Best Nintendo Switch Stylus for Super Mario Maker 2

Make the most out of Super Mario Maker 2 by playing the game by picking up a fresh new stylus compatible with the Nintendo Switch.

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Like its predecessor, Super Mario Maker 2 makes a big show of touchscreen-based gameplay. However, players won't be able to use the Joy-Con controls in handheld mode. As such, those who spend time crafting levels in Super Mario Maker 2 will want to use a stylus, both for precision and for comfort. Here are our choices for the best stylus to use with Super Mario Maker 2.


Super Mario Maker 2 Stylus | Best Nintendo Switch styluses

Users may be inclined to use the touchscreen on the Nintendo Switch with their fingers, as with any other mobile device. However, for precision, a stylus is absolutely recommended. Not only will it help for general level building and item placement, it should also make playing the game easier in general, especially considering that Super Mario Maker 2 cannot be played using the Joy-Con controllers in handheld mode.

With that in mind, we've come up with our picks on the styluses best-suited to play Super Mario Maker 2 on the Nintendo switch. Just about any stylus should do the trick, but given that the game's official stylus is a soft-tipped capacitive offering, we've stuck to popular styluses with that general design.

Super Mario Maker 2 official stylus

Super Mario Maker 2 stylus - official Nintendo
Nintendo's official Super Mario Maker 2 stylus

When it comes to finding a stylus purpose-built for a video game, it's hard to go wrong with the official Super Mario Maker stylus. Offered only as a pre-order bonus in European and Japanese territories, it seems there's no way for North American players to buy the Super Mario Maker 2 stylus for themselves. Fortunately, there are plenty of comparable styluses on the market.

AmazonBasics Capacitive Stylus Pen

Super Mario Maker 2 best stylus Amazon Basics
AmazonBasics capacitive touchscreen stylus pen

By far the most popular stylus on this list, the eight-dollar AmazonBasics Capacitive stylus should be just what players need to get the most out of Super Mario Maker 2. Featuring an aluminum construction and three differently sized coated stylus tips, the Amazon stylus looks like a pen and should be about as easy to lose. The pocket clip should help players keep track of it, but if not, it's also available in a four pack for $24.99.

ChaoQ Capacitive Stylus 4-pack

Super Mario Maker 2 best stylus - chaoq four pack
ChaoQ stylus four pack

The next item on this list is perhaps the most obvious, especially for parents of young gamers. ChaoQ has a bundle of four styluses sold on Amazon for a total of nine dollars, bringing individual costs down to about $2 each. These things are likely to be lost or misplaced, so it makes sense to buy more than one at a time. ChaoQ also throws in four additional stylus tips in case the old ones get worn out or destroyed, making this quite a good value.

Liberrway Stylus Pen 10 pack

Super Mario Maker 2 best stylus Liberrway ten pack
Liberrway capactive stylus pen 10-pack

Finally, our last option is for the gamer or parent who just doesn't trust styluses to stick around. On Amazon, Liberrway is offering a 10-pack of capacitive touchscreen styluses for just 6 dollars. At 60 pennies apiece, users shouldn't exactly expect a premium stylus. However, they should fit the bill nicely, and they're easily the best bargain on this entire list.


The best stylus for Super Mario Maker 2 is undoubtedly Nintendo's official stylus, but given that it isn't sold in America, players will have to settle for alternatives. Fortunately, any capacitive touchscreen stylus should do the trick, and the rest comes down to personal preference or budget friendliness. For more coverage of Nintendo's latest platforming release, check out Shacknews' collection of Super Mario Maker 2 guides.

Guides Editor

Kevin Tucker is a core component of Shacknews' powerful guide development team. For questions, concerns, tips, or to share constructive criticism, he can be reached on Twitter @dukeofgnar or through e-mail at kevin.tucker@shacknews.com.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    June 25, 2019 1:50 PM

    Kevin Tucker posted a new article, Best Nintendo Switch Stylus for Super Mario Maker 2

    • reply
      June 25, 2019 1:52 PM

      You try the wiiu stylus?

