The Best Highlighter Pen for 2023

Why would you need a highlighter pen? There are many reasons why you need the absolute best, especially if you will be using it for work or school. A highlighter pen should, of course, highlight tracts and passages in your books or notes.

If a product that claims to be the best highlighter marker cannot even do that, then you need to look for another. Good highlighters should also have bright-colored inks because they need to contrast well against the page.

Whether you will be using these markers for highlighting books or giving your notes a bit more style, you will need the best pens for the job.

This article will help you choose the most suitable highlighter pen for studying or whatever purpose you have in mind for them. You will be receiving a couple of recommendations and a short buying guide, so you will learn all of the things you need to know.

Best Highlighter Pen Reviews

1. BAZIC Mini Highlighter Pen

One of the best things about this set of highlighters markers is their minuscule size. These markers are small enough that they can fit easily in your bag’s pockets. You can even carry one around with you in your pants pockets. They are so small that you can carry the entire set in your bag and they will not take up a lot of space.

Another nice thing about these markers is that they come with handy cap clips. This means that you can attach these markers to a keychain so you will always have easy access to them. In addition, you can attach this entire set of markers in a large key ring so you will not lose them.

When it comes to the inks, I do not have that much to complain about when I use this multi-pen with a highlighter. These markers all have high-contrast color inks. The neon colors are bright and they easily stand out from the background. I usually use them to mark passages in the Bible that I liked and the inks made them stand out from the page.

These markers are also a good investment for students who want to keep their notes organized. I gave a set of these markers to my mother so she can organize her handwritten recipes. She loved how these markers did not smear and smudge her handwritten notes.

However, these markers are not exactly my favorites. The main reason is that their caps can damage their felt tips. If you check the inside of the caps, you will see a protruding part and this will cause serious damage to the felt tip if you put the cap on incorrectly.

2. Feela Bible Gel Study Highlighter

The thing that I liked the most about these highlighters is that their ink does not bleed through the page. These markers are specifically for bibles and they have extremely thin pages. If the ink does not bleed through bible pages, then they will not do it on any other book.

This set of markers comes in 8 different colors. The markers come in vibrant neon colors, so they will no doubt contrast well on any page that you use them on. Having a selection of colors also means that you can organize your notes whichever way you want to. I like to color-code my notes so that they are easier to review later.

Because these highlighter pens use gel inks, you do not need to place that much pressure on the tips to get a consistent and uniform layer of ink. This means that you will not be wrinkling the paper when you highlight the words. In addition, the ink is so translucent that the words underneath will still be easily readable.

There are also several small details about these pens with a highlighter on top that I liked a lot. For instance, the cap is see-through and twist-off. This makes it easier to remove and replace the cap without damaging the nib. The set also comes with a clear plastic case so your markers will always stay organized.

There is not that much to complain about with these highlighters. One thing I noticed, though, is that the labeling does smudge off easily and it tends to transfer onto the paper you are working on. What I do is I would just take off all the labeling using a bit of rubbing alcohol so I do not have to deal with it again.

3. Madisi Chisel Tip Highlighters

Do not be surprised if you ordered this set of markers and you only expected around 6 or so pens. The reason is that you will be getting a huge box containing 72 pens. If you are a teacher and want to give out markers to your students, these are suitable highlighters for school.

On the other hand, if this is for personal use, then you are set for at least a couple of years. Even though these highlighters are so cheap, their chisel-point nibs write smoothly. I usually use them to highlight bible passages and they work quite well for that purpose. I also do a bit of calligraphy, and I use them for practicing my strokes.

The ink used by these markers is not the best but they are not the worst either. It is around the middle but pointing slightly to the positive side. I like how the ink dries quickly and does not smear the ink underneath. The colors are also quite vibrant, but they are also so translucent that you can still easily see the words underneath.

You will also be getting 12 pieces of each of the six colors, including blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, and pink. So, if you like to change the colors of your highlighters every so often or love to color-code your notes to make organizing them easier, then you will like this set.

Now, here is the problem. I noticed the flimsy make-up of these markers. If you twist the cap off instead of pulling it as you should, the marker would break into two. This means that you should not let young kids use these products; otherwise, you will be dealing with a huge mess later.

4. Feela Gel Highlighters Markers

These highlighters are not like your conventional highlighter pens. These markers are more like crayons but made from gel pigments instead of wax. This means they leave marks that are just like regular highlighters.

The best thing about these markers is that they will not bleed through the page. I have been using these gel highlighters on my bible journals and they work great.

Unlike other brands of gel highlighter pens, these products do not break easily but they still have a softer consistency compared to regular crayons. I have used other gel markers, and most of them have issues with bits of the marker breaking off and smearing all over the page.

One of the most important things that you need to look for when buying gel markers is that they need tight-fitting caps. That is just what you will be getting with these markers. The caps form an airtight seal that prevents the gel from drying up quickly. I also like the twist-up dispenser. It just makes it easier to use these markers.

