The Best Bullet Journals (for You) First-Hand Reviews

Beware—Let me just say that when I first started bullet journaling, I read EVERY review guide written or BEST OF list on the internet. I was so disappointed to just find short impersonal descriptions of the each bullet journal being “reviewed.”

In fact, those articles didn’t actually help me choose which bullet journal notebook was right for me. I was more confused than informed.

This ‘BEST OF” list is DIFFERENT.

Each of the bullet journal notebooks I talk about from this point on, are ones that I own and have tested out from many different angles. This “Best of Bullet Journals” list was created with you in mind. You–who is actually trying to find a bullet journal for “bullet journaling.”

If you are looking for the best artists notebook for watercolor, this post is not for you.

If you are looking for a sketchbook, this post is not for you.

If you are looking for a journal/diary notebook, this post is not for you.

If you want to create something like this ⬇️, then keep reading . . .

Here is a quick look at the top-rated bullet journals . . .

🏆Overall Winner for Best Bullet Journal Notebook: SCRIBBLES THAT MATTER A5 DOTTED JOURNAL

✅ Best Bullet Journal for Beginners: SCRIVWELL DOTTED A5 HARDCOVER NOTEBOOK

✅ Best “Bang for Your buck” Inexpensive Bullet Journal: POLUMA DOT GRID HARD COVER NOTEBOOK

✅ Best Minimalist Bullet Journal: Moleskine Classic A5 Notebook

✅ Best Hard Cover Bullet Journal: Scribbles that Matter A5 Dotted journal

✅ Best Bujo for Lots of Doodling: ARcher & Olive A5 Notebook with Blank Pages

✅ Best Travel Journal Notebook: Dingbats A5 Hardcover Notebook

✅ Best Journal for Fountain Pens: Leuchtturm 1917 A5

✅ Best Bullet Journal Planner Hybrid: Mossery TwinBook

✅ Best Spiral Bound Bullet Journal: Ghost Grid Journal

This post may contain Amazon and other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a link and make a purchase I receive a commission (at no extra cost to you.) I only ever recommend products or services that I believe provide value to my readers. Read my full affiliate and disclosure policy.

The Best Dotted Notebooks for Bullet Journaling

You see if you want to create a bullet journal like the one shown above, you pretty much need what’s referred to as a “dotted notebook.” (Some people may want completely blank paper, but I think that is rare.)

The following notebooks reviewed and recommended will all be bullet journals with dotted pages. Many of these bullet journals do come with other options–like lined pages, graph (or squared) pages, or blank pages.

*Note: There are no “rules” in bullet journaling. You can create a bullet journal any way you want and use it however you choose. However, I am going to focus this post on creating a bullet journal similar to the one pictured above. Don’t let this review guide keep you from making a choice that is NOT on this page. Use this as a starting point.

How to Choose the Best Notebook for Bullet journaling

Another thing that is super important to understand before you read any further—there is no perfect bullet journal notebook.

It’s kind of like buying a house–no matter how much you love a particular house–there will always be some feature you’d like to be different (bigger closets, placement of the kitchen island, window size in your bedroom, etc.) You just have to choose the house that has the most items on your must-have list.

As you go through this list of bullet journals and their features, I want you to consider the following things:

• What kind of pens, markers, or pencils do you want to use? (That is going to make quality and thickness of paper important.)
• Will you be taking this bullet journal notebook everywhere you go? Or mostly use it at home? (This will make the sturdiness of the cover and the kind of binding important.)
• Do you naturally right small, or do you have a larger handwriting. (You can buy bullet journal notebooks in sizes other than the standard A5-5″ x 8.25″)
• How important is it to you that your dotted notebook lay completely flat?’

You may even want to rank these features by importance before you continue reading . . .

✅ Paper Color & Brightness

The paper that comes in bullet journal notebooks varies widely in color. Some of this has to do with the type of paper. Apparently for some bullet journalers the yellowish paper is easier on your eyes than the bright white. I personally feel that the white paper makes your work look cleaner and professnioal–but that is just my opinion.

