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One of the essentials for any planner girl are black planner pens! Black planner pens are my favorite for writing on planner stickers, writing lists and if you want to color code using highlighters.

If you’re yet to discover your go to brand for black planner pens, or are on the hunt for a new favorite, these are my favorite brands for black planner pens:

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1. Pilot Frixion

If you follow my blog and Instagram you’ll know that it comes as no surprise that the Frixion pens make it to the top of my list! These pens are erasable (and they actually do completely erase as I found out when I left my planner in the car in 40 degree Celsius heat one time!) I recommend the Frixion clicker (you can get refills) otherwise the Frixion with a lid or if you want more colors, the Frixion ball (the pen itself is thinner but the ink size is the same). I <3 these pens so much I did a post on the Frixion pens including a video on how they work!

Related Post: My all time favorite planner pens: Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens Review

Here are the rest of my favorite black planner pens. I didn’t attempt to order the rest because asking me to choose a favorite pen is like asking me to choose my favorite chocolate flavour!

Staedtler ball 432 M

This tri-grip pen writes very smoothly. It also comes in a pack with a lot of pretty colors and very cheap (only around $8 for 10 pens from Officeworks).

Paper Mate Profile 1.4B

Most pens come in 0.3mm, 0.7mm or 1.0mm so if you prefer to write with a thicker tip, try this pen.

Stabilo point 88 fine 0.4

This is the thinnest pen I write with. To be honest I probably write with it the least often of this list. I bought this pen on a whim (it was $1.60 at Spotlight). I wanted to try it to see if I liked it as you can get this pen in a huge pack with lots of colors that would be ideal for color coding

Papermate Kilometrico Elite M

If you’re a fellow Aussie you’ve probably used a Papermate Kilometrico before (they’re a school book list item). These pens last forever and were my go to exam pen back in uni. These pens are super cheap (you can get them from Officeworks for a pack of 10 for $2.50).

Papermate Inkoy 100

Yep, another PaperMate pen. This one can sometimes skip until you’ve ‘broken’ it in but once you've used it for a bit it's a really nice pen for everyday use.

Artline Smoove Ballpoint Pen 1.0

This one was a recent find at Officeworks (where I find most of my planner pens!) It writes well and wasn’t very expensive. I only saw it in packs of black, blue and red though.

Papermate Inkoy Gel

This pen makes it to the top of almost every planner girl’s list. For good reason – this pen writes so smooth and is one of the best pens I’ve found for writing on washi tape – make sure you’ve subscribed if you haven't already because I’ll be doing a post soon on the best pens for writing on washi tape)

Staedteler Triplus Color

I like the 1.0mm thick pen tip for writing headings for lists to make the title stand out more. This pen also comes in a thinner 0.3mm (the 0.3mm size comes in a big pack with rainbow colors if you want to color code)

Papermate Flair M

This is another pen I see quite often in planner groups. The rainbow pack of these are on my planner wish list!

Uniball Signo Gel

A work colleague preached this pen as their favorite so I thought I’d give it a try. Warning: this one can be a little inky. It was pricey (about 3 or $4 for just one pen from Spotlight). I’ve also seen this pen at Officeworks. I probably wouldn’t buy this pen again but it would ideal if you want to write something in bold without using a fat marker like a sharpie.

I’ll be doing another couple of posts about which ones write best on washi tape, matte and glossy label paper – make sure you’ve subscribed if you want to know what that post is published :)

Pens I discovered after the video was taken:

• Artline flow 1.0 (have only seen at spotlight individually although you can find the Artline Ikonic at Officeworks in packs of 5
• Daiso – good cheap pen if you’re on a budget. The black pen came in a pack with 11 other colors – they’re part of my favorite color coding planner supplies under $5

As for storing all of my pens, I keep my black ones on my desk in a pen cup and the rainbow pens (which I'll be sharing more about in an upcoming post) in a container I got from Daiso.