[alienreborn]

Ten cheap yet great fountain pens from my experience:

- Platinum Preppy/Prefounte/Plasir ($3-$20)

- TWSBI ECO ($30-$50)

- Pilot Metro/Cavalier ($20-$50)

Cheap and OK pens (I found these better for drawing than writing):

- Lamy Safari/Al-Star ($20-$50)

- Kaweco Sport Classic ($20 -- )

'Affordable' Gold Nib pens (These aren't necessarily 'better' but writing experience is different(softer feel) which some people prefer)

- Pilot Elite 95S ($80-$100)

- Pilot Decimo/Capless ($115-$160)

All prices are from online stores available in US.

[MezzoDelCammin]

To this I'd add:

For the affordable gold nibs, "Lamy 2000" is generally the biggest competitor to Pilot Capless / Vanishing point. Same price, very similar nib quality, different esthetics / use case.

For the cheap, the aliexpress classics "Jinhao x750" is another gateway drug. It's under $10 and gives an almost infinite ability for tinkering further down the line when the fountain pen bug bites (#6 size nibs that are easy to find / replace and standard cartridge / converter size for easy ink availability).