Years ago I had multiple readers commenting that I should try the Pilot G2 pens. I tried one of the G2 pens… and I didn’t like it. It was inky and prone to smudging.

People kept commenting that I should give them another try.

So I did.

But the only pack I could find had dark, muted colors (like dark green and dark blue which I rarely use as they don’t coordinate with other planner supplies like washi tape and stickers). I really like planning using bright rainbow colors. So I put the G2 aside and continued using my other pens.

Related post: After trying more than 20 pen brands, these are my top 5

The Pilot G2 pens are more widely available in the USA so when I went there last year (see the rest of my stationery haul in this post), and saw a pack of G2 pens in bright rainbow colors (the ‘harmony collection’), I went ahead and bought them.

And…

I really like them 🙂

The colors are great, I’ll actually use all of the colors in the pack. They write smoothly, the ink doesn’t skip and the grip that comes on each pen makes them easy to use.

I’ve been using them for a few months now and the ink hasn’t dried out. I need longer to test them out to truly see how long the ink lasts.

So do I now prefer the Pilot G2 over my all time favorite Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel?

Let’s compare!

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Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel versus Pilot G2: Which gel pen is best?

Click the image to enlarge the comparison. I’ve also added it to the free printables library with my other stationery comparisons.

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Here is the criteria I’m using to rank the pens:

• Ease of writing
• Ghosting and bleed through
• How long does the ink last?
• Can you buy them individually?
• Price per pen
• Availability
• Range of colors
• Pen tip sizes
• Is it refillable?

I know sometimes the body of the pen doesn’t match the color of the ink that comes out of it, so here are some swatches of each brand so you can compare how the colors look.

How easy are they to write with?

The Inkjoy doesn’t have a specific comfort grip, instead the entire pen is covered in that ‘grippy’ material. I don’t mind this, but I’ve read some reviews where people say they don’t like it and find the pen a bit slippery and hard to hold.

I do think there’s something about the G2 pens. I think the tip might be slightly sharper, or maybe it’s the grip where you hold the pen, I just feel like I can write really fast with them, faster than I can write with the Inkjoys.

Both pens write very smoothly.

Winner: Pilot G2

Ghosting or bleed through

I’ve taken a photo of the backside of the page so you can see if there is ghosting or bleed through. I swatched all of these in one of my Plum Paper notebooks (70gsm paper which is fairly standard paper thickness for planners and notebooks).

Here’s the back side of the swatch page of the Paper Mate Inkjoy

And the back side of the swatch page of the Pilot G2

Both had ghosting but I’d say there was slightly less indenting and ghosting with the Inkjoys.

Winner: Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel

How long does the ink last?

I’ve had the Inkjoys for 8 years and the ink hasn’t dried out.

I’ve only been trying the G2 for less than a year. The ink hasn’t dried out yet but it’s still not enough time to make an accurate assessment.

Winner: Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel

Related post: Pens with long lasting ink (7 years later and the ink still hasn’t dried out!)

Can you buy them individually?

Yes, you can get the black easily for each pen. Other colors aren’t as easy to find.

Winner: tie

Price

The price differs depending on where you buy it:

At Officeworks Australia a pack of 8 Pilot G2 pens with 2 black refills is $25 AUD but you can get the 10 pack of Inkjoys in 10 different colors for $23 AUD. So the Inkjoy is slightly better value.

If I use Amazon for the price comparison, the 10 pack of Paper Mate Inkjoy is $14 USD and the 10 pack of Pilot G2 is $16 USD.

Winner: Paper Mate Inkjoy (but the costs are so close it’s basically a tie)

Availability

Both are available online at Amazon, as well as in physical stationery stores such as Officeworks in Australia, Walmart and Staples in the USA.

Tie: both are available in office supply stores and online via Amazon

Color Ranges

The Inkjoys come in 30 different colors, plus the 10 metallic colors.

The Pilot G2 comes in 41 different colors according to the Pilot website, but, annoying you can’t just buy a big pack with all of the colors and be done with it.

Here are swatches from the other Pilot G2 pack I bought (where the colors are darker). I never use the dark green and there’s no yellow (but I don’t use it anyway). The purple is also darker than the body of the pen as well.

