Perler vs Hama vs Artkal Beads: Which Brand Should You Buy? (2026)
Perler vs Hama vs Artkal compared — color counts, bead quality, melting behavior, price and availability — plus which brand is best for photo patterns, sprites and beginners.
Perler vs Hama vs Artkal — if you're starting fuse beads, this is the first question, and the honest answer is that all three are the same 5mm iron-together medium made by different companies. The differences that actually matter are color range, melt consistency and where you can buy them. This guide compares all three on the factors that affect real projects, then matches each brand to the use case where it wins.
Quick answer: which bead brand is best?
- Buying your first kit in the US → Perler. Every Walmart and Michaels stocks it, tutorials assume it, and the color range covers beginner projects.
- In Europe or want softer detail → Hama. The EU standard, with a slightly softer finish that many prefer for display pieces.
- Converting photos and portraits → Artkal. The 199-color S-series catalog renders skin tones and gradients better than any competitor.
All three are dimensionally identical 5mm midi beads — they interlock on the same pegboards and fuse with the same iron. Patterns convert between brands; only the color names change.
Perler beads: the American default
Perler is the brand that defined fuse beads in the US — sold everywhere from Amazon to craft chains, with the biggest community and most tutorials built around it.
- Colors: ~50 core colors, solid coverage of basics; specialty lines add pastels and glow-in-the-dark
- Melt: firm, classic melt — beads retain visible shape at medium iron time, which most people associate with "the perler look"
- Price & availability: cheapest per bead in the US (~$10–15 per 22k tub on sale); everywhere locally
- Weak spot: the catalog is shallow for portraits. Skin tones number a handful, and smooth gradients run out of intermediate colors
Best for: beginners, geometric designs, sprites, anything you want to buy today at a local store. Start patterns with the perler bead pattern maker.
Hama beads: the European standard
Hama (Munkplast, Denmark) dominates Europe the way Perler dominates the US, and its catalogs split by age — Mini (2.6mm), Midi (5mm, the standard) and Maxi (10mm).
- Colors: ~60 midi colors with a reputation for slightly softer, more pastel-leaning tones
- Melt: melts a touch more readily than Perler at the same iron time — flatter, smoother finishes with less effort
- Price & availability: cheapest in the EU; importing to the US roughly doubles the cost
- Weak spot: the pastel bias can mute photo conversions that want saturated color
Best for: European crafters, display pieces with a soft finish, and anyone who finds Perler's melt too stiff. Convert photos with the hama bead pattern maker.
Artkal beads: the color-count king
Artkal (China) built its reputation on one number: 199 colors in the S-series 5mm range — roughly four times Perler's catalog.
- Colors: 199 S-series colors, including a genuinely usable skin-tone ramp and fine-grained intermediates
- Melt: consistent, slightly softer than Perler; the R-series (rounder finish) and A-series (standard) cover different textures
- Price & availability: mid-priced, primarily online (Amazon, AliExpress, artkalbeads.com); no local retail in most countries
- Weak spot: shipping time if you're outside Asia; smaller tutorial ecosystem
Best for: photo conversions, portraits, gradients — anything where the color budget decides the result. Use the artkal bead pattern maker to match all 199 colors.
Head-to-head comparison table
| Factor | Perler | Hama | Artkal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Color catalog (5mm) | ~50 | ~60 | 199 |
| Best for | Beginners, sprites | Display pieces, EU buyers | Photos, portraits |
| Melt character | Firm, retains shape | Soft, flattens readily | Medium-soft, consistent |
| Price (per bead) | Lowest in US | Lowest in EU | Mid |
| Where to buy | US retail everywhere | EU retail everywhere | Online only |
| Photo conversion quality | Fair (color gaps) | Good (softer tones) | Best (deep catalog) |
Can you mix bead brands in one project?
Physically, yes — the beads are the same size and fuse together fine. Visually, no: melt consistency differs (Perler stays domed where Hama flattens), and "black" differs subtly between brands, so mixed blacks catch light differently. One brand per piece; mix freely between pieces.
Mixing matters for planning, though: if your stash holds three brands, a pattern maker that matches each catalog separately — like the free bead pattern maker — can restrict matching to the colors you actually own.
Which brand is best for photo patterns?
Artkal, and it isn't close. A 58×58 portrait at 24 colors needs exactly the fine color steps Artkal's 199-color catalog provides; Perler's ~50 colors force visible jumps between adjacent tones, and Hama's pastel lean mutes contrast. The bead count guide covers sizing; brand-wise, portraits start at Artkal.
FAQ
Are Perler and Hama beads the same size?
Yes — both are 5mm "midi" beads that fit the same pegboards and fuse with a household iron. Only the color catalogs and melt character differ.
Which brand is best for beginners?
Whichever is stocked locally — friction beats specs when you're starting. In practice: Perler in the US, Hama in Europe. Graduate to Artkal when you attempt your first photo portrait.
Do Artkal beads melt differently than Perler?
Slightly. Artkal reaches a smooth fuse a few seconds earlier than Perler at the same heat; if you learned on one brand, test-iron a small scrap before running a full 58×58 piece on the other.
What's cheaper — Perler, Hama or Artkal?
Per the bead: Perler in the US, Hama in the EU (both sell ~22,000-bead tubs cheaply), Artkal mid-priced online. Project cost depends more on color count than brand — see the bead quantity formula.
Can I use a Perler pattern with Hama or Artkal beads?
Yes — any pattern converts between brands. A converter that matches each brand's real color codes (like the free bead pattern maker) regenerates the shopping list for whichever brand you're buying.
Pick a brand, make a pattern
Decided? Drop a photo into the bead pattern maker and switch between the Perler, Hama and Artkal catalogs on the same image — the preview shows exactly what each catalog does to your colors before you buy anything. New to photo conversion? Read the photo to perler bead pattern tutorial first; it covers grid size and color budgets in five minutes.