✅ Paper Thickness and Quality (Best Bullet Journal Paper)

• Moleskine = 70gsm
• Leuchtturm = 80gsm
• Northbooks = 60lb (90gsm) recycled paper
• Rhodiarama = 90gsm
• Dingbats = 100gsm
• Ghost Grid = 70lb (100gsm) copy paper (not clairfontaine)
• Miliko = 100g acid free bright white paper (100% recyclable)
• Mossery = 100gsm
• Lemome = 120gsm
• Poluma = 120gsm
• Scrivwell = 120gsm
• Scribbles That Matter = 160gsm
• Archer & Olive = 160gsm

Taking into account all of the bullet journal notebooks in this review guide, there are a few types of paper used. Some of the paper is more like printer/copy paper like what the Ghost Grid Journal and Northbooks Notebook. Most of the other journals are made with clairfontaine or similar paper. Clairfontaine paper is made mostly for the purpose of using fountain pens. I find that most bullet journal pens, markers, and highlighters have a lot of ghosting with this paper.

✅ Ghosting & Bleed-through

5-Star Rating System: 1 Star = Smallest amount ghosting or bleed-through / 5 Star = Greatest amount of ghosting or bleed-through

1 Star ⭑ = The Best Paper for Bullet Journaling (Just Sharpie bled through)

• Archer & Olive
• Scribbles That Matter

2 Star ⭑⭑ = The 2nd Best Paper for Bullet Journaling (A small amount of ghosting & bleed-through)

• Peter Pauper Press

3 Star ⭑⭑⭑ = Average Paper for Bullet Journaling (Moderate amount of ghosting & bleed-through)

• Scrivwell
• Poluma
• Northbooks
• Dingbats
• Lemome

4 Star ⭑⭑⭑⭑ = The 2nd Worst Paper for Bullet Journaling (Significant amount of ghosting & bleed-through)

• Ghost Grid Journal
• Miliko
• Moleskine
• Rhodiarama

5 Star ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ = The Worst Paper for Bullet Journaling (Complete ghosting & bleed-through)

• Mossery
• Leuchtturm

✅ Price Comparison

Least Expensive (💲) – Moderate (💲💲) – Most Expensive (💲💲💲)

$

• Miliko💲
• Ghost Grid💲
• Poluma💲
• Northbooks💲
• Lemome💲
• Peter Pauper Press💲
• Scrivwell💲

$$

• Leuchtturm💲💲
• Moleskine💲💲
• Rhodiarama 💲💲
• Dingbats💲💲

$$$

• Scribbles That Matter💲💲💲
• Mossery💲💲💲
• Archer & Olive💲💲💲

Most of the bullet journals in this review guide are in the first two price categories. ( 💲 & 💲💲) But my personal favorites seem to be near the higher end (Archer & Olive, Mossery, & Scribbles That Matter.) And since your bullet journal is an important part of your life and helps you in so many ways, I think that investing in a good notebook is a good choice (unless your budget has no wiggle room.) But, as you will see in this review guide, there are several great choices that are not very costly (like the Poluma A5, Peter Pauper Press Blue Agate, and Scrivwell Journal)

✅ Scribbles That Matter – A5 Pro Dotted Journal

🏆 OVERALL WINNER: BEST BULLET JOURNAL NOTEBOOK

🏆 WINNER: BEST HARD COVER BULLET JOURNAL

Scribbles That Matter is a company out of the UK dedicated to making quality products that help you set goals, learn more about yourself, and get the most out of life. The founder began the company after his laptop broke and with it went his PhD thesis. He was able to resurrect his thesis using all of the pieces of paper and notes he had scribbled his research on–he then realized how important journaling can be and began Scribbles That Matter.

I adore the white pages with perfect color dots (not too dark or too light.) The quality of paper is nice and thick so my layouts don’t show up through the next pages. That means I can actually use every page and not have to skip any. The cover is really sturdy too so I can bring it everywhere I go.

Although you can buy it on Amazon, if you go to the company’s website, you can actually purchase a bullet journal that is totally customized. They offer “sleeves” and “inserts” of different styles. Instead of purchasing a ready-made journal, you can buy a sleeve and an insert. These sleeves are more like other bullet journal covers–smooth faux leather instead of the rubbery one on the iconic Scribbles That Matter journals. The inserts come in some really awesome options–like . . .

• An undated bullet planner (which looks like this)
• Dotted “starry night” which has all black pages and works great with these bullet journal pens.
• Dotted 160gsm (which is the paper in the original STM journal)
• Dotted 100gsm (if you don’t want such thick paper)

And if you order through their website, you get free shipping!