There’s quite a difference between those colors and the Harmony Collection. It says the Harmony collection is limited edition but I bought these pens a year ago and they’re still available on the Amazon website.

I tried to match the colors with the names on the Pilot website but they didn’t have all of the colors available. They also had a 3rd pink in the harmony collection but the pack I bought only had 2 pinks. Never mind, the names aren’t that important as it’s hard to find these pens available for sale individually anyway.

Winner: Tie. Each brand offers a wide range of colors, and different shades of each color to choose from (e.g. multiple shades of pink and blue). The 10 packs from each brand will probably be enough for most people.

Pack sizes

There are more pack sizes than the ones I’ve listed below, but I’ve just linked some of the sets available on Amazon that would suit more people.

Paper Mate Inkjoy are available in:

• Metallic (10 pack)
• Rainbow (10 pack) – this is the set I have
• Rainbow (14 pack)
• Rainbow bright (10 pack) (but I think these are more neon, they’d be ideal for writing on black paper)
• Pack with various quantities if you only want black ink (there’s even a pack with 36 black pens!)

The InkJoy has a teal in their packs – a color which can be hard to find in most pen brands.

Note: some of the larger Inkjoy packs contain multiple copies of the same colors.

Pilot G2 are available in:

• RaInbow (15 pack)
• Rainbow (10 pack) – this is labelled the harmony collection but it’s not, it’s missing a yellow
• Pastel (5 pack)
• Packs with multiple shades of the same color including pink, blue, green and purple
• Black ink (5 pack)

Australia doesn’t normally have access to as much stuff as the US, but the Harmony Collection is actually available on the Amazon Australia website.

Winner: Tie, both sets come in packs of similar quantities, and with similar colors in each pack

Pen tip sizes

Paper Mate InkJoy Gel pens are available in

• 0.5mm (fine)
• 0.7mm (medium)
• The metallic ones come in 0.8mm

The Pilot G2 come in

• 0.38mm (Ultra Fine)
• 0.5mm (Fine)
• 0.7mm (Medium)
• 1.0mm (Bold)

Winner: Pilot G2 as more sizes available

Are the pens refillable?

Yes, you can buy ink refills for both brands.

However I had trouble finding refills for the Inkjoys, they don’t appear to be sold anymore.

Winner: Pilot G2

Other things to note

Most pens come with a little plastic cap on the tip that you have to remove before you can start using them for the first time (to preserve the ink while it sits on the shelf). The Pilot G2 did not come with this so I’m wondering if that will affect how long the ink lasts.

I think the G2 pens are more inky than the Inkoys. I’ve never had an issue with ink globs or smearing with the Inkjoys, but occasionally I get ink globs from the G2. If I get a tissue and carefully press on the ink glob it usually absorbs most of it off the paper, but sometimes there’s smudging.

Both brands are retractable pens but the Inkjoys also come in a version with a capped lid.

Some of the packs come in packaging where you can store the pens permanently, but most just come with a cardboard backing. This is the case for the two 10 packs from each brand that I’ve been referencing throughout this post.

So which pen is best based the criteria?

For each criteria, this is my top pick:

• Ease of writing – Pilot G2
• Ghosting and bleed through – Paper Mate Inkjoy (slightly less indenting than the Pilot G2)
• How long does the ink last – Paper Mate Inkjoy
• Can you buy them individually –  yes, so tie between Paper Mate Inkjoy and Pilot G2
• Price per pen (if bought on their own versus in a pack) – Paper Mate Inkjoy (slightly cheaper based on Amazon USA prices)
• Availability – Tie, both are available in office supply stores and online via Amazon
• Pen tip sizes – Pilot G2, more tip sizes available
• Range of colors – tie between Papermate Inkjoy and Pilot G2, both have approx. 40 different colors across the various packs available
• Refillable – Pilot G2. The Inkjoy refills appear to no longer be sold

So basically the only difference is the price, what colors you’d prefer to use, and whether you want to purchase refills.

Overall, I still prefer the Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel. I often use the teal color and the I know the ink lasts for years.

More pen reviews

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• Pens & Highlighters Smear Testing: Which ones don’t smear 
• How I use different types of pens when planning

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