Highlighter Pen Cagematch

July 3, 2025 by Ajey



Today we’re going through seven different brands of pen and marker that can be utilized to highlight. We will test their abilities and even find a few alternate uses. We’ll test their ability to layer over alcohol marker effectively as well as their opacity and staying power.

  • Uniball Signo Broad
  • Pentel Milky Pop
  • Sakura Gelly Roll
  • Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen Brush
  • PaperMate InkJoy Gel
  • Temu Highlight Pen
  • Staedtler Brush Pen
  • Uni Posca Marker

I put each pen through a series of tests: Opacity, Smoothing/streaking, dry time, precision/line control, layering ability, and vibrancy. I’ll just explain what kind of perils they had to endure and give you a table summing it up. We’re going to cut the bullshit.



Testing parameters

Opacity – “Where you at?”

How We Tested:
Each pen was layered over a solid black alcohol marker block. We looked for full visibility without streakiness, ghosting, or transparency.

Passing Grade:
Bright, solid white that doesn’t let the black show through. Fails if it’s chalky, patchy, or disappears completely.

Smoothing / Streaking – “Bruh is that a skidmark?”

How We Tested:
We did zigzag swatches and fast straight lines to simulate real highlight strokes. We looked for streaking, uneven ink flow, or drying clumps.

Passing Grade:
Even laydown not dependent on work speed. A fail if it skips, gunks up, or breaks the line.

Dry Time – “no smudge”

How We Tested:
Wrote a stroke and immediately rubbed across it at 3s, 10s, and 30s intervals. Extra points if it dried fast even on coated or marker-filled paper.

Passing Grade:
Dry to the touch by 3 seconds max. If it smeared longer than that, it’s a problem child.

Precision / Line Control – “Control Freak”

How We Tested:
Honestly I just tested to see if text was legible using the pens to test precision.

Passing Grade:
Clean control, no blobbing, no accidental thickness. Skipping or feathering is frowned upon.

Layering Ability – “Layer it up”

How We Tested:
We did two coats, layered after a short dry period, and also tried layering over top of alcohol markers and darker colored ink.

Passing Grade:
No lifting, peeling, or disappearing ink. She should sit on top.

Vibrancy – “Focus Point”

How We Tested:
We judged white intensity on various backgrounds: black, pink, green marker fills..

Passing Grade:
High contrast, clean white. If it’s dull or needs 3 layers to be noticed then it’s a no from me dawg.

The Verdict

Alright all winners are crowned. Those that slay are runners up. If there’s a side eye honestly she can have other uses but it’s not highlighting in the full capacity. Trash is trash.

Pen Opacity Smoothing Dry Time Line Control Layering Vibrancy Final Verdict
Uniball Signo ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 👑
Pentel Milky Pop ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ✖️ ✖️ 💅
Gelly Roll ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 💅
Pitt Brush ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ 🗑
Inkjoy Gel ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ✖️ ❤️ 💅
Temu Marker ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ 🔥🗑
Staedtler Brush ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ 🗑
Uni Posca ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ 🔥🗑

👑 Uniball Signo is the way to go!! Also really partial to the Sakura Gelly Roll pens and both are very affordable. Don’t waste your money on the trash that was Faber Castell. I paid 30 bucks for the set and honestly a little pissed but live and learn right.