Basic Features:

• Cover: Faux Leather (Pro Version) –Iconic Version feels somewhat rubbery
• Sizes: A5: (5.5″ x 8.75″)
• # of Pages: 150
• Page Styles: Dotted | Lined (ruled)
• Paper Quality: 160gsm (converts to approximately 106lb paper at a print shop-very heavy card stock)
• Binding: Thread
• Cost: 💲💲💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes – 2
• Inner Back Pocket: No
• Numbered Pages: Yes
• Paper Color: White
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: Yes – 3
• Key: Yes
• Pen Loop: Yes

Unique Features:

• Pen “test” page
• Offers several color choices

*Original Scribbles That Matter Notebook (Iconic Version) has child-like doodles embossed on the front cover

Pros:

If you go directly to the Scribbles That Matter Website, you can purchase colored A5 sleeves and A5 inserts to create a personalized journal. Inserts choices include: Bullet Planner; Dotted 160gsm (158 pages); Dotted 100gsm (201 pages)

Cons:

Pen loop falls off easily; thick cover makes it hard to lay flat

✅ Scrivwell Dotted A5 Hardcover Notebook

🏆 WINNER: BEST BULLET JOURNAL FOR BEGINNERS

The Scrivwell brand is committed to creating what they refer to as “environmentally responsible products.” That’s why they use a faux leather cover (what they call “Vegan Leather.”) Their paper is FEFC certified (I couldn’t find exactly what that means.)

The Scrivwell Dotted A5 Hardcover bullet journal is definitely “chunkier” than most. It’s not a problem if you keep your bullet journal at home mostly. But it may be something you should consider if you take it along with you lots of places.

The paper is a good neutral ivory color–unlike the yellowish of the Moleskine and Leuchtturm journals. The dots are medium darkness when compared to other dot grid notebooks. The paper is smooth–almost glossy. And though many people see that as a negative, I can see how free-hand doodling and drawing would work well with this paper.

But since I use templates for creating most of my layouts, the smooth (almost slippery) paper doesn’t work well with plastic templates I love. I make more mistakes because my pens “slip.”

*I don’t know why this is rated at the best Minimalist by other review guides, because it is so thick and chunky

Basic Features:

• Cover: Vegan Leather
• Sizes: A5: (5.5″ x 8.25″)
• # of Pages: 208
• Page Styles: Dotted -dots are medium darkness in color compared to other bullet journals
• Paper Quality: 120gsm (converts to approximately 80lb paper at a print shop-which is heavy paper/light card stock weight)
• Binding: Thread bound
• Cost: 💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes; good quality elastic
• Bookmark: Yes; medium quality ribbon but edges will fray with a lot of use
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes; gussetted
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: Light Ivory; Dots are medium darkness
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• Great color choices

Pros:

• If you purchase directly through Scrivwell.com, you can get 100% Money Back Guarantee. They will give money back or replace it for free.
• They offer a 1 year warranty. replacement guarantee. Take a photo and send it to customer service email and they will send you a replacement for free.

Cons:

• Some consider this too chunky and thick
• Binding seems to be weak
• Although pages are smooth they can be on the slick/glossy side depending on what type of pen you use
• Hard to use plastic templates because of the slick paper
• Ink takes a while to dry
• my cover was indented with the elastic closure;
• Doesn’t actually lay flat; the pages kind of “stand up” when notebook is open and you have to press down to “crease” the paper to lay flat

✅ Poluma Dot Grid Hard Cover Notebook

🏆 WINNER: BEST “BANG FOR YOUR BUCK” INEXPENSIVE BULLET JOURNAL

The Poluma A5 Dot Grid Hard Cover Notebook has really thick and high quality pages for the overall price of the journal. If you see the pic below you can tell that it performs very well agains ghosting and bleed-through. It’s a slim no frills dotted bullet journal. The dots are a little on the dark side but the archival acid-free paper is smooth for creating layouts. This notebook does actually lay flat.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard
• Sizes: A5 (5″ x 8.25″)
• # of Pages: 128
• Page Styles: Dotted
• Paper Quality: 120gsm (converts to approximately 80lb paper at a print shop-which is medium card stock weight)
• Binding: Thread bound
• Cost: 💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes, gusseted (accordion-style)
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: off-white
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Pros:

• Thick and sturdy cover

Cons:

• Dots are pretty dark

✅ Peter Pauper Press Blue Agate Dot Matrix Notebook

🏆 RUNNER UP: BEST “BANG FOR YOUR BUCK” INEXPENSIVE BULLET JOURNAL

This journal is the very first one I bought–it was before I had researched anything about bullet journaling and just knew I needed a dotted grid notebook. The beautiful light blue and purple agate design with metallic gold streaks is what drew me to this notebook. And as I have been using and comparing all the other notebooks in this review guide, I am pleasantly surprised at the high quality.

