I LOVE using white pens. They are great for adding highlights or accents to coloring pages or drawings, and they are a lot of fun for lettering on a dark background!

For years I have used a Uni-Ball Signo Broad gel pen for all my white highlights – but it didn’t always work quite as well as I would like. Sometimes it would get clogged on my pencils or disappear into certain backgrounds – so I decided it was time to see what else was available!

But I got a little carried away… and decided to purchase EVERY white gel pen and paint marker I could find online. After all, it was the best way to do a full comparison! And I know that my findings will help you too, so it was worth it.

White gel pens and paint markers

I’m sure there are markers I’ve missed (we are limited in what we can find in Australia) so I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you have any other favorites. I’ve included a full video and written comparison below, showing you how each marker went and which are my favorites!

Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you click them and make a purchase (at no cost to you).

White pen comparison: Pentel Hybrid, Sakura Gelly Roll, Pilot Juice, Sakura Decorese, Uni-ball Signo Broad, Sharpie, Posca, etc

I wanted to make sure this test was as thorough as possible. Sometimes the markers that come with the highest recommendations online don’t work well on pencils, or they disappear into markers when used as highlights. So instead of just doing it on the black or colored paper like most tests, I have decided to also do it on each of the different mediums that I find myself using regularly when coloring.

I’ve tested all of these pens and markers on:

What are white pens used for?

There are many ways you can use a white pen. My favorite way to use a white pen is to add highlights and accents on my coloring pages like this one. But you can also use them to cover up mistakes you make on a white background (like accidentally going out of the lines!), or to create beautiful lettering or drawings on darker surfaces.

In my NEXT blog post, I’ll show you some of my top tips for getting the most out of your white pens and using them in your artwork! Subscribe to my Youtube channel and email newsletter to be notified when it is released.

White gel pens and paint markers

I tested 23 white gel pens and paint markers – see which white pen was the best!

Check out my video below to hear my review of each white pen.

The best (and worst) white gel pens

I’ve listed each pen below with my samples and notes, in no particular order. You can also watch this in the video above. Further down, I’ve chosen my favorites.

Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip DX Gel Pen – 1.0 mm

Pentel Hybrid Gel DX Review

First up, we have the Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip DX Gel Pen.

Now, right off the bat, I’m really impressed with this pen. It is really smooth to write with, it’s not skipping, it’s not scratchy. The color is fantastic… so WHITE! It’s easy to draw with and it’s working great on pencils, markers, highlighters and everything I’ve tried it on.

I hope they’re all this good because so far, I am very impressed.

Get it from Amazon here.

Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen – Fine/Medium/Bold

Sakura Gelly Roll Fine Review
Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen Medium Review
Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen White

Next up, we have the Sakura Gelly Roll Gel Pens.

Now, there’s actually three sizes that I’m doing this test on. The 5 (fine), 8 (medium) and 10 (bold). The 5 is actually a little bit too thin for my liking, but I’m sure it’s good for some projects. The 8 and the 10 were a bit better.

I’ve heard a lot of people rave about these pens, and on the black paper, they were wonderful.They were really silky smooth to write with, but each of the Gelly Roll gel pens let us down on the pencil tests. In terms of going on top of colored pencils, none of the Gelly Roll gel pens really performed as hoped.

On markers, they were great! So a good set of pens, but not for highlights on your colored pencil artwork.

Get them from Amazon here.

Sakura Glaze Gel Pen

Sakura Glaze Gel Pen Review

So next up, we have the Sakura Glaze.

Now, this one really caught me by surprise because when you first draw, it is completely clear. So I thought maybe this is a glaze – literally. It’s not a white pen, it’s just a glaze. I actually tried to draw a patch of color instead of drawing lines – but as you can see, I was surprised to find out it did turn white after about 20 to 30 seconds.

It’s an interesting pen. Personally, not one I would use, because I like to see my results straight away. And I did find that it almost let out a little bit too much ink as I was drawing, giving it a bit of a 3D texture. So not a personal favorite, but a very interesting pen… and it DID work on most surfaces.

Get it from Amazon here.

Pilot Juice Up Gel Pen – 0.4 mm

Pilot Juice Up Gel Pen Review

Next up, we have the Pilot Juice Up 0.4mm Gel Pen.

Now this is a very thin pen. I’m not sure if they make a thicker range, maybe that would affect my view of this pen. But for me, I wasn’t a big fan of this. It was too thin to produce a nice line. It barely showed up on my pencils and it wasn’t smooth and nice to write with like some of the other white pens so far. It was a bit scratchy to write with, and not a favorite for me.

