The 5 Best Colored Pencils on Amazon in 2026

Why it made the list

• Its listing describes soft, thick cores that give a smooth, even laydown for shading and creating shadows.
• The pigments are described as lightfast and richly saturated, in pencils the listing calls artist quality.
• It comes as 48 pencils in a tin case, and the listing says they are made in the USA.

Drawbacks

• Soft cores wear down fast and can snap, so you will sharpen often and may replace a pencil whose lead breaks inside the wood. Sarah Renae Clark says the soft core is fragile and does not hold a point for long.
• Sarah Renae Clark counts 26 of the 150 pencils in the full Prismacolor Premier range as having the lowest lightfast rating, so a few colors in a smaller set may fade sooner.
• The 48-color set has no greys.

Watch for this: Amazon shows one shared set of ratings across the 24, 36 and 48 count tins, so check the count on the listing before you order.

Skip it if you draw fine detail and want a point that lasts. Firmer cores hold one better.

Why it made the list

• Its listing names 72 colors, each pencil labeled with its color name, color number and lightfastness information.
• The soft wax-based cores are 4 mm thick and described as break-resistant, for blending, shading, layering and hatching.
• The pencils arrive pre-sharpened in a double-hinged metal tin with a color chart for swatching.

Drawbacks

• It is a wax core, and wax can build up until the paper stops taking new layers, so heavy layering has a limit.
• The plastic trays inside the tin can feel flimsy if you draw on your lap.

Skip it if you want the softest, most buttery laydown for blending. The Prismacolor Premier is the soft-core pick.

Why it made the list

• The 72 pencils are arranged in color families across three flip-up layers of a presentation tin.
• Each pencil is named, numbered and color-coded, so you can find a shade quickly.
• Its listing describes soft, buttery cores that hold their point, and a fold-out tutorial for re-creating the unicorn illustration on the sleeve.

Drawbacks

• The listing text we read gives no lightfastness rating.
• A soft, buttery core wears down faster than a firm one. That is our inference from the listing’s wording and from Sarah Renae Clark’s description of soft cores.

Watch for this: Amazon’s results also hold a Faber-Castell set with “Castle” in its name. It is a different maker.

Skip it if you want lightfastness information on every pencil. The ARTEZA 72 prints it.

Why it made the list

• It has 80 colors, with the color name and number printed on each pencil.
• The barrel is colored to match its core, which its listing says helps you choose the right color quickly.
• The soft, break-resistant core sits in a wood barrel, and the listing describes it as blendable and erasable. A case and a color list come with it.

Drawbacks

• Its listing pitches the set at kids, adults, beginners and artists of all levels, so it is a general-purpose set, not an artist-grade line. That is our inference from the listing.
• One listing covers several set sizes.

Watch for this: Shuttle Art sells 80, 136, 172 and 180 color sets, and Amazon shows one shared set of ratings across them. Check the count on the listing.

Skip it if you want the soft, thick cores of an artist-grade set. Try the Prismacolor Premier.

Why it made the list

• They twist up, with no sharpening or peeling.
• A plastic barrel helps protect the color core, and twisting down protects the tip when you carry them.
• Its listing describes them as good for coloring books, drawing and crafts.

Drawbacks

• Its listing details give a medium point, so fine detail is harder than with a sharpened pencil. That is our inference from the listing.
• It is aimed at kids and school supplies, not at artist-grade blending.

Watch for this: Crayola sells many pencil sets. A separate listing pairs 25 Twistables with 40 sheets of paper, and the wood-cased 36 and 120 count sets are different pencils.

Skip it if you want soft, blendable cores. The Shuttle Art 80 is a soft-core set with a wood barrel.