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I’m a sucker for a great planner. They organize my day, bring order to my chaotic mind and help me destress and focus. So, as a result, I’ve tried dozens. Genuinely—dozens, from traditional agendas and productivity planners to wellness logs and bullet journal-inspired ones. Here are some of the best planners I’ve tested, so you can reach your full potential in 2024 (no matter your goals or organizational style).

And, just to make things even easier, we’ve noted the best prices we can find for each one, because you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune to get your life in order. (*Insert TV infomercial sales voice*) But wait! That’s not all—we’ve also included some recs at the bottom to help you determine the best planner for your needs, based on questions we’ve gotten from readers.

Without further ado, here are…

The Best Planners & Agendas of 2024:

A look at Papier's custom cover
Photos: Candace Braun Davison

1. Best Daily Planner: Papier

Pros

  • Customizable cover
  • Hardcover
  • One page for each day’s tasks
  • Undated

Cons

  • It only spans 4 months
  • Can get pricey ($100/year)

This is the best planner I’ve found for organizing all aspects of your life while still being ultra portable. The Daily Planner includes the week at a glance, with detailed entries for each day, as well as weekly meal planning pages and room for notes. I’ve heard some people complain there isn’t enough space in the daily section, but you’re given a whole page (!), with areas to break down your schedule hour by hour, list your top three tasks to achieve and have room for general to-dos and notes. The book would have to be larger to provide more space for notes, which would make it bulkier (like the Priority Planner, which is nearly the size of a textbook and not so easy to tote around).

Another pro: The customizable covers make it feel extra special, making it a great gift for college-bound students (or anyone who needs to get their lives together).


Wait—what if you don’t want to buy a new agenda every quarter? What’s the best yearly planner?

I’d recommend Brass Monkey or LH Agenda—numbers two and three on this list. Scroll on for the full breakdown, as well as other options for more specific needs (like whether you’re a college student, entrepreneur or crafter).

the best planners we've tried in 2024
Photo: Brass Monkey

2. Best Dateless Planner: Brass Monkey Hidden Agenda

Pros

  • Undated
  • Compact size (smaller than novel)
  • Daily to-do list section and scheduler to time block
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Time blocks only run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Meant to start your planner on January 1st…and forgot? You can pick this one up anytime. While Brass Monkey recently changed its layout, the new version makes even better use of each page. It still has the fun facts and playful snark—all packaged in a fun, irreverent-yet-upscale design—but there’s more room to map out each day. It now includes a daily to-do list and notes section, as well as ways to block our your calendar from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (People who work alternative hours may not love that feature as much.) The two-page Month in Review is a fast way to reflect on the past 30ish days before heading into the next stretch, too. Its cloth-wrapped hardcover binding lends a luxe touch, and at 6 inches by 9 inches, it’s easy to stow even in a small purse.

Brass Monkey Undated Agenda shown open to daily pages
Photo: Amazon/Brass Monkey

If you prefer the older, full week-at-a-glance style, you can still buy it for $16 on Amazon, though it looks like quantities are limited.

  • Best Discount: 10 percent off through the brand’s site if you sign up for emails, but you only score free shipping on orders of $30+. Score free shipping on the planner if you order through Amazon and are a Prime member.

lh agenda shown closed and open, featuring a week at a glance

3. Prettiest Daily Planner: LH Agenda Anna Bay Quilted Weekly Planner

Pros

  • Chic quilted cover
  • Inspiring intro section to help you set goals for year ahead
  • Undated
  • Portable/lightweight

Cons

  • Somewhat pricey

I’ve never had so many people stop to ask me where I got my planner or simply compliment me on it until I started using the Anna Bay Quilted Weekly Planner by LH Agenda. The Australia-based company’s agendas are every bit as stunning IRL as they look online—the quilted vegan leather is plush and easy to wipe clean, and it can be monogrammed for a custom touch. You can get a closer look at it this video:

But, what’s even better is how portable and functional it is. It’s about an inch thick, clocking in at about 5.8 inches by 7.8 inches, and inside that small package is an incredibly well-organized approach to planning out your year: Each two-page spread lets you see the week at a glance, with a spot each day to highlight your top three priorities and an overall notes/intentions section for the seven-day span. There are also sections for planning out what you’d like to get out of the year and each month, AND you can buy planner tabs and other accessories to truly make this book your own. I’m obsessed. (If you want to know more, check out our in-depth review.)