Get it from Amazon here.

Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip Gel Pen – 0.8 mm

Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip Review

Next up, we have the Pentel Hybrid Gel, which I’m guessing is related to the Pentel Hybrid Gel DX that we started with. Now, this one is pretty good, although I have to say I think the DX did just slightly better.

This one is still smooth, still nice to write with, still works on every single one of our options, but it just wasn’t quite as smooth as the DX. I really like the little bit of extra ink that the DX gives that makes it just that bit nicer and always a bit more therapeutic to use. This is still a great pen overall.

Get it from Amazon here.

Pilot Juice Gel Pen – 0.5 mm

Pilot Juice Gel Pen Review

Now, before we did, the Pilot Juice Up gel pen. This time we’re doing the Pilot Juice gel pen (I probably should have done this one first!)

I’ll be honest, I am completely underwhelmed. Even on the black, it kind of disappears as you write, and so it’s a very, very faint color. The line is very thin, and on top of some of these other mediums, you can’t see it at all. So not one that I would recommend if you’re doing it on top of coloring pages or artwork, unless you’re wanting a subtle look.

Get it from Amazon here.

Zebra Sarasa Clip Gel Pen – 0.5 mm

Zebra Sarasa White Gel Pen Review

The Zebra Sarasa pen didn’t really work much better. It didn’t work on the colored pencil at all, and it was very thin line on the other mediums. On all of the other mediums, even on the plain paper, I found it felt a bit scratchy and didn’t offer that vibrant white that I’m looking for. So, I’m not a fan.

Get it from Amazon here.

Sakura Souffle Gel Pen

Sakura Souffle White Gel Pen Review

Next up, we have the Sakura Souffle.

Now, this name intrigues me, and this does remind me a little bit of the Sakura Glaze that we tried earlier. Just like the glaze, it starts at clear and it becomes whiter over time. So not a personal thing that I’m keen on because I like to see what I’m working with as I go, but the white that it produces at the end is actually a very good white.

So, if you don’t mind the wait, this is a pretty good option. It performed better than most of the other pens on colored pencils and markers, and the end results were great. Due to the waiting, it’s probably not one I would personally choose, but still a great pen and worth checking out.

Get it from Amazon here.

Sakura Ballsign Knock Gel Pen – 0.6 mm

Sakura Ballsign White Pen Review

Next up, we have the Sakura Ball Sign… and I’m not a fan.

It didn’t really work on the washi. It didn’t really work on the colored pencils, and while it did work on the markers, it was a very fine line, very faint. And look, it was OK. It’s an OK pen. If you’re wanting subtle lines, it might be perfect for you. It’s definitely not one of my top ten.

Get it from JetPens here.

Uni-ball Signo Broad Gel Pen

Uni-Ball Signo Broad Gel Pen Review

Next up, we have my classic, the Uni-ball Signo Broad Gel Pen.

When I filmed this video, the Uni-ball Signo I was using was 4 years old – so it wasn’t really a fair comparison. In my video, the Broad felt a little bit scratchy, and worked well on some mediums, but not so good on others. It has been disappointing on the pencils, but great on the markers.

So while in this instance I feel like some of these other pens have performed better, I have to consider it is 4 years old and it has been a great pen for me. Because of this, it didn’t make my top 5 in today’s video.

However, I decided to purchase a new one as I’m writing this (after my video), and the scratchy feeling is gone on my new pen. It works great on ALL the mediums and performs just as well as the other pens in my top 5.

So… SURPRISE! The Uni-ball Signo is a GREAT pen! It compares equally with the Pentel Hybrid Gel DX and performs better than the Uni-ball Signo Angelic.

The lesson here: LOOK AFTER YOUR PENS. I suspect I ruined my first gel pen from using it on top of my wax-based pencils too often. In my next blog post and video, I’ll talk more about that and how to prevent the issues that I’ve uncovered with my own pen.

Get it from Amazon here.

Uni-ball Signo Angelic Color UM-120AC Gel Pen – 0.7 mm

Uni-ball Signo Angelic Review

Next, we have the Uni-Ball Signo Angelic.

Now, this one is very similar to the Broad and it probably does a little bit more smoothly (compared to my 4-year-old Signo Broad), which is maybe where the ‘Angelic’ comes from in the name. It still didn’t perform great on the pencils, but it does perform quite well on the markers.

So, look, I don’t know if it’s one of my top recommendations, maybe not quite one of my favorites, but it is still a very good pen.

Get it from Amazon here.

