Search Amazon for brooches and pins and you get two completely different products mixed into one result list. Some of them are jewelry you wear. Most of them are bar pin backs: blank metal clasps you glue or sew onto something you made yourself. The photographs look similar in a grid. The purchase is not remotely the same.
That split runs right through this list. Six of the eight picks below are hardware, sold in boxes of 60 to 120 for around $5 to $7. Two are finished pieces you can put on a coat today. If you came here to buy a brooch and you order a hundred bar pins, that is how it happens.
The hardware is also where the money question gets interesting, because the useful number is not the price on the box. It is the cost per pin, plus which bar lengths you actually get. At these prices the spread runs from 5.7 cents a pin to 10 cents a pin for products that do close to the same job.
How We Picked These Products
Every product here was returned live by the Amazon Creators API, at the price shown, on August 5, 2026. The pros, cons plus rankings below are read off the published manufacturer specifications: piece counts, bar lengths, hole counts, clasp mechanism, base metal and price. Two of the eight publish a star rating with a rating count, so those two cards show them. The other six do not, so no rating appears.
We have not tested any of these. Nobody at Curatsy has handled them. We have not read customer reviews either, so you will not find a sentence below claiming a pin feels sturdy in the hand or that buyers report anything. What we can do honestly is compare a 120-piece box at $6.79 against a 100-piece box at $9.99, note which one skips the 1.5 inch size, then tell you which is the better buy on paper.
Ranking follows two rules. Wearable pieces come first, because most people searching this term want a brooch rather than findings. The hardware is then ranked on cost per pin, size coverage plus what the manufacturer is willing to name about the metal.
1. Junkin 12 Pcs Vintage Rhinestone Animal Brooch Set
Junkin 12 Pcs Women Brooches Bulk Vintage Rhinestone Animal Pin Set
Best for: Actually wearing a brooch rather than building one
The one set here you buy to wear. Twelve pieces at under $2 each is fair for costume jewelry with stones.
Twelve animal brooches in zinc alloy with crystal rhinestones: dragonfly, butterfly, hummingbird, peacock, frog, lizard plus six more. At $22.99 for the set that works out to roughly $1.92 per brooch, which is the going rate for costume pieces with stones in them.
Zinc alloy matters more than it sounds. It is denser than the plated iron used in the pin backs further down this list, so a brooch made from it sits against fabric with enough weight to stay put instead of flopping forward on a thin blouse. The trade is that the stones are held by adhesive at this price point, not by prongs. Adhesive is what gives way first on inexpensive rhinestone jewelry.
The set format is the real limitation. You are buying twelve designs to get the two or three you like. There is no single-piece option.
Who it is for: anyone who came here for a brooch to pin on a coat, a blazer lapel or a bag. Also the obvious pick for gifting, since a twelve-piece assortment splits into several small presents.
2. Bulrash 24 Pcs Pearl Crystal Brooch Safety Pins
Bulrash 24 Pieces Pearl Crystal Brooch Safety Pins
Best for: A wearable pin that also solves a waistband that is too loose
Buy this for the function first. It fixes a gaping waistband and looks like jewelry while doing it.
Twenty four pearl and crystal safety pins at $9.99, which is about 42 cents each. Bulrash lists two jobs for them: decorating shirts, hats, scarves plus bags; fastening clothes that are too large so they fit. That second use is the more honest reason to buy them.
A pearl-headed safety pin at the waistband of trousers that gape at the back is a genuine fix that reads as deliberate. The same pin closes a wrap dress that keeps opening, or a blouse gap between buttons. At 42 cents each you can leave one on several garments permanently and never hunt for it.
Judge the decoration accordingly. Faux pearl and crystal on a pin costing less than half a dollar look fine at conversational distance and obviously inexpensive up close. The listing also says only alloy metal, which tells you nothing about nickel, worth knowing if metal against skin bothers you.
Who it is for: anyone who wants pins that do a job. Buy the Junkin set instead if you want something to be looked at.
3. keepsweat 120 Pcs 4-Size Bar Pin Backs
keepsweat 120 Pcs Metal Bar Pin Backs, 4 Sizes 20-38mm
Best for: The default box of findings if you do not know yet what sizes you need
Best value in findings on this list. Lowest cost per pin, four useful sizes plus the better clasp design.
One hundred and twenty pins at $6.79 works out to about 5.7 cents each, which is the cheapest per pin here, plus it comes with four sizes rather than one. Sizes run 0.78, 0.98, 1.18 plus 1.5 inches. That covers badges, name tags, small resin pieces and most fabric flowers.
The clasp is the specification worth paying attention to. keepsweat describes a rotating lock buckle: you turn the catch to trap the needle tip rather than depending on the spring alone to hold it. Every locking clasp on this list resists popping open better than a plain bar, though a rotating lock is a different mechanism from the spring-loaded catches the other boxes use.
