There's nothing like the feeling of a brand-new planner. As the new school year kicks off, we've found the best planners to deliver that satisfying rush of a fresh start and a blank page. The sensation of writing things down not only feels satisfying but helps improve retention, and paper planners give a sense of delight in a world that can feel bleak.
A great planner will help you keep your life on track, but that means something different for everyone—do you need room for multiple to-do lists? Places to track all your calls and meetings that week? Open space for whatever strikes your fancy? From daily and weekly planners to planners designed for a specific type of person, here are all of our favorite planners that we've tried and tested. My number one recommendation after over a year of planner testing is the Roterunner Purpose Planner ($30), an undated weekly planner with lots of premade list space and two blank pages for notes for each week. If you're more of a daily person, the Hobonichi Techo ($41) or Techo Cousin ($65) is my go-to. I'm also a big fan of the Kokuyo Jibun Techo First Kit ($45) and Plum Paper's A5 Vertical Priorities Planner ($48).
Once you find your perfect planner, don't forget to check out other great gear from stories in our Home Office directory, from the best digital notebooks and computer monitors to everything you need for your work-from-home setup.
Updated December 2025: The Roterunner Purpose Planner is now our top pick in this guide, followed by the Hobonichi Techo and Jibun Techo. We've updated this guide with prices and links for 2026 planners.
Our Favorite Planners
From weekly and daily planners to planners for specific use cases (and even a completely custom planner!), here are all the top planners we recommend buying.
Best Weekly Planner
This was my standout planner of 2025, and it's one I'll be grabbing again in 2026. I love having space for lists and thoughts, and it takes a lot of room to corral my ideas, so I usually need both a planner and a journal. But not anymore, thanks to the Purpose Planner. It's the only planner that actually becomes the one-stop shop for every list, idea, plan, and goal I have without requiring extra steps or lots of flipping between sections of the planner to get to it.
The Purpose Planner's weekly spread includes six to-do list areas, already labeled with things like work, home, projects, and even stuff to buy, plus smaller checklists for each day and plenty of space to write in my schedule. Not only that, but there are two full dotted pages after each weekly spread for me to doodle, brainstorm, and write more lists all over for that specific week.
The monthly spread has six lists, plus six sections to reflect on when the month ends. It's a six-month, undated planner, so you can pick it up any time of the year and start using it, and you can skip a month without feeling guilty since you won't have a month of pages left blank. You do need to sit down and write in things like the months and dates, but I found that fun and satisfying to do. There are also some fun pages in the front to reflect and plan for your roles in life, goals you want to achieve, and books you want to read. I love the massive B5 size since it's finally enough space for me (almost too much, which feels like a miracle), but there's also a smaller (and cheaper!) A5 ($25) size.
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