This set comes with 12 different colors of markers, making them ideal for color-coding your notes. It also works great for you if you just like using different colors when you are highlighting. I use these markers for bible journaling, and I like to use a different color every day. This set has more than enough to keep me motivated to continue.

The only issue I have with these gel markers is the presence of printed labels on the pens. They tend to smear and get all over my hands. This is not that big of a deal, but it does get annoying after a while, which is why I just got rid of the labels altogether.

5. Writech Retractable Highlighters

One of the selling points of this set of highlighter pens is the push-button retractable nibs, which is pretty much like what some ballpoint pens have. However, unlike retractable ballpoint pens, these markers also come with automatic seals that prevent their nibs from drying.

Although the retracting mechanism is cool, what I liked the most about this set of highlighter pens is that they are refillable. You only need to buy one set of markers and then ink refills in the future. This feature makes these markers quite eco-friendly, which is always a good thing.

If you like to color-code your notes or use many different colors when you are highlighting entries in your textbooks, you will love this set of highlighters. I like using these highlighters for my bible journal because I can use a different color for every day of the week, and I still have more to choose from.

These markers also come with chisel-point nibs. This means that you can use these to draw two different line weights. I like using the wider, 4mm edge when I am highlighting bible passages and the narrower, 1mm edge for annotations.

The only problem I have with these pens is that they do not have quite as much ink as other highlighter marker brands. I have used lots of other brands of highlighter pens that have lasted at least a year of moderate use, but these have a hard time lasting more than two months.

6. YOOUSOO Pastel Marker Highlighters Pens

This was one of the first highlighters that I owned that had dual tips. At first, I thought it was an unnecessary feature but after using these markers for a while, I noticed that these dual tips added more utility to the highlighters. The chisel tips are great for the usual highlighter uses and the fine bullet points are great for outlines and lettering.

I also liked the quick-drying inks that these markers use. The ink is dry to the touch after just a couple of seconds after writing. This means that the ink is unlikely to smudge.

The ink also does not bleed through paper quite as much as other brands. I usually use these markers on my bible and unless the tip stays on one point too long, the ink will not bleed through the pages.

You will also be getting a lot of colors in this set of highlighters – 24 to be exact. I have a bit of obsessive-compulsive tendency when it comes to note-taking, so it helped that this set contained a lot of choices when it comes to color-coding.

Aside from highlighting my books and notes, I also used these markers quite a bit on my adult coloring books. There are more than enough colors in the set to make coloring enjoyable and the dual tips also came in handy. I would use the broad chisel point nib for broad-stroke coloring and the other end for the details.

I would have loved to give these markers a perfect score but I do have an issue with how little ink the markers contained. The first set of these markers I owned lasted just a little bit over 3 months, and that is with just regular use, not for drawing and coloring. The set I used for my adult coloring books just lasted a month and a half.

7. MOACC Erasable Highlighters

The best thing about these markers is that they are, to varying degrees, erasable. There have been countless times when I have mistakenly highlighted the wrong entries in my school textbooks, which made them quite confusing to use. Had I used these markers back then, I could have removed all those offending mistakes easily.

For what these pens can do, they are incredibly affordable. If you price each pen separately, they end up costing just a bit over a dollar each. This is a great value especially if you consider that these are erasable pens. You can expect to pay more than twice the cost for other brands.

Speaking of the markers, you will be getting six different colors in one set. For a set of color markers, six pens may not seem like much. However, considering that these are highlighter pens, six colors are more than enough.

When I color-code my notes, I typically just use three colors. This means I have plenty of colors to play around within this set of markers.

I also like that these markers do not bleed through the paper. I regularly do bible journaling and I have yet to notice any considerable bleeding through the thin pages. If these markers would not even bleed through thin bible pages, then they will not be doing so in the thicker paper of notebooks and textbooks.

There is nothing too serious to complain about these markers. However, it is quite annoying that the caps of each pen are not interchangeable. You cannot use the cap of the marker end to cover the eraser end and vice-versa. This means you have to do everything that you can to prevent losing caps.

8. Rarlan Assorted Fluorescent Highlighters

Are you a teacher or do you have your own business that employs a few people? If you are, then you would love this product. I hold a couple of bible study groups, and I regularly give out these highlighters to members who ask for them, and getting almost a hundred markers for an affordable price makes it very easy.

These highlighter pens come with durable, chisel-point felt tips. This makes them ideal for highlighting passages, but if you hold them with the narrow edge down, you can also use them to jot down short notes.

Since I received quite a lot of highlighters, I sometimes use them for drawings or adult coloring books. I noticed that the versatility of the chisel tips helps immensely.

The inks of these markers are your typical bright fluorescent colors. They contrast well against any book background, so you can easily see their marks. However, do take note that the purple highlighter is a bit darker than the rest, so you might not want to use it on fine texts.

