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. Our overall favorite weekly planner is Plum Paper's A5 Vertical Priorities Planner ($38), which you can customize to start anytime of year and to fit all your needs. If you're more of a daily planner, try the Day Designer ($68) or the Hobonichi Techo ($40). We've also got picks for monthly planners, students, crazy list-makers, and more below. This is a great time of year to pick up your mid-year planners designed for the school year, or customize a planner like the Agendio or Roterunner to start at your preferred month.
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 August 2025: We've added planners from Papier and Moleskine to More Planners We Like, and a new FAQs section.
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
Photograph: Nena Farrell
Courtesy of Plum Paper Chevron Chevron Plum Paper A5 Planner $38 Plum Paper
If I only bought one planner, this would be the one. The Plum Paper A5 Planner has the perfect amount of customizability without feeling like I have to do too much work to create it, and has a lot of beautiful covers and color options to choose from. I personally love the Vertical Priorities layout, which I customized to include a priority section for my son, but you can choose from other layouts—there are 10 different types of layouts, going from vertical and horizontal to student and goal setting, then anywhere from two to four types of layouts within each type. You also choose from a huge variety of covers that you can customize with things like your name or the year, and choose from a huge range of add-ons like monthly workout summaries, baby tracking pages, and so much more.
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