The Best Fountain Pens Under 100 Dollars

Originally released in the 1920s, the Conklin Duragraph is back and now made with modern manufacturing techniques. Most of the pens feature acrylic bodies in a variety of different colors, but limited edition pens with PVD finishes are also available. And to stay true to the original Conklin pens, the nib has a crescent-shaped breather hole.

The pen is a little too long to use when posted, but the length and weight are excellent when unposted.

Stylish Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pens are a pleasure to use and look at. As the company’s motto states, “Life is too short to carry an ugly pen!” Two eye-catching versions are available. Like a well-worn penny, the Lincoln is made from antiqued copper with a sophisticated and vintage feel. Meanwhile, the Douglass—named after civil rights leader Frederick Douglass—features an engraved pattern with an antique finish.

Like the Invincia, the Tornado is most comfortable to use when unposted. If you like the look of Tornado fountain pens, check out Retro 51’s rollerball pens and mechanical pencils.

If minimalism is more of your style, the Nagasawa Original Profit Jr. Skeleton Fountain Pen is the way to go. Its clear acrylic body displays the ink inside without any distractions. Even the feed is clear so you can watch while ink travels down to the nib. The Gold Trim includes a converter with gold details, while the Silver Trim only includes a cartridge (converters are available separately, though).

Want something more colorful? The Sailor Compass 1911 is very similar but is available with clear, colored barrels.

For a pen that can write for pages and pages without pausing, reach for the TWSBI Vac700R. Its high-capacity vacuum-filling system holds almost twice as much ink as standard cartridges and converters. To fill the pen, twist the knob on the back of the pen counterclockwise to unlock the plunger. Pull back on the knob and submerge the feed in ink. Push down on the knob and watch the reservoir fill with ink.

A Vac700R will fill to about two-thirds of its capacity when paired with a regular ink bottle, but using the TWSBI Vac20A Ink Bottle will fill it to maximum capacity. Like the TWSBI Diamond 580, the Vac700R is available with the stunning but slightly pricier Iris finish.

One of the benefits of using a vacuum-filling pen is that you can seal the barrel to reduce the amount of ink that can leak from the feed. Just twist the knob clockwise to push the plunger against the feed, preventing any more ink from flowing.

The TWSBI Vac700R does post, but we prefer it unposted as the cap makes it quite long. If you’d rather have something smaller, try the pocket-sized TWSBI Vac Mini.

A triumph of modern design, the Platinum Procyon won the International Stationery & Office Products Fair (ISOT) grand prize in 2019. While other fountain pens need to be dipped in ink up to the grip section to fill properly, the Procyon only needs to be submerged up to the hole in the feed. This helps you get the last bit of ink from a bottle, and keeps your fingers from getting inky, too.

The Procyon is made of aluminum, so it’s sturdy yet lightweight enough to use every day. It’s comfortable to use posted or unposted, too. Like many Platinum pens, it has a Slip and Seal cap that prevents the nib from drying out if it’s not used for more than a year.

Made with a combination of acrylic and brass, the YSTUDIO Resin is a striking fountain pen. The logo is printed in gold on the barrel, matching the pen’s shiny brass grip and gold-colored nib. The fountain pen has a sleek, clipless design, but its hexagonal barrel and cap prevents the pen from rolling away. Its snap-on cap makes sure that your fingers won’t rest on uncomfortable threads.

The Opus 88 Koloro is a modern interpretation of eyedropper pens popular in the early 1900s. Its translucent acrylic body and screw-on cap are accented with opaque ebonite, a hard rubber that was commonly used to make vintage fountain pens.

A stopper inside the barrel can be screwed shut to block the flow of ink, so the pen doesn’t accidentally leak. This feature is practically a necessity for eyedropper pens—after all, they have large capacities, and you wouldn’t want the pen dumping a few milliliters of ink in your bag!

The pen is lightweight and comfortable to hold. We prefer using it unposted, but it’s not overly heavy when posted.

The Kaweco Liliput Fountain Pen is the king of pocket pens. At only 3.8 inches long when capped, it fits nicely in shirt pockets and purses. Its grip section is slim yet comfortable to hold. For quick notes, you can use it unposted, but it extends to a full five inches long when the cap is posted.

You can choose from a variety of different materials, including aluminum, brass, and stainless steel. The Liliput doesn’t have a clip, but you can add one so you can clip it to your pocket (and prevent it from rolling off your desk).

The Hightide Attaché isn’t just compact, it’s also incredibly stylish. We love its acrylic resin body, which has a cool marbled look and makes every pen one of a kind. Just like the AL Sport, the Attaché becomes a full-sized pen when the cap is posted. The cap even screws onto the back of the pen, so it stays on securely and won’t get lost.