Two shortcomings are real. The largest bar is 1.5 inches, so anything wider than about two inches will pivot on it. And the back has two holes rather than three, which is slightly less anchor for sewing or gluing.
Who it is for: anyone starting a craft project without a settled size. Buy this box, find out which length you use up first, then buy that size in bulk.
4. ZNBSIXP 100 Pcs Bar Pin Backs, 20/25/38/45mm
ZNBSIXP 100 Pcs Brooch Pin Backs, Silver Bar Pins, 4 Sizes
Best for: Larger pieces that need a 1.77 inch bar
The one to buy for big pieces. The nickel plating is the reason to think twice if you react to costume metal.
One hundred bars at $5.97, roughly 6 cents each, in 20mm, 25mm, 38mm plus 45mm. That is 0.79, 0.98, 1.5 plus 1.77 inches. It is the only box here that gives you both the standard 1.5 inch badge length and a full 1.77 inch bar for wider work.
ZNBSIXP is also the only listing that names its base metal plainly: nickel-plated iron. Three of the six hardware picks say nothing more specific than metal. Naming it cuts both ways. Nickel is one of the most common contact allergens in costume jewelry, so if your skin objects to cheap earrings it will object to this. For a pin back glued behind a piece and worn over a jacket, that is irrelevant. For a pin sitting against a thin summer top, it is not.
The missing detail is the size split. Viemior below tells you it packs 35 of the smallest and 20 of the largest. ZNBSIXP does not, so you cannot know how many 45mm bars are in the box until it arrives.
Who it is for: anyone mounting pieces wider than about 1.5 inches, where the shorter bars will not sit flat.
5. Viemior 100 Pcs Silver Brooch Clasp Pins
Viemior 100 Pcs Silver Bar Pin Brooch Backs with Storage Box
Best for: Knowing exactly what is in the box before you order
Buy it for the published size split and the storage box. The 1.5 inch gap is the catch.
One hundred bars at $5.99, about 6 cents each, in a compartment box. Viemior is the only manufacturer here that publishes the count for every size: 35 pieces at 0.78 inch, 25 at 0.98, 20 at 1.37 plus 20 at 1.77. When you are buying a mixed box sight unseen, that is worth something.
The size ladder is odd though. It goes 0.78, 0.98, 1.37, 1.77 and never lands on 1.5 inches, which is the standard length for a 1.5 inch badge or name tag. If badge work is why you are buying, the BEADNOVA box below is sized for exactly that and this one is not.
Viemior also states plainly that these suit lightweight crafts and decorations. Read that as a limit on what the bar will carry, not just marketing. A heavy cast or ceramic piece wants a wider bar with more holes.
Who it is for: anyone who wants to know the contents before ordering, whose pieces happen to fall outside the 1.5 inch size.
6. ZTEOFO 100 Pcs Locking Safety Clasp Pin Backs
ZTEOFO 100 Pcs Locking Pin Backs, Silver Brooch Clasp, 1 Inch
Best for: Committing to one size and using the whole box
Only worth it once you know 1 inch is your size. As a first box it is the wrong shape of purchase.
One hundred bars at $5.68, all of them 25mm or 1 inch. On price per pin it ties the keepsweat box at about 5.7 cents, which means the mixed-size box costs you nothing extra. That comparison decides this one.
The single size is not automatically a flaw. In a mixed box you use the popular length first and the rest sits in a drawer, so a hundred pins at the one size you actually need is better value than a hundred spread across four. The catch is that you have to already know 1 inch is that size.
A 1 inch bar carries a piece up to about 1.5 inches wide before it starts to pivot. That covers small resin pieces, enamel-style badges plus fabric flowers. Not much beyond that.
Who it is for: repeat buyers restocking a known size. If this is your first box of findings, buy keepsweat and come back here later.
7. BEADNOVA 60 Pcs 1.5 Inch Bar Pin Backs
BEADNOVA 60 Pcs Bar Pin Backs, 1.5 Inch, 3 Holes
Best for: Standard 1.5 inch badges and name tags
Right call if 1.5 inch badge work is the whole job. Poor value per pin for anything else.
Sixty bars at $4.99. That is the smallest amount of money you can spend on this list. It is also about 8.3 cents per pin, roughly 47% above the keepsweat box. You are paying for a smaller commitment rather than a better rate.
The three-hole back is the genuine differentiator. Almost everything else here has two. A third hole gives adhesive more mechanical grip plus gives you another point to stitch through. On a heavier piece that is where a bar pin usually fails first. Paired with the 1.5 inch length matched to standard badges, this is a specialist box rather than a general one.
BEADNOVA names its material as iron with silver-color plating. Plated iron rusts wherever the coating is broken, so keep these dry and do not store them loose with anything that will scratch them.