Peter Pauper Press has been printing books since 1928 and is still family-owned and operated in the USA. This bullet journal has nice light ivory colored pages that hold up well against ghosting and bleed-through., One negative is that the dots are pretty large and on the darker side than the rest of the journals compared in this guide.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard
• Sizes: A5 (5.75″ x 8.25″)
• # of Pages: 192
• Page Styles: Dotted
• Paper Quality: Archival, Acid-Free Paper
• Binding: Thread bound
• Cost: 💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes, gusseted (accordion-style)
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: off-white
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• Many different cover designs to choose from

Pros:

• Beautiful cover
• Nice paper color

Cons:

• Pages do not lay completely flat without having to press them down
• Dots are rather large and dark

✅ Moleskine Bullet Journal (Classic A5)

🏆 WINNER: Best Minimalist Bullet Journal

Moleskine is a very well-known and respected brand when it comes to the best bullet journal notebooks. They offer many size and cover options. The journal reviewed here is there Classic A5 Hardcover notebook with dotted format.

I was actually really disappointed with this journal–mostly because of the severe ghosting and bleed-through. You would have to essentially skip pages between each bullet journal spread that you would create because writing on the backs of the pages just wouldn’t work.

If you aren’t as bothered as I am about this issue, this is a great minimalist bullet journal. It’s very slim and compact.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard & Soft
• Sizes: Pocket A6: (3.5″ x 5.5″) | Medium : 4.5″ x 7″) | Large A5: (5″ x 8.25″) | Extra-Large (7.5″ x 9.75″)
• # of Pages: 240
• Page Styles: Dotted | Lined (ruled) | Blank | Squared (Graph)
• Paper Quality: 70gsm (converts to approximately 44lb paper at a print shop-which is between standard copy paper and card stock)
• Binding: Threaded
• Cost: 💲💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes; expandable
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: Ivory-yellowish
• Any Perforated Pages: None
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• Front Page “In Case Lost”

Pros:

• Lots of color, size, and cover choices
• Smooth paper for writing

Cons:

• Thin paper with lots of ghosting

✅ Rhodia – “Rhodiarama” A5 Soft Cover Notebook

The company that makes clairfontaine paper acquired Rhodia in 1997. So the Rhodia notebooks are made with high quality paper that has long been a bullet journal favorite. The cover is beautiful and soft but it marks very easily and would probably get really messed up if you take it back and forth with you a lot.

After I purchased the Rhodiarama A5 Soft Cover Notebook, I realized that I should have bought the Rhodia Webnotebook instead. The Webnotebook is much sturdier and comes in hard and soft cover. It is also known for working well with fountain pens.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Soft Cover, Hard Cover
• Sizes: non-standard A6: (3.38″ x 4.75″) | A5: (5.5″ x 8.75″)
• # of Pages: 160
• Page Styles: Dotted | Lined (ruled)
• Paper Quality: 90gsm (converts to approximately 60lb paper at a print shop-which lowest card stock)
• Binding: Glued flexible spine
• Cost: 💲💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes–Orange
• Bookmark: Yes
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes; expandable
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: Ivory
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• Offers a moderate amount of color choices
• Rounded pages

*Rhodia also offers the Rhodia Webnotebook which is perfect for fountain pen enthusiasts

Pros:

• Made of high quality clairfontaine paper
• Soft very nice feeling cover

Cons:

• Cover dents and marks easily
• Pages are very yellow
• The enclosure and bookmark is always orange and doesn’t always look good with other color covers
• A common issue noted by Amazon reviewers is that the glued binding comes undone

✅ Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook

🏆 WINNER: BEST BUJO FOR LOTS OF DOODLING

Archer & Olive is a female-owned 100% Vegan company. Even though this is one of the most expensive journals, I find it worth the price for the quality. The pages are white with extremely light dots. The ghosting and bleed-through is almost non-existent.

So some may argue that there are a small number of pages compared to Leuchtturm. But because there is virtually no ghosting or bleed-through, you can actually use every page and not have to skip on because your writing shows on the backs of pages.

With the high quality white and pages that have virtually no ghosting or bleed-through, Archer and Olive’s Hard Cover Journal Notebooks with blank pages is ideal for doodling or free-hand drawing. They also offer 4 different sizes of notebooks to fit your needs including a *new square notebook.

