The Best S Pens And Alternative Styluses For Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra (2024)

With Samsung adding S Pen functionality to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, note takers, doodlers and artists can now ply their trade on the phone's QHD+ screen. To do all of that, though, you'll need the best S Pen or a solid stylus alternative. The S21 Ultra doesn't come with a stylus, but it does work with a wide variety of third party digital pens and almost all of the entire Samsung S Pen back catalogue. So if you have an old Note phone, or a Samsung tablet, that S Pen will work.

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• The 16 Best Samsung Galaxy S21 Cases Add Protection And Style

Samsung's trademark low-latency is a major reason to buy directly from the company, but you can get similar performance—and a better ergonomic design—from some big name third-party brands too. Here are the best stylus pens for Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Give Your S Pen A Home

Official Samsung Galaxy 21 Ultra S Pen

The official Samsung S Pen now works with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, as do older S Pens from previous Note and Galaxy Tab devices. It doesn’t support Bluetooth functionality like Air Gestures, but users can take notes, annotate and use it to navigate around the device. No pairing is needed to connect it to the S21 Ultra, rather the device recognizes the stylus as soon as it hovers over the phone.

The trademark light, sleek and low latency operation speed (9ms) comes with Samsung’s official stylus, but you will have to buy a case to house it with the phone. It’s worth mentioning that Samsung is also planning to release an S Pen Pro at some point, which will come with the additional Bluetooth functionality alongside a bigger price tag. If you don’t want the case, you can grab the S Pen on its own for $40.

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Best Budget S Pen Alternative

Staedtler 180 Noris Digital

Staedtler’s instantly recognizable design has moved over into digital stylus form. The bumblebee-styled pen comes with a 0.7mm precision nib that applies 4096 levels of pressure for excellent accuracy.

It uses EMR technology, so it needs neither charging nor pairing, which means it works instantly on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. However, the lack of Bluetooth connectivity means there aren’t additional features like programmable buttons that can switch the pen thickness, or color. But with familiar ergonomics and palm rejection technology—so users can rest their hands on the screen without giving the phone confusing input commands—the Noris Digital is well priced at $27.

Best Premium S Pen Alternative

Adonit Dash 3

Adonit is a specialist in digital pens. The company’s iOS offering is far better than that of its Android line-up. It is yet to produce anything close to its hyper high-end Adonit Note+ iPad stylus for Android. But the Dash 3 is an affordable and accomplished pen in its own right.

The 1.9mm tip is designed to remove drag, it has a 14 hour battery life and it can be turned on and off by clicking the eraser-replacement button at the top. As is the case with many other third party Android styluses, it doesn’t come with Bluetooth connectivity so programmable buttons aren’t an option. But the aluminum body and 8.5mm radius gives the pen an appropriate amount of thickness without being hefty.

Most Stylish S Pen Alternative

Wacom Bamboo Tip

Wacom is the biggest name in the stylus world. The Bamboo Tip comes with, as you might have guessed, a 1.9mm bamboo nib, which is interchangeable. It also has a 20-hour battery life and a reasonable 16g of weight with a 10mm diameter.

It’s on the larger and heavier side in comparison to other pens on this list, which is a matter of taste for users who do and don’t prefer that extra heft when sketching. It doesn’t require a connection and doesn’t come with extra Bluetooth functionality, but it’s also a well-made and well-executed device from one of the best stylus makers out there.

Best Stylus That Works With Everything

Meko Universal Stylus

The Meko second generation stylus has a fine 1.5mm tip and an interesting ergonomic design. It has an aluminum finish with a thick grip near the bottom of the pen for a better fit and longer pen usage.

It has shorter battery life than the Adonit pen at 9 hours, but it’s also quite a bit cheaper at $18. There’s no Bluetooth connectivity and no additional functionality like programmable buttons or pressure sensitivity, but it also doesn’t need a connection to work and it provides decent accuracy. This is a simple, no-nonsense solution for S21 Ultra users who need a basic pen and don’t have much to spend.