• HOME
  • Planning
    • Planner Newbie
      • New to planning? Start here
    • Planning Tips & Inspiration
    • 52 Planning Systems in 52 Weeks
      • My weekly spreads
    • Planner Index
    • Planner Reviews
      • Horizontal Weekly
      • Horizontal 1 Page Weekly + Notes
      • Vertical Weekly
      • Hourly Planners
      • Categories Weekly
      • Daily Planners
      • Discbound Planners
      • Teacher Planners
      • Planner Roundups
      • Happy Planner (MAMBI)
      • Budget Planners
    • Planner Comparisons
    • Bullet Journal
      • Bullet Journal Reviews
      • Bullet Journal Spreads
      • Bullet Journal Tips
    • Planner pens
    • Highlighters
    • Planner Stickers
    • Digital Planning
    • Household Binder
    • Stationery Shopping
    • Rachael’s Favorites
    • Blogging & Online Business
  • Graphic Design
    • Photoshop Tutorials
    • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Canva
    • Silhouette Studio
    • PicMonkey
  • SHOP
    • Shop at Etsy
    • Online Store
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • ECOURSES
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
        • 1200 Blog Post Ideas (Exclusive Download Content)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
        • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (Exclusive Download Content)
    • Feedback & Testimonials
    • Planner Supplies (my sister’s shop!)
    • Shop my favorite planner supplies on Amazon
  • Learn
    • ECOURSES
      • Free Graphic Design Video Tutorials Library
      • How to Make Planner Stickers
      • How to Make Printables in Photoshop
      • How to Make Printables in Microsoft Word
      • How to Make Printables in Microsoft Excel
      • How to make digital planners and notebooks in Microsoft PowerPoint
      • How to Make Labels in Photoshop
      • How to Make Patterns in Photoshop
      • How to Make Party Printables
      • How to Write Product Descriptions
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
  • FREE
    • FREE Printables
    • Free Printables Library – Subscribers Login
  • Travel
    • Travel Planning
    • Europe
    • Australia & New Zealand
  • About
    • Browse All Posts
    • FAQ
      • What is a Printable? What happens when I purchase a printable from you?
      • Printing Tips
      • Printable Planner Stickers
      • Downloading Files
      • How to Open Zipped File Folders
      • What does EDITABLE mean?
      • Monogram Etiquette

All About Planners

Printable planners to organize your home, business and life!

October 17, 2019

Ballpoint versus gel pens: which are better for planning?

What’s the difference between gel and ballpoint pens? Quite a lot!

Ballpoint pens versus gel pens

Ballpoint Pens

  • Use a ‘dry’ ink that is less prone to smudging and smearing
  • Better for thin paper when you want to avoid ghosting and bleed through
  • Write best on washi tape (as they’re less prone to ink smearing)

papermate inkjoy retractable ballpoint pen medium rainbow color coding affordable no bleed or ghosting 1.0mm-min

Read more: My Favorite Ballpoint Pens for Planning & Bullet Journaling

ooly ballpoint pens 1mm medium tip rainbow colors similar to kikki k needle tip planner supplies stationery review haul color coding rainbow pen pack affordable zulilly haul

Gel Pens

  • The colors are more vibrant than balpoint pens
  • The ink tends to be more prone to ghosting than ballpoint pens
  • More expensive than ballpoint pens
  • Write smoother

Read more: My Top 3 All-Time Favorite Gel Pens

Comparison

The photo below is a good comparison of different types of pens:

  • The pink, purple, blue, orange and red are ballpoint pens
  • The green is a felt tip pen
  • The yellow is actually a highlighter (the thin end of the DONG-A Soft dual tip highlighter)
  • And the teal is a gel pen

Ballpoint pens are much more prone to the ink skipping and leave more of an indent on the back side of the page.

