Building Your Business Business Tools The 9 Best Bullet Journals of 2023 Get your creative juices flowing with these picks By LaToya Irby LaToya Irby Facebook Twitter LaToya Irby is a credit expert who has been covering credit and debt management for The Balance for more than a dozen years. She's been quoted in USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, and the Associated Press, and her work has been cited in several books. learn about our editorial policies Updated on September 13, 2022 Fact checked by Taylor Tompkins We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Bullet journaling (also known as BuJo) is a creative organizational system that many people use as an alternative to a traditional monthly or weekly planner. The best bullet journals feature a grid dot format that allows you to easily customize your own page layouts. Still, others prefer blank pages or even ruled pages. When you’re choosing the best bullet journal, it's important to consider the type of cover, binding, and paperweight (because this plays a role in the type of pens/markers you want to use). Read on to find the best bullet journals to buy today. Best Overall: Poluma Dotted Grid Notebook Amazon Buy on Amazon A basic, no-frills option, this Poluma Dotted Grid Notebook is ideal for beginners who don't want to shell out a ton of money for a decent bullet journal. It has all the features you'd want in your first bullet journal: a sturdy faux leather hardcover, inner pocket, attached elastic closure, and plenty of note-taking space. The pages are also made of acid-free paper, withstanding damage from light and air for long-lasting performance. The notebook is small enough to tuck into and easily reach from your purse or backpack. Get organizing with this budget-friendly, simple bullet journal. Page count: 128 | Dimensions: 5 x 8.25 inches | Page style: Dotted Runner-Up, Best Overall: Lemome Cork Hardcover Notebook Amazon Buy on Amazon Sustainable yet high quality, the Lemome bullet journal is crafted with an eco-friendly soft natural cork cover. It feels as soft as leather, but it’s actually cork fabric. Because there’s less processing involved in creating corkwood, the production of this bullet journal leaves a lower ecological footprint. The corkwood is both recyclable and biodegradable. The thread-bound pages lay flat for easier note-taking and bullet journaling. Each page of the journal is perforated for easy tearing and archiving. Just be careful with your pages—too much wear may cause them to easily tear out of the journal. The Lemome journal includes elastic closure, bookmark, inner pocket, and even erasable page dividers. Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 inches | Page style: Dotted Best Cult Favorite: Leuchtturm1917 Medium A5 Notebook Courtesy of Amazon Buy on Amazon The Leuchtturm1917 Medium A5 Notebook includes numbered pages and a blank table of contents for easy organization and notes. The three, blank table of contents pages allow you to create your own index, so you can quickly and easily reference important pages inside your bullet journal. The thread-bound opens flat while ensuring the journal pages remain secure inside. The hardcover notebook is made of quality paper and has an expandable pocket inside the back cover, page marker, and elastic closure. The pages allow you to create your own bullet designs without the interference of straight lines. The journal has numbered pages and eight perforated pages. The eight perforated pages are perfect for creating tearaway pages to give away or creating templates for a journal page. You can tear the pages out without compromising the rest of the bullet journal, and you can choose from more than 20 different colors including red, black, orange, yellow, army green, and more. Page count: 251 | Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 inches | Page style: Dotted Related: The Best Work Notebooks Best Set: Dot Journaling―The Set Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on Walmart If you're completely new to the bullet-journaling world, the Dot Journaling Set is the perfect primer. This set includes a journal and a how-to guide on starting and keeping a bullet journal. You'll learn how to make symbols for effective lists, spreads for planning your day, week, month, or year, trackers for maintaining your habits and goals, and tips on making your to-do's and to-don'ts. It also features a sturdy cover with an inner back pocket, as well as an elastic closure and ribbon to keep your place. Page count: 208 | Dimensions: 6.06 x 1.19 x 8.75 inches | Page style: Dotted Best Heavy-Duty: Rhodia A5 Webnotebook Amazon Buy on Amazon The Rhodia A5 Webnotebook includes smooth, ivory-colored 90-gsm pages. The heavier pages are ideal for fountain pens and felt-tipped pens. Your pen tips will glide across the smooth pages without much bleedthrough to the other side of the page. If you like to use heavier pens and markers for bullet journaling, the quality paper used in the Rhodia Webnotebook will please you. The dots on the grid pages are darker than most other bullet journals, which makes them easier to see. Keep in mind that this also means the dots won’t “disappear” into your design. The black hardcover bound notebook is well-constructed with excellent binding to hold the pages securely in place. It comes with one black ribbon bookmark and an elastic closure. Page count: 192 | Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.2 inches | Page style: Dotted Best Spiral Bound: BookFactory Ghost Grid Dot Journal Amazon Buy on Amazon One of the few spiral-bound bullet journals, the BookFactory Ghost