Yasutomo Y&C Gel Xtreme Gel Pen – 0.7 mm

Yasutomo Y and C Gel Xtreem Pen Review

Next, we have the Yasutomo Y&C Gel Xtreme.

Now, I definitely wouldn’t call this an ‘extreme’ gel. It is very much like many of the other white pens that we’ve covered so far. It doesn’t work at all in the first washi tape, but I think that’s more about our washi tape. At this point, we haven’t had much luck because of the tape’s coating.

It doesn’t really work on the colored pencils either, so probably not one that I’d recommend if you’re wanting to do extra details on your coloring pages.

Get it from Amazon here.

Sakura Decorese Gel Pen – 0.6 mm

Sakura Decorese Gel Pen Review

The Sakura Decorese Gel Pen is next. And again, Sakura have created a great pen, I have heard great things about this one and this is probably the first pen on my list so far that has worked on every single medium, including our painful washi tape that’s not really letting us draw anything.

So, I’m very, very impressed with this one. It probably falls in my top 3 or top 5 at this point. It works on the pencils, it works in the markers and it’s a great white color, very easy to use, very smooth to write with. I am very impressed.

Get it from Amazon here.

Faber-Castell Correction Pen

Faber-Castell Correction Pen Review

Next up, I decided to throw in a correction pen because I have heard people suggest that you can use a correction pen or a white out as a white pen.

Now, Faber-Castell usually produce great things. I gave them a shot with this. But let’s face it, this is not designed as a pen for drawing and the results show it. This was really hard to write with. I gave up halfway and it really didn’t work on a lot of the mediums. So let’s leave the correction pens for correcting…

Best Colored Pencils

The best (and worst) white paint markers

Let’s move on from the gel pens to the paint markers!

Paint markers work a bit differently, but are another great option for doing highlights on your coloring pages. They can be a little messier if you load up too much paint, and they all take a good shake to get started. But they are also a lot of fun and useful on other craft projects and surfaces too – and I was really impressed with some of the detail I could create with these!

Teranishi Magic Glow Slim Black Note Marker

Teranishi Magic Glow Marker Review

Now The Teranishi Magic caught me by surprise. I thought it was a paint marker, so the first thing I did was bang the nib to get it loaded up like other paint pens… and I broke it. Luckily, Shane was able to pull the nib out and fix it for me. Phew!

So, warning with that one. It is not the traditional kind of paint marker. It does, however, produce a really nice writing. This is another one that starts clear and brings up the color as you go. It’s not one that I personally would use and it didn’t really work in the pencils, but if you like more of that felt pen feel, then this might be something worth looking at.

Get it from JetPens here.

Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen – 2.5 mm

Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen Review

Next, we have the Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen.

This is not a gel pen, and not a traditional paint pen either. This is more of a felt pen, and it writes beautifully. I’ve chosen the large size in this example, but they do have a small size available as well. And this worked fairly well on all mediums. It’s not as bright of a white as some of our other pens, so you would need to do a few layers for a strong white.

I don’t know if it’s necessarily one of my favorites, but if you are wanting a thicker line, it is a fairly good option.

Get it from Amazon here.

Pilot Juice Paint Marker – Fine Point

Pilot Juice Paint Marker Review

Now we have Pilot Juice paint marker. I instantly love this because I expected paint markers to be a lot messier, and it wasn’t.

I expected it to be a lot harder to get a thin line and yet this works really well. Great thing is too that it seems to work on all of the different things. And to be honest, the lines I’ve produced have actually been just as good as a lot of the gel pen lines. I was really impressed with this as the first real paint marker that I’ve used. I expected it to be a lot harder to draw with and a lot thicker.

So, this one is definitely at the top of my paint marker list so far.

Get it from Amazon here.

Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Marker – Extra Fine Point

Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Marker Review

Sharpie, on the other hand, have let me down. I love my Sharpies, but the oil-based paint marker… I don’t know what this is supposed to work on because it doesn’t seem to work on the black paper. It doesn’t seem to work on the blue paper. Doesn’t seem to work on any medium.

From what I’ve read online since my video, these are intended for use on metal, pottery, wood, rubber, glass, plastic, etc – So not really made for coloring pages or paper. So not suitable for our top list.

Get it from Amazon here.

Deleter Neopiko Line White Drawing Pen – 0.5 mm

Deleter Neopiko Line White Pen Review

Now the Deleter Neopiko Line white marker is another paint marker that you do need to shake for a while and press to get it going when you first use it. But once it gets going, it is fantastic. I really love how much detail you can do.

