As we have touched on time and time again, the Montblanc range of luxury fountain pens are one of, if not the go to brand for anyone seeking prestige amongst their peers. The price tag and quality of any Montblanc fountain pen is second to none but we often see people reaching out and asking if Montblanc pens are worth their price tag.
Due to the huge price tag of the fountain pens within the Montblanc range as well as the hefty premium added on to them simply for being a Montblanc pen, we have noticed more and more people reaching out and asking what pen is better than a Montblanc. We can definitely see why this question is being asked more and more as there are a number of excellent fountain pen models from competing brands that are able to easily offer comparable performance to the Montblanc pens while being cheaper.
We have recommended the Pelikan m800 to our readers countless times due to it being one of the better Montblanc alternatives on the market right now. In our opinion, the m800 is able to competed with both the build quality and performance of the Montblanc fountain pens while being a few hundred dollars cheaper due to not having the Montblanc premium price bump.
Is Montblanc The Best Pen?
Although it is easy to argue that Montblanc are the best fountain pen brand on the market right now, you have to admit that a large portion of the price tag for their pens is simply to have the Montblanc snow drop logo on the finial of the pen cap. There are multiple alternative fountain pens on the market right now that is able to offer similar or in come cases better performance than their Montblanc alternative without the higher price tag.
We have a short breakdown of the three main brands that we would recommend that our readers take a look at if they are looking for a cheaper fountain pen that offers a similar quality to the Montblanc range. Depending on the exact model of fountain pen from the Montblanc range you are thinking of getting, you may need to adjust the specific model from the competition but there is usually a high-quality alternative available within their range.
Pelikan Vs Montblanc
As we touched on earlier in this article as well as in a number of other articles that we have published previously. In our opinon, the best alternative pen brand to Montblanc is without a doubt Pelikan. Over the years the Pelikan pen range has continiued to go from strength to strength as more and more people try their pens and fall in love with the writing experience that they deliver.
Unlike Montblanc who try to focus on just the luxury fountain pen market, Pelikan have a trading up the chain strategy when it comes to their products. Their goal is to attract people to their fountain pens from the entry-level, intermediate-level, and professional level fountain pen price points as they have models available that span all price points. Once people usually try a Pelikan fountain pen, it is rare that they will go back to using other brands and often just upgrade to a higher price point Pelikan.
When it comes to the two main models from the Pelikan range that directly compete with Montblanc pens while offering similar levels of performance and functionality at a lower price, we would recommend the Pelikan m800 and the Pelikan m1000. The m800 is the cheaper of the two that can compete with the majority of the Montblanc fountain pen range where as the m1000 competes with the absolute highest price point pens from Montblanc.
Although the Pelikan reputation is already excellent amongst both the penthusiast community and the fountain pen collector community, since they pushed more of their effort into developing their luxury pen models, their market share has rapidly grown. We would guess that this is due to people realising that they don’t have to pay the added premium of the Montblanc range to have an outstanding writing performance as Pelikan are able to deliver.
Visconti Vs Montblanc
Although we do feel that Pelikan are the best Montblanc alternative currently on the market, Visconti are going from strength to strength right now and their Visconti Van Gogh model has proven to be an excellent fountain pen that can challenge the cheaper Montblanc pens. Unfortunately, though, Visconti does not have any premium price point fountain pens in their range to challenge any of the more expensive Montblanc pens so you are limited to the Pelikan m1000.
As many of the people who we see reaching out to ask for what pen is better than a Montblanc are looking at the less expensive pens in their range, the Visconti Van Gogh can serve as a decent alternative. The pen has managed to rightfully earn itself a great reputation amongst the community but we would always recommend that our readers take a look at the options available from the Pelikan range first as they are second to none.
Cartier Vs Montblanc
This final option is not strictly a Montblanc alternative as both Montblanc and Cartier are now owned by the same parent company and often cross promote each others products. That said though, their Cartier Diabolo is an outstanding pen that really can rival the flagship models of any other pen brand in the world. Although Cartiers pens are less common than the other brands on the list, they do have a small but loyal following.
One of the main issues with the Cartier Diabolo is that it can be an absolute nightmare to find outside of Europe and even then, you can only usually get it when ordering from Cartier themselves or from one of the few partners that they approve. That said, the Cartier Diabolo is seen by many as a suitable alternative to the Montblanc range but as we touched on, they do technically come from the came company now but their pens do have their own unique designs.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over what pen is better than a Montblanc and although there are a few options, we would always recommend that our readers start with either the Pelikan m800 or the Pelikan m1000. Their standard series is available in black, blue, green or red but there are a number of limited edition releases for both models that come in a wide range of colors.
Depending on your situation, we would highly recommend that you consider something from the Pelikan range as they are cheaper than the pens from the Montblanc while being excellent alternatives offering very similar performance and build quality. Depending on the specific fountain pen that you were considering from the Montblanc range, the Peikan alternative may actually be better in some situations.