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      June 25, 2019 3:06 PM

      Question! Why would the controllers not work in handheld mode if they work in docked mode? Or is there no docked mode for this one? I don't know much about the "how" it works because my kid just likes to tell me about the added content. 🤣

      • reply
        June 25, 2019 3:22 PM

        There is a docked mode, and the controllers work there, it just forces you to use the touch screen in handheld mode, which is the better method for this anyways.

        • reply
          June 25, 2019 8:21 PM

          Ok cool. It seems weird but whatever. I don't think I would want to play it docked anyway really. It's way more precise to work on the smaller screen with the stylus. In my humble opinion.

    • reply
      June 25, 2019 9:18 PM

      The man with the briefcase, this guide needs some work. I know you have to get these out close to releases, but you guys can do better.

      There is no mention of active capacitive styluses, which solve a lot of the problems introduced by rubber nib ones, no mention of clear plastic disc styluses, which don't feel like a squishy mess (the adoint one is on sale, too!). Weird promotion of the Nintendo "official" one for no reason. Honestly, it makes me worry your review for the game itself will be affected by the quality of stylus you used for it.

      Check out this guide:

      https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/c4yk8v/i_tested_a_bunch_of_styluses_ahead_of_mario_maker/

      Also, I think there are some good stylus for kids...

      I bought this zagg stylus, which doesn't roll away and has no metal to it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06Y4HTQS6


      And this stylus, which is sized roughly like a marker:
      https://www.studioneat.com/products/cosmonaut




      • reply
        June 25, 2019 9:37 PM

        [deleted]

      • reply
        June 26, 2019 10:00 AM

        Weird promotion of the Nintendo stylus? For no reason? And it makes you worry?

        What exactly is weird about recommending a stylus made by Nintendo -- a stylus expressly designed for use with the Switch?

        I appreciate that you like a different sort of stylus, but Nintendo itself has endorsed a first-party stylus for use with the Switch. Regardless of your personal preferences, that style is not only the one recommended by the company that makes the Switch itself, it's the kind that most people use with their Switches. It's also several magnitudes cheaper than the styluses you've link from no-name companies, ones with zero user reviews, and ones that can't be ordered from major retailers.

        I can appreciate that you like a different sort of stylus. But if you ask me, the best stylus for the Switch is not an expensive piece of tech that users need to research heavily; it is readily available, technically functional, and affordable. Your choice might suit you just fine, but the options listed here will suit 99% percent of players just fine.

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          June 26, 2019 11:48 AM

          "And it makes you worry? "

          I think you're missing something from my comment. The "it" that makes me worry is the lack of mention of other actual types of stylus besides rubber nib: active capacitative and plastic ring stylus. They're good options if you wanted a more nintendo wii u feel. Someone in this thread even is confused about whether you can use a wii u stylus, so I think it's worth explaining the technology and the space in a guide like this.

          My problem is the claim made in the article, "When it comes to finding a stylus purpose-built for a video game, it's hard to go wrong with the official Super Mario Maker stylus." includes no actual argument of why that would be true. Just because nintendo made it for the device doesn't mean it is best, it could also mean it was cheapest for them to produce. Their screen technology is pretty traditional, so I don't understand your "expressly designed" comment, what specific magic do you think they would put in it? If there was any such magic, I'd love if this article called it out to clarify what comes off as meaningless.

          You say: "Your choice might suit you just fine, but the options listed here will suit 99% percent of players just fine."

          Sure, but that doesn't change the fact that the article does not provide depth or insight into other . types of stylus, something that a reader interested in the topic of "best stylus" would definitely benefit from.

          You also said: "It's also several magnitudes cheaper than the styluses you've link from no-name companies, ones with zero user reviews, and ones that can't be ordered from major retailers. "

          If it deserves clarifying, If I had a hill I chose to die on, it'd be the lack of description of tradeoffs between adoint style plastic ring stylus, which are cheap and well known and address the rubber nib feel, active capacitative stylus, which address the rubber nib feel but are battery powered. The two specific stylus I liked are not really the core of my feedback. They're pretty cool though!

        • reply
          June 26, 2019 6:37 PM

          [deleted]

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