It’s the most expensive pen on our list, but I can see why. The quality of this pen is amazing. It’s a strong, vibrant white and the lines are clean and smooth. It’s easy to use, and seems to work on every medium. I’m definitely going to be using this pen on all of my coloring pages, pencils, markers everything. It’s working great. One of the top of my list so far.

Get it from Amazon here.

Mistubishi Uni Paint Marker

Mistubishi Uni Paint Marker Review

Next up, I have a Mitsubishi Uni Paint marker.

This is simply one that I found at Officeworks locally and I thought, why not give it a go? And I was a little bit disappointed… The colors aren’t that white. Like the Sharpie, it’s probably not made for coloring pages. I’d be interested to see if it performs better on another surface. For now, not one of my favorites.

Get it from Amazon here.

Uni Posca PC-1MR Paint Marker

Uni-Ball Posca Paint Marker Review

And finally, the Posca Pen.

Now I’ve heard wonderful things about these Posca pens, so I was very disappointed with how mine turned out. And look, I have a feeling I might have just got a dud because I have seen lots of people’s artwork with Posca pens and it definitely looks much better than how mine has turned out.

In my case, I barely got any white out of this pen – I did shake it for a while and loaded it up, but it wasn’t very visible. I’d love to find another one and give this pen a go again in the future, but for today’s test, it fails.

Get it from Amazon here.

The Best White Gel Pens & White Paint Markers

What is the best white gel pen?

And we have a tie! I cannot decide between the Sakura Decorese and the Pentel Hybrid Gel DX . They were both very impressive and I’ve done a little bit more drawing with them both and I will probably keep using them both.

So, I definitely recommend both of those pens. AND…. after further tests, my Uni-Ball Signo Broad Gel Pen makes this list too. It IS a great pen.

Very, very impressed with these three, and would highly recommend all of them for adding white highlights to your coloring pages.

What is the best white paint marker?

I have decided that my favorite paint marker is the Deleter Neopiko Line white that just worked so well on everything. And I was really impressed, really easy to use, very surprised. Just make sure you give it a good shake before you use it!

If you’re looking for a more affordable option, the Pilot Juice Paint Marker was a close second for me. It was easily in my top 5 pens from this review.

Which white pens work best on coloring pages?

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to do my own white marker test was because most of the tests I found online only used black paper. But as you can see in my video, many of the best white pens on black didn’t work as well (or at all!) on the colored pencils.

The best white pens for drawing on colored pencils

The best white gel pens to use on colored pencils were the Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip & Gel Grip DX Gel Pens, Sakura Glaze Gel Pen, Sakura Souffle Gel Pen, the Uni-ball Signo Broad gel pen and Sakura Decorese Gel Pen

The best white paint markers to use on colored pencils were the Pilot Juice Paint Marker and the Deleter Neopiko Line White Drawing Pen.

These all produced clear, smooth results on both the Prismacolor Soft-Core Pencils and the Faber-Castell Polychromos, and I’m confident they would work on other pencils too.

Just remember to wipe them down and take care of them so you don’t get them clogged with the wax or pigment from the pencils. I’ll talk more about this in my next blog post and video!

The best white pens for drawing on markers

Most of the pens worked just as well on the markers as they did on the paper. Some of them absorbed a bit, which may depend on how thick the markers are, and the paper quality underneath. I noticed that the Tombow Dual Brush Pens absorbed more of the white than the Copic and Sharpie markers. I think it’s best to experiment, try some tests of your own and try using multiple layers if you want a stronger white.

If ranked by the whitest results on the markers, the best gel pens were the Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip & Gel Grip DX Gel Pens, the Sakura Gelly Roll Gel Pens, the Uni-ball Signo Broad, the Sakura Souffle Gel Pen, and the Sakura Decorese Gel Pen.

The best white paint markers were the Pilot Juice Paint Marker and the Deleter Neopiko Line White Drawing Pen.

Ultimate Paper Comparison

Where can I buy white pens?

The best way to find a white pen to buy is to choose your favorite from this review, and then search online for a supplier near you. I’ve provided some direct shopping links in this post above. Many can be found on Amazon or online craft stores like Blick Art Supplies.

I’m in Australia, so my shopping options for white markers were a bit more limited. I ended up purchasing a few from Officeworks and the rest from Jet Pens, who shipped internationally.

Do you have any other favorite white pens I missed?

I’m sure there are many white gel pens and paint markers that didn’t make my list – if you have a favorite, please let me know in the comments!

Don’t forget to save this for later on Pinterest, and subscribe to my YouTube channel and email updates so you’ll get notified when I post new articles and videos like this one. I hope this review and white pen comparison was helpful!

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