The sizes are: B6 (4.92″ x 6.92″) | A5 (5.75″ x 8.25″) | B5 (6.93″ x 9.84″) | Square (8″ x 8″)

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard; Fabric
• Sizes: A5 (5.75″ x 8.25″)
• # of Pages: 192
• Page Styles: Dotted
• Paper Quality: 160gsm ( 100lb. card-stock almost as heavy as a business card)
• Binding: Thread bound
• Cost: 💲💲💲 (See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes -2 with charm
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes, gusseted (accordion-style)
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: white
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: Yes

Unique Features:

• Unique Fabric Cover with an embossed design
• Very nice quality

Pros:

• The journal lays completely flat
• Binding is one of the sturdiest I have found

Cons:

• Dots are so light they are hard to see
• Price is high and you have to order directly from the company

✅ Northbooks A5 Dotted Journal Notebook

Northbooks is a company that makes their products in the United States, and they are “sustainably sourced” and made of 30% recycled paper.

This Northbooks Journal Notebook has a heavy card stock cover and even though the journal is thread bound, I don’t see this journal lasting very long. If you can handle the fact that it doesn’t lay flat (like at all,) you could use this notebook for small short-term projects.

It does come in multiple styles (dotted | grid | blank | lined) so it does make it versatile. You could choose which format works best for the particular project you are working on.

With it’s low price point and the fact it’s available in packs of 2, this would make a great “practice” journal for someone who wants to see if they like the idea of bullet journaling and creating spreads.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Flexible cardstock
• Sizes: A5 (5.8″ x 8.2″)
• # of Pages: 144
• Page Styles: Dotted | Lined (ruled) | Blank | Squared (Graph)
• Paper Quality: 90gsm (converts to approximately 60lb paper at a print shop-which lowest card stock)
• Binding: Thread bound
• Cost: 💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: No
• Bookmark: No
• Inner Back Pocket: No
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: Cream (recycled paper)
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• You can purchase in packs of 2 which makes it super economical

Pros:

• Very inexpensive
• For the price the pages rank pretty decent for having significant ghosting & bleed-through
• Great for short-term projects
• Comes in multiple formats dotted | grid | lined | blank

Cons:

• Journal dots are not uniform on every page
• The paper is not smooth and is very toothy which will cause pens to kind of “hang-up and not flow smoothly over the paper.
• Does not lay flat

✅ Leuchtturm 1917 A5 Hard-Cover Dotted Notebook

🏆 WINNER: BEST JOURNAL FOR FOUNTAIN PENS

With all the talk about the Leuchtturm1917 Dotted Notebook, I was honestly disappointed with the quality. The paper is a very ugly yellowish-ivory and every single bullet journal pen and marker I tried had severe ghosting.

Now if you mostly use fountain pens, then this is your journal. The paper used is “ink-proof” -which means it does not feather or smear when using fountain pens.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard | Soft Cover (B6: 5″ x 7.5″ thinner with less pages)
• Sizes: Mini A7: (2.75″: x 3.5″) | Pocket A6: (3.5″ x 6″) | Medium A5: (5.75″ x 8.25″) | Composition B5 (7″ x 10″) | Master A4 & A4+ (8.75″ x 12.5″)
• # of Pages: 249
• Page Styles: Dotted | Lined (ruled) | Blank | Squared (Graph)
• Paper Quality: 80gsm (converts to approximately 53lb paper at a print shop-which is between standard copy paper and card stock)
• Binding: Threaded
• Cost: 💲💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes-2
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes; gusseted (accordion style)
• Numbered Pages: Yes
• Paper Color: Heavy yellowish ivory
• Any Perforated Pages: Yes, 8 (at the back)
• Table of Contents: Yes
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• Paper is perfect for fountain pens

Pros:

• Although ghosting is a lot, the paper’s smooth but not too slippery works well with fountain pens.
• Lots of beautiful color choices for the cover

Cons:

• Paper color is very yellow
• Thin paper
• Ghosting is severe for most bullet journal pens and markers

✅ Lemome Dotted bullet journal – Classic Notebook

This journal won’t be getting any awards in this review guide. There were lots of negative reviews for the Lemome Bullet Journal–way more than any of the other journal notebooks I researched. I purchased it anyway just so I could test it against the others. I found a lot of the negative reviews to be on point.

