown away once all the ink has been used. They are some of the cheapest and most widely used types of ballpoint pens.
- Capped Ballpoint Pens: The traditional ballpoint pen design, it uses a cap to cover the ballpoint when not in use. The cap is often misplaced, resulting in the pen needing to be thrown away, while some people find capless pens more convenient.
- Capless Ballpoint Pens: The ballpoint is continually retracted by pressing a button on the pen, which some may find more convenient. The lack of a cap means the ballpoint is always exposed, making it easier to forget and lose.