Even though these highlighter pens are affordable, they contain a decent amount of ink. I have been using one of the highlighters for bible journaling for around a month or so, and it is still not showing any signs of stopping. It is the reason why I have been using the rest of the pens for drawing.

The only problem I had with these markers is that I found that a couple of the pens were already leaking. It started when I opened a blue marker and there was a lot of ink leaking out of the tip. It is when I checked the rest of the markers and found that at least four of them were leaking or damaged.

9. Zosxi Highlighters Fluorescent Marker Pens

If you are like me, that is you like to use as many different colors of highlighters as you can, then you would like this set of 25 colors. These markers come in several different shades of colors. They are also available in gray and black. This wide variety of colors makes this set of markers ideal for drawing and coloring as well.

Speaking of the colors, they are quite bright and vibrant but they are still translucent. However, I do not use darker shades for highlighting fine letters as they tend to be a bit too dark. The lighter colors, though, are great for bible journaling.

Another nice feature of these markers is that they are double-tipped, which makes them more versatile than your usual highlighter. I use the chisel-tipped end for general highlighting tasks and the fine-tipped end for drawing.

The inks used by these highlighters are also of above-average quality. These markers use water-based and non-toxic inks, which make them safe to use even by young children. I also gave a set of these pens to my young son to use for his coloring books and he loved them.

The issue I have with these pens though is that the inks are a bit too dark for highlighters. This is especially true for the darker hues. They tend to cover the letters underneath, which is not what you would want your highlighters to do. The lighter ones, though, work well for their intended purpose.

10. YISAN Highlighter Marker Pens

These are traditional highlighter markers and all of them have the familiar chisel-tipped nibs that you would expect from this kind of product. I usually use these markers for organizing notes and highlighting bible passages. For those purposes, these markers work quite well.

The chisel-tipped nib, which is a staple in traditional highlighters like this product, is quite flexible, but still retains its shape for the entire lifespan of the marker. I like to use the 4mm wide side of the nib for highlighting paragraphs, and the narrower 1mm side for individual words and sentences.

The ink these markers use is brightly fluorescent, which makes them easily contrast against any page background. However, they are still very much translucent that you can still read the highlighted words.

A quick warning, though. If you will use them to highlight your notes, make sure that the writing is completely dry; otherwise, they will get smudged.

I also liked that these highlighters contain a lot of ink. I have been using the same marker for at least a couple of months and it still writes as clear as ever. I think that it will take more than a year for me to go through the entire set of 6.

There is nothing to complain about with these markers. They work just like how you expect them to. These markers do not have any extra features. Aside from that, they do not claim to do anything else other than highlighting.

What to Look For When Buying a Highlighter Pen

So what should you consider once you start to shop for a high-quality highlighter pen? Here are the factors to watch out for:

The Number of Colors

If you like using different colors for organizing your notes, then you should get a set of different colored markers. Typically, you can find markers in sets of 6 colors, but you can also find sets of 24 and up. These larger sets are not just great for highlighting notes but also work excellently for drawing and coloring.

Ink Quality

You need a highlighter with ink that is bright and contrasts well against the paper. This will make them easier to see when you are reviewing. Another thing to take note of is that the ink should be translucent enough that you can still clearly read the words underneath.

In addition, the ink should be quick-drying. You do not want to wait for the highlighter ink to dry before you flip to the next page, especially if you are cramming to review your lectures. Another reason why you need fast-drying ink is that it will be less likely to bleed through the page.

Additional Features

Are you looking for a fancy highlighter, one that is still quite utilitarian? Some markers come with dual tips, the ones that allow you to write in different line weights. Other highlighters come with erasers when you make a lot of mistakes.

Some may think that these features are just gimmicks but some people find them quite useful.

Ink Amount

If you will be using highlighters quite often, like if you are fond of bible journaling or like highlighting passages in the novels that you are reading, then you need a highlighter that contains a lot of ink. In this case, you should get highlighters that have thicker barrels as these are the ones that usually contain lots of ink.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does the Highlighter Pen Charge?

Typically, the average highlighter pen can last for a year of regular use. If you are a heavy user, a good highlighter might last at least 3 to 4 months.

How to Keep a Highlighter Pen Fresh After Losing a Cap?

If you have a highlighter that dried out because you lost the cap, you can revive it by dipping the nib in some rubbing alcohol. Once the alcohol has seeped into the nib and the core, this should be enough to get the highlighter writing again.

Which Highlighter Pen is Best for Studying?

Choosing the perfect highlighter pen color for studying will be subjective. Some people love using a single fluorescent color while others like at least three colors for the proper organization. The most important thing, though, when choosing highlighters for studying is that they need to be vibrantly colored to make them easier to see on the page.

Conclusion

Not that many people think too much when they are buying highlighters. Most people just get the first one that they see. However, if you want to have the best highlighter pen for whatever task that you have in mind, you need to choose the one that comes with your required features.

Hopefully, the buying guide and product reviews were able to help you find the highlighter pens that you are looking for.