Who it is for: anyone making 1.5 inch badges, name tags or button-style pins, who wants three holes and does not need sixty of anything else.
8. Shappy 100 Pieces Brooch Pin Backs
Shappy 100 Pieces Brooch Pin Backs with Safety Clasp and Plastic Box
Best for: Buyers who want a long rating record before spending
You are paying about $4 extra for a rating history. Worth it if that reassures you, otherwise skip it.
One hundred bars at $9.99 in four sizes: 30 pieces at 20mm, 30 at 25mm, 20 at 32mm plus 20 at 38mm. On specification this is a good box. It publishes its size split, it uses an annular bayonet catch, plus the backs are flat with two or three holes for gluing or sewing.
The problem is the price next to everything above it. Ten cents per pin is roughly 75% more than keepsweat charges for 120 pins across a comparable size range, plus about 67% more than ZNBSIXP charges for a box that reaches 45mm. The specifications do not explain that gap. What Shappy has that no other findings box here has is 564 ratings at 4.6, which is a real signal even though we have not read a word of what those buyers wrote.
Stainless steel plating is the other defense. It is a fair one. It resists rust better than the silver-color plating on iron used elsewhere. Read the wording carefully though: plated means the coating, not the core.
Who it is for: anyone who will not order craft hardware without a rating history behind it. The premium over the better-specified boxes is about $4. On specification alone there are better boxes above.
How to Choose Brooches and Pins
Work out first whether you want jewelry or hardware. A brooch is finished and you wear it. A bar pin back is a blank clasp you attach to something you made. Two of the eight products here are the first thing. Six are the second. The product photographs do not make that obvious in a search grid.
Match the bar length to your piece, not to the piece count. The bar should span roughly two thirds of the width of whatever you are mounting. A 1 inch bar under a 2 inch brooch lets the piece pivot and tilt forward. Measure the widest thing you plan to make, then buy a box that carries that length.
Three holes beat two when you are gluing. More holes means adhesive keys through the plate instead of only sitting on it, plus you get an extra anchor point for thread. Only the BEADNOVA box here offers three across the board; several others give two or three depending on the size.
Check the base metal if the pin touches skin. ZNBSIXP names nickel-plated iron, BEADNOVA names iron with silver plating, Shappy says stainless steel plated. Three others say only metal. Nickel is a common contact allergen, so it matters for a pin worn against a thin top and matters not at all for one hidden behind a piece on a wool coat.
Compare cost per pin, not the price on the box. The findings here run from 5.7 cents to 10 cents per pin. That is nearly double for products doing the same job. The box price hides it because the counts differ: 60, 100 plus 120. Divide before you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a brooch and a bar pin back?
A brooch is the finished ornament: metal, stones, a fastening, ready to wear. A bar pin back is only the fastening, sold blank in bulk, meant to be glued or sewn onto something you have made yourself. Searching for brooches and pins on Amazon returns both mixed together, which is why six of the eight products above are boxes of hardware costing around $6 while the two wearable sets cost $9.99 and $22.99.
How many pin backs do I actually need?
Far fewer than a hundred, for most people. These sell in bulk because the per-unit cost collapses at volume, not because anyone makes a hundred brooches. If you have one project, the BEADNOVA box of 60 at $4.99 is the smallest outlay here. If you expect to keep making things, the keepsweat box of 120 at $6.79 costs $1.80 more and doubles your supply while adding three extra sizes.
Will a bar pin back hold a heavy brooch?
Not reliably. Viemior states outright that its pins suit lightweight crafts and decorations, which is a sensible description of the whole category at this price. Weight pulls a short bar forward and tears fine fabric at the puncture points. For a heavy cast or ceramic piece, use the longest bar you can fit, choose a three-hole back so the adhesive has more to grip, plus pin it to a sturdy fabric such as denim or wool rather than silk.
The Short Version
If you want an actual brooch, the Junkin 12-piece animal set at $22.99 is the pick. It is the only assortment here of finished jewelry, it works out to about $1.92 a piece, plus it carries the best rating on this list at 4.8 from 116 ratings. For a wearable pin that also does a job, the Bulrash pearl safety pins at $9.99 fix a loose waistband for about 42 cents each.
If you are buying hardware, start with the keepsweat 120-piece box at $6.79. It is the lowest cost per pin here at about 5.7 cents, it spans four sizes up to 1.5 inches, plus the rotating lock buckle is a better catch than a plain spring. Go to ZNBSIXP at $5.97 instead if you need the 1.77 inch bar, or BEADNOVA at $4.99 if you only make standard 1.5 inch badges and want three holes.
The one to think twice about is the Shappy box at $9.99. The specifications are fine. The price is roughly 75% above comparable boxes above it. The only thing you get for the difference is 564 ratings.