Grid Dot Journal is a great alternative to traditional notebooks. Many people are partial to spiral-bound notebooks since they easily lay flat and can be folded to reveal only a single page. The built-in index can be used to create your own table of contents, so you can quickly and easily refer to important pages within the bullet journal. It's also created by a veteran-owned firm based in the U.S. Page count: 120 | Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 inches | Page style: Dotted Best for Artists: Scribbles That Matter A5 Dotted Journal Amazon Buy on Amazon Aspiring graphic designers, animators, and artists take note—the Scribbles That Matter A5 Dotted Journal is a high-quality, durable option that can handle most pens and markers. Its super-smooth, 160gsm paper means it's easy to write or draw with, while zero bleeding, ghosting, and feathering ensures clean pages. There's even a pen test page, so you're less likely to ruin your pages. The bullet journal is protected by a vegan leather cover, and a strong binding keeps pages from falling out. Have your drawing tools ready with the included pen holder. Plus, a key code page, index pages, back pocket, and two colored bookmarks make it a joy to organize with. Page count: 150+ | Dimensions: 5.75 x 8.5 inches | Page style: Dotted Related: The Best Journaling Pens Best Budget: Minimalism Art Hard Cover Notebook Amazon Buy on Amazon A great value, this notebook from Minimalism Art is encased in a leatherette hardcover and comes with ink proof, acid-free, 120gsm ivory paper. It even features a table of contents for easy referencing, an elastic strap that secures your pages, and a matching ribbon to bookmark your spot. The bullet journal also comes in different sizes and page styles. While its overall design is understated, you can choose from various colors, including Amber, Black, Pink, White, and more. Page count: 122 | Dimensions: 8.3 x 11.4 inches, 7.6 x 10 inches, 5.8 x 8.3 inches, 5 x 8.3 inches, and 4.5 x 6.5 inches | Page style: Dotted, plain, ruled, or squared Best for Travel: Midori Traveler's Notebook Amazon Buy on Amazon This Midori (which now goes my Traveler's Company brand name) notebook is an excellent option for those who frequently travel for work. It's thin and lightweight while the paper is bleed-resistant, so you can jot down notes, locations, dates, and other pertinent information with ease. Protected by a soft leather cover, the bullet journal also has a securable elastic band along the spine to keep pages from falling out. Note that it only comes with 64 pages, though the brand offers refills. Page count: 64 with refills available | Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 inches | Page style: Blank Final Verdict The Poluma Dotted Grid Notebook (view at Amazon) is the best bullet journal for its compact size, quality construction, and premium paper. Its reasonable price also makes it ideal for beginners. If you need a bit more hand-holding, the Dot Journaling Set (view at Walmart) will help you get started and comes with a lovely, sturdy journal. FAQs What do you need to start bullet journaling? At the very minimum, a notebook and something to write with. But if you want to bullet journal the right way, you'll need, of course, a bullet journal (or any dot grid notebook) and a good set of journaling pens. Pro tip: Choose ones that don’t bleed and splurge on an array of colors. Stickers, washi tape, colored markers, and gel pens are also optional. Hardcover or softcover, spiral or bound? The hardcover vs. softcover debate really comes down to personal preference, as well as where and how you journal. If you do all of your bullet journaling at your desk, a softcover will work just fine. But for someone who takes their journal on the go or has it in and out of a backpack, a hardcover will provide more protection. Spiral or bound is another debate among BuJo enthusiasts. Hardbound journals have a classier look, but you'll want to choose one that opens flat, or else it may be frustrating to write on. That’s a problem that a spiral journal can help avoid. Plus, with a spiral design, you can focus on a single page instead of two at a time. What is GSM? GSM stands for grams per square meter, and it refers to the weight of the paper. The higher the GSM, the heavier, sturdier, and thicker the paper is. For bullet journaling, you don’t want a flimsy paperweight like you might find in a marble notebook as your pen marks will bleed through. Going with a more durable paperweight will let you jot, draw, and scribble with your favorite pens and markers without any ghosting. As for what a “good” GSM is, 100 or higher is the sweet spot for journaling. For reference, a 75gsm is what you’d find in a piece of copy machine paper, according to Xerox. Meet the Expert LaToya Irby has over a decade of experience in financial reporting as a writer and ghostwriter for dozens of personal finance outlets. She has been the credit expert for The Balance SMB since 2007, and other publications like USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, and The Chicago Tribune have listed her as an expert. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Amazon. "Dotted Grid Notebook/Journal." Amazon. "Eco-Friendly Natural Cork Hardcover Dot Grid Notebook." Leuchtturm. "Notebook Classic." Rachel Wilkerson Miller. "Dot Journaling — A Practical Guide." Rhodia. "Desk Webnotebooks." Amazon. "BookFactory Ghost Grid Dot Journal." Scribbles That Matter. "Iconic." Minimalism Art. "Hard Cover Notebook." Traveler's Company. "Traveler's Notebook." http://www.support.xerox.com/know/en-us/general/articles/S1995366.html