Lemome boasts super-thick paper and that is true but it still has more ghosting and bleed-through than you would expect and especially compared to the other journals (Poluma and Scrivwell) in this guide that have 120gsm paper.

One thing that I think is kind of cool is that all the pages are perforated–so if you mess up you can just take that page out without the binding falling apart.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard Faux Leather or Natural Cork
• Sizes: A5 (5.7″ x 8.4″)
• # of Pages: 192 | (Thick Classic Version: 180)
• Page Styles: Dotted | Lined (wide-ruled) | Blank | Squared (Graph)
• Paper Quality: 120gsm (converts to approximately 80lb paper at a print shop-which is medium card stock weight)
• Binding: Threaded
• Cost: 💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes; gusseted (accordion style)
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: Ivory
• Any Perforated Pages: All
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: Yes

Unique Features:

• Page Dividers (they are actually just stick on tabs)
• Cork cover is unique

Pros:

• Thick paper that can handle fountain pens
• Lays flat

Cons:

• Binding seems to fall-apart often
• Cheaply made ribbon book marker

✅ Ghost Grid Journal

🏆 WINNER: BEST SPIRAL BOUND BULLET JOURNAL

The Ghost Grid Journal is made by a Veteran-owned company and everything is made in the USA. A slim pen or pencil would fit in the spiral if you used it to carry around. The paper meets the high standard of being FSC certified which means it is approved by a non-profit organization called the Forest Stewardship Council.

This journal is chosen to be the best spiral notebook mainly because the pages turn smoothly and the wire is sturdier which is going to keep the journal tightly bound for a longer period of time. The strong spiral is very evident compared to the Miliko Journal where the pages seem to get “caught” on the spiral as you flip. This will result in the pages coming apart from the spiral eventually and as it gets used often.

Since there is no elastic closure, bookmark, or pocket, to choose this journal notebook would mean you are not married to the traditional features of bullet journal notebooks.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Flexible Plastic
• Sizes: (5.5″ x 8.5″) | (8.5″ x 11″)
• # of Pages: 120
• Page Styles: Dotted (only)
• Paper Quality: 70lb paper (converts to approximately 100gsm)
• Binding: Spiral bound
• Cost: 💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: No
• Bookmark: No
• Inner Back Pocket: No
• Numbered Pages: Yes
• Paper Color: very light ivory
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: yes
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• Spiral Bound
• You can use the spiral to carry around a pen

Pros:

• Spiral binding makes it lay completely flat
• Paper color is closer to white and dots are a good medium color

Cons:

• Pretty significant ghosting and bleed-through
• Does not work well with fountain pens
• The cover comes has the name of the journal written across the front cover
• Only two choices of color: white & black

✅ Miliko Dot Grid Journal (Spiral Bound)

Miliko is a company that is very concerned with what they refer to as “paper pollution.” So journal notebook they make is from 100% recyclable acid-free paper. The paper is near white and the dots are very light.

I noticed many of the negative Amazon reviews were dated more than 2 years ago. And much of what is complained about seems to no longer be an issue. What I have experienced with the Miliko Dot Grid Journal does not line up with a lot of the negative reviews.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard-Craft Paper Finished
• Sizes: A5 (5.67″ x 8.27″)
• # of Pages: 140
• Page Styles: Dotted
• Paper Quality: very smooth; the exact weight is not listed but it feels comparable to nice printer/copy paper
• Binding: Spiral bound
• Cost: 💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: No
• Bookmark: No
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes, diagonal
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: white with very light gray dots
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• Comes in a pack of 2
• Made from 100% recyclable products

Pros:

• Considering the dates of the Amazon reviews and comparing them to what I see having the actual notebook in my hand–it seems the company has made improvements over the years.

Cons:

• Very significant bleed-through and ghosting
• Smooth paper but prone to smearing
• Pages seem to get “hung up” on the metal spiral as you flip through
• The metal spiral is flimsy and could easily bend out of place when used frequently

✅ Mossery TwinBook Dot Journal/Undated Planner

🏆 WINNER: BEST BULLET JOURNAL PLANNER/HYBRID

I actually purchased two versions of this journal. Mossery’s Twin Book is unique because you can mix and match 2 different “books” or sections that fit into the hard cover journal. You have the choice of a horizontal undated planner, a vertical undated planner, a blank pages section, dotted page section or ruled pages. These sections are refillable in the sense that you can change out sections when they are full and insert new ones.

