Stationery is consistently one of AliExpress’s best-selling categories: pens, sticky notes and markers are cheap, arrive in small packets and sell by the tens of thousands. We picked 8 items with the most orders and a rating of at least 98%, from simple gel pens to a Japanese mechanical pencil and a pocket label printer. The selection suits schoolchildren, students, anyone who keeps a planner, and anyone looking for an inexpensive gift.
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How we chose
The main criterion here is sales, not price. We looked at items bought at least several thousand times and dropped anything with a positive review share below 98%. Almost every item comes in several variants: different pack sizes, ink colours or body colours. The price on the card is for the basic variant, so check what is actually selected in your basket before paying.
Everyday pens
1. Coloured 0.5mm gel pen set
The best seller in the selection, with more than 20,000 orders. These are gel pens with a fine 0.5mm tip, sold in sets of 3, 10, 50 and 100. The thin line works well for lecture notes, planner entries and colour-coding, and the big sets are good value if you need pens for a whole family or a classroom. Check the palette of the variant you choose before ordering: the 10-pen and 100-pen sets have different colours.
Price on 8 November: £1.60
Sold: 20743+ pcs, positive reviews: 98.0%
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2. Needle-tip gel pens with direct liquid ink, pack of 10
Needle-tip pens have a thin metal point that gives a smooth, crisp line, and direct liquid ink means the pen uses a reservoir of liquid ink instead of a gel refill. People like them for soft writing without pressing hard. The pack contains 10 pens and has more than 20,000 orders. If you write a lot and quickly, look at this one first.
Price on 8 November: £1.31
Sold: 20278+ pcs, positive reviews: 98.0%
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3. Retractable black gel pens, 0.5mm
Click pens never lose their cap or stain your pocket, which makes them handy in a bag or on a desk. The ink is black and the line is 0.5mm, while the bodies come in different colours, so a pack is easy to split between family members. More than 14,000 orders, at around £1.06 for the basic variant.
Price on 8 November: £1.06
Sold: 14920+ pcs, positive reviews: 98.0%
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For notes and planners
4. Roller-tip pattern markers, 6 pieces
These are not ordinary highlighters but markers with a roller on the end that prints a pattern: flowers, waves and other repeating lines. People use them to underline headings, draw frames in planners and decorate cards. The set has 6 pieces and has sold more than 11,000. For serious study they are more of an add-on to classic markers, but for a pretty planner they are one of the most popular buys.
Price on 8 November: £1.30
Sold: 11838+ pcs, positive reviews: 98.0%
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5. Retro sticky notes shaped like an old computer window
These pads of self-adhesive notes are styled like a program window on an old computer, with a frame and a title bar. They are handy for short reminders on a monitor or fridge, and they also make a nice little gift for a colleague. The item has more than 8,000 orders, and the seller offers several designs.
Price on 8 November: £3.69
Sold: 8396+ pcs, positive reviews: 98.0%
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6. Transparent coloured index tabs
Narrow transparent stickers with a coloured edge are for marking pages in textbooks, books and documents. You can see the text through the clear part, so a tab can go right on the line you need. This is the cheapest item in the selection, at about £1.01, and it still has more than 4,600 orders. If you are revising for exams or working with paper contracts, buy several packs at once.
Price on 8 November: £1.01
Sold: 4627+ pcs, positive reviews: 98.0%
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For drawing and writing in pencil
7. UNI Kuru Toga 0.5mm mechanical pencil
The Kuru Toga from Japan’s Uni (model M5-559) is known for its automatic lead rotation: each time the tip touches the paper the lead turns slightly, so it wears evenly and the line stays equally thin. This is useful for technical drawing, sketching and neat handwriting. The lead is 0.5mm, the rating is 98.5% and more than 5,000 have been sold. Of everything in the selection, it is the only well-known branded tool, and it is often recommended to people choosing their first good mechanical pencil.
Price on 8 November: £3.73
Sold: 5386+ pcs, positive reviews: 98.5%
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For home and office
8. Niimbot B1 mini label printer
The most expensive item in the selection, but also the most practical. The Niimbot B1 is a compact thermal printer that connects to your phone over Bluetooth and prints self-adhesive labels without ink or cartridges. People use the labels on kitchen containers, moving boxes, document folders, cables and children’s belongings. The printer has sold more than 5,600 units. Note that the consumable here is branded label rolls, so it is worth ordering some straight away in the size you need.
Price on 8 November: £28.50
Sold: 5614+ pcs, positive reviews: 98.0%
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What to buy on a tight budget
If you want to put together a small set for under £6, the combination is: retractable gel pens, transparent index tabs and the Kuru Toga. That covers writing, marking up books and drawing. For a planner and creative work, add the pattern markers and retro sticky notes to the coloured pens. The Niimbot printer makes sense as a separate purchase if you have long meant to tidy up a cupboard or the kitchen.
A few tips before you order
- Check the variant in your basket. Most listings combine sets of different sizes on one page, and the price on the card refers to the smallest.
- Order from a single seller. Some items are sold in the same shop, which makes parcels easier to track and lets you use a seller coupon.
- Look at reviews with photos. For pens and markers the real colours matter, and customer photos show them more accurately than the seller’s pictures.
- Keep an eye on the 11.11 sale. AliExpress is running its big November sale right now, so prices can change during the day.
Stationery is rarely an expensive purchase, but a good pen or a comfortable pencil makes daily work noticeably nicer. Start with one or two items, and if you like them, come back for a bigger set.
