If I could only use one pen it would probably be the Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel. They write so smoothly. I’ve had mine for years and they still write like new. If they’re out of your price range or hard to obtain where you live, here are some alternatives that are a bit cheaper.

All of these pens are 0.7mm (my favorite pen tip size!)

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Paper Mate Inkjoy

Price = $15 USD for 14 pack

Retractable, pretty rainbow colors and no ink skipping. I have the 10 pack but there’s a bigger 14 pack as well.

Now let’s compare..

BLOT

Looks very similar doesn’t it?

The only difference appearance-wise is the clear bottom of the pen tip. I actually prefer this pen body to the PaperMate as you can see the entire ink cartridge so there’s more warning when the ink’s about to run out.

Price = $14 USD for 16 pens

The Paper Studio Gel Pens

A recent find of mine, these have exactly the same pen body as the BLOT, but with slightly different colors (e.g. the purple is brighter while the BLOT is a muted purple and the Paper Mate falls somewhere in between).

Price = $13 USD for 12 pens

Colors

Each pen brand comes in a pack with these colors:

• Black
• Pink
• Purple
• Light Blue
• Dark Blue
• Teal
• Orange
• Yellow
• Red
• Green
• Dark Green

Note: I only have the 10 pack Inkjoy Gel pens but it also comes in a 14 pack with a dark green, brown and denim blue.

The Inkjoy Gel can also be purchased individually or sometimes in packs of 2 or 3 colors. I’ve only seen the BLOT and Paper Studio gel pens sold in a pack.

Here’s a comparison of the pink ink in all 3 pens. The pink is slightly brighter than the Inkjoy and BLOT. This is true for most of the colors. The Inkjoy and BLOT are very close with the Paper Studio colors close, but slightly brighter.

Unlike most pen brands, you can actually see the yellow ink in all of these. Each of them comes with a Teal pen too!

All 3 pen brands write smoothly however the ink feels like it comes out thicker in the Paper Studio.

Ghosting & Bleed Through

Here’s the backside of my pen test that I did in one of my Plum Paper notebooks (70lb text / approx. 105 GSM paper).

Which brand is best?

I like all 3! If you don’t mind pens that have similar ink colors and write smoothly like the Inkjoy (but look different e.g. retractable or with a pen lid), here are some other gel pens I recommend:

• Kaco Retractable 
• Muji (with pen lid)
• Zebra Sarasa

Update: Pen and Gear pens from Walmart are another dupe for the PaperMate Inkjoy Pens. See my comparison in this post.

More Pen Reviews

• What type of pens write best on correction tape? (gel pens vs. ballpoint vs. marker pens)
• 10 Pen brands that are available in a pack of 20 or more colors
• Planner pens I don’t recommend (prone to smearing, bleed through etc.) 

Planning tips & Ideas

• Highlighter Brands Comparison (And My Favorite Highlighters for Each Brand)
• 7 Cheaper alternatives to popular (but expensive) planner supplies
• Hardbound versus coil bound planners (pros and cons)

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