Since my daughter is starting junior high in the fall, I purchased one for her that is an undated planner with a blank pages section because she loves to draw.

For myself, I purchased the spiral bound dot notebook. (They actually carry thread bound and pocket notebooks.)

I love the different patterns you can choose from and they emboss your name on the cover for free.

*Since the company is out of and shipped from Malaysia, it cost me about $20 for shipping (which is one reason why I went ahead and purchased two and a refill.)

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard
• Sizes: A5 (5.5″ x 8.25″)
• # of Pages: 160 – FSC certified (environmentally responsible)
• Page Styles: Dotted | Grid | Lined | Blank
• Paper Quality: 100gsm (converts to approximately 80lb paper at a print shop-which is medium card stock weight)
• Binding: Thread bound – Spiral Bound
• Cost: 💲💲💲 (See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes (and front pocket)
• Numbered Pages: No
• Paper Color: White with a slight ivory tint
• Any Perforated Pages: No
• Table of Contents: No
• Index Page: No
• Key: No
• Pen Loop: No

Unique Features:

• Build-your-own and mix and match with undated planners and differently formatted notebooks
• Emboss your name for free
• Pockets (front and back) are diagonal at the bottom right corner of the page

Pros:

• Amazing choices in styles and prints of front cover
• Can choose the binding you prefer

Cons:

• The page has absolutely horrible ghosting and bleed-through–which is odd because it is supposedly 100gsm paper.

✅ Dingbats Earth Glicine A5+Bullet Journal

🏆 WINNER: BEST TRAVEL JOURNAL NOTEBOOK

The Dingbats Bullet Journal is great to use as a travel journal because of the sturdiness of the hard cover as well as the binding.

It is made from degradable and recyclable materials and only FSC certified paper and is proudly 100% vegan. The paper is made by the oldest established paper company out of Lebanon. There are 16 “micro-perforated” pages at the back.

Basic Features:

• Cover: Hard
• Sizes: A5+ (5.5″ x 8.75″) 16 x 21.5cm
• # of Pages: 192
• Page Styles: Dotted | Lined (ruled) | Blank | Squared (Graph)
• Paper Quality: 100gsm (converts to approximately 106lb paper at a print shop-very heavy card stock)
• Binding: Threadbound
• Cost: 💲💲(See Chart Above)

Other Features:

• Elastic Band Closure: Yes
• Bookmark: Yes – 2
• Inner Back Pocket: Yes; gusseted (accordion-style)
• Numbered Pages: Yes
• Paper Color: Dark Ivory
• Any Perforated Pages: 16 micro-perforated in the back
• Table of Contents:
• Index Page: Yes
• Key: Yes
• Pen Loop: Yes

Unique Features:

• Animal embossed on front cover–front pages all about animal and where they live
• Front Page “In Case Lost”
• Has a “How to” page to get started in the front of the notebook

Pros:

• one of the sturdiest hard covers I have come across
• good for gel pens or fineliners
• performs great against ghosting and bleed-through

Cons:

• Pages are very yellowish
• coating makes it longer for ink to dry–a left-hander’s nightmare
• bad for “white out” mistakes
• pen holder weak

The amazing thing about bullet journaling is that there are no rules. You can use a bullet journal for planning, setting goals, self-discovery, drawing, taking notes, and many other things.

The other thing about using a bullet journal–you can start off not even knowing what you want to do with it. You may have just seen some really cool pictures from someone else’s bullet journal and are inspired to try it out yourself.

Honestly, that is what drew me towards bullet journaling. I wasn’t sure how I would use it but I looked at it as an experiment.

I didn’t set any expectations for myself. I just purchased a bullet journal that had a pretty cover, some gel pens, and a cheap set of stencils. When it arrived I just played around with it–doodled, created some layouts, and practiced writing cool looking letters.

And although my drawings, letters, and layout spreads didn’t look nearly as good as the ones I saw all over Instagram and Pinterest, I decided that was okay since I had fun doing it.

Once I realized I wanted to start using my bullet journal as a tracker and planner, I scoured the internet looking for the best bullet journals review guides. None of the guides I found gave enough details.

I wanted to know how the color of the pages compared, how thin or thick they were, and if they had a lot of ghosting and bleed-through. I couldn’t find that in the review guides available so I decided to create my own. Hopefully you have found some valuable information in this review guide to help you make the best choice of bullet journal notebooks for yourself.

If you have any suggestions about how I can improve this best bullet journals review guide, please reach out!