Felt tip (similar to fine tip) and gel pens have more vibrant colors and the ink doesn’t skip. Hence why they cost more… However they’re more prone to ghosting and bleed through than ballpoint pens.

gel ballpoint fine tip marker felt pen difference rainbow checklist

The photo above is from this weekly spread

The Verdict

I prefer gel pens. They write smoother, the ink doesn’t skip and the colors stand out more. See this post for my top 3 favorite gel pens.

I recommend using ballpoint pens if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on pens and / or if you’re bullet journaling (as dot grid notebooks tend to have thin paper).

If you want the best of both world’s, try the Frixion erasable pens (they’re my all time favorite!)

pilot frixion ball erasable pens rainbow color coding favorite planning supplies stationery light green dark green no smear medium fine tip

More pen reviews

  • How to choose the right planner pens: what to look for when buying planner pens
  • Planner pens I don’t recommend (prone to smearing, bleed through etc.) 
  • Favorite pens for writing headings in my planner 
  • What type of pens write best on correction tape? (gel pens vs. ballpoint vs. marker pens)

Planning tips

  • Brush pens versus highlighters: which is better for planning?
  • My 10 biggest planner pet peeves
  • 15 habit tracker tips & ideas to try

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

ballpoint versus gel pens which are better for planning ghosting bleed through pros and cons tips swatches pen testing

You may also be interested in...

  • Bunbougu Pen Haul & Review (online Australian planner pen shop)Bunbougu Pen Haul & Review (online Australian planner pen shop)
  • 5 expensive pen brands that are worth the money (I have no regrets for splurging on them!)5 expensive pen brands that are worth the money (I have no regrets for splurging on them!)
  • After trying more than 20 pen brands, these are my top 5After trying more than 20 pen brands, these are my top 5
  • Color coding your planner: how to choose which colors to useColor coding your planner: how to choose which colors to use
  • Ultimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color codingUltimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color coding
  • Cheap versus expensive pens: is there actually a difference in quality?Cheap versus expensive pens: is there actually a difference in quality?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Posted In: Planner Comparisons, Planner pens · Tagged: Australian stationery shop, ballpoint versus gel pens, best fine tip pen brands, best gel pen brands, best pens for agenda, best pens for color coding, best pens for planning, best pens for your diary, best place to buy pens in Australia, best planner pens, bunbougu haul, bunbougu pen haul, bunbougu review, cheap planner pens, favorite pens for color coding, favorite pens for planning, favorite planner pens, favorite planner shops, favorite stationery shops, high versus low stationery, pen haul, pens that don't bleed through, pens that don't ghost, planner pen, planner pen review, planner pens, should i buy ballpoint or gel pens, what pens are write for you, where to find brush pens, where to find pens, where to find pens in Australia

Welcome

Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

Subscribe and join 60,000+ others on the quest to find planner peace!

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Search

Subscribe

free printables library sign up all about planners blog image graphic subscribe

Shop At Etsy

The photos and content on this site are the property of All About Planners. They are not allowed to be used without permission from All About Planners.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • 10 Brands that have Date Dot Stickers for your planner or bullet journal
  • Eleven Discs Dot Grid Notebook Review (Super Smooth Paper!)
  • 150 Dinner Recipe Ideas (Printable Quick Reference List) + Cooking Staples List
  • Arc versus TUL Comparison: Which discbound brand is better?
  • Esc. Goods 160 GSM Bullet Journal Notebook Review (Including Pen Test)

Disclaimer

All About Planners is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Popular Posts

  • 10 Brands that have Date Dot Stickers for your planner or bullet journal
  • How to make a weekly planner using Google Sheets (free online tool)
  • 130+ functional ideas to use blank notes pages of your planner or an empty notebook
  • 5 Planner Companies that will make a completely custom planner for you
  • Minimalistic planning: how to plan your week using a blank notes page and stickers (52 Planners in 52 Weeks – Week 4)

Printables

  • Learn How to Make Printables
  • How to Make Planner Stickers
  • Resources & Tools I Recommend

Subscribe to access the free Printables library

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Privacy

Copyright © 2021 All About Planners · Theme by 17th Avenue