  • Best Discount: Sign up for their emails (at the bottom of the page) to score 5 percent off your order; free shipping on orders of $90+

blue sky planner shown open, displaying year overview and stickers
Photo: Amazon

4. Best Planner for College Students: Blue Sky 8.5″x11″ Planner

Pros

  • Very slim
  • Size of full sheet of paper
  • Spiral bound makes it easy to jot notes without book closing on you

Cons

  • Feels flimsy compared to hardcover books
  • Not as chic (more practical)

Despite all of the bells and whistles my other planners have, I find that outside of Papier, this is the planner I used the most day-to-day when I was in college. Why? Every three days is a full page, giving you plenty of time to jot down the day’s meetings and tasks, yet the planner itself is very slim, like toting a magazine. It slips easily into a laptop sleeve with my MacBook, making it easy to take on the go.

  • Best Discount: 12 percent off on Amazon, plus one-day shipping is available via Amazon Prime

inner pages of the My PA Planner, one of the best planners of 2024
Photo: Candace Braun Davison, showing 2023 interior

5. Best Planner for Work/Entrepreneurs: My PA 2024 Planner

Pros

  • Regular check-ins to keep you on track
  • Plenty of space to keep track of meetings and followups
  • Can track almost everything, from water to budget, with it

Cons

  • Bulky
  • Number of things to fill out can be overwhelming

When people first saw this planner, they thought it was a Bible (it’s that thick). Once you start using it, it’ll become your bible—for building a business. The planner opens with a year in review, before doing a deep dive into helping you assess what you want from the next year, five years and decade of your life, then helping you create a business and marketing plan for the 12 months ahead, with weekly and monthly check-ins to keep you on track. That’s all in addition to the standard planner features (to-do lists, daily time blocking, water and exercise tracking, etc.). So yes, it’s $45, and yes, it weighs 2.29 pounds, but if you’re trying to launch or scale a company, it’s a great way to stay on track. (Psst: Check out our full review here.)

While some complained that the softcover feels flimsy for the price point, I liked that it was a bit more flexible. A hardcover would make it harder to lug around and feel more like a textbook IMO.

  • Best Discount: N/A

an open spread of Silk & Sonder's wellness journal, which includes mood and habit trackers
Photo: Candace Braun Davison

6. Best Wellness Planner: Silk & Sonder Annual Subscription

Pros

  • Inspires as it helps you organize
  • Something to look forward to each month
  • Includes recipes & other bonuses you don’t find anywhere else

Cons

  • Can feel flimsy
  • More wellness journal than traditional planner/agenda

Calling Silk & Sonder’s spiral-bound book a planner is an understatement. Yes, you can use it to track your to-do’s and manage your calendar, but each planner lasts for a month and includes meal, habits and mood trackers. If you subscribe to their service, you can also access workshops and guided audio reflections for getting your thoughts out on the page. Check out our full review here.

  • Best Discount: Use code FREEMONTH to score one month free on an annual subscription.

The Home Edit planner line, reviewed
Photo: Candace Braun Davison

7. Best Tiny Planner: The Home Edit 5″x8″ Planner

Pros

  • Very small
  • Great for jotting down just the essentials

Cons

  • May not have enough room per day

Leave it to decluttering gurus The Home Edit to come up with a sleek, streamlined planner in a tidy, tiny package. This flexible little datebook still has fairly spacious spots for each day’s tasks, yet it’s small enough to fit in a purse. Plus, it includes a section to list your goals and brainstorm what you want to get out of the year ahead.

  • Best Discount: 10 percent off your first order when you sign up for their newsletter, plus free shipping on orders over $100

open spread of Happy Planner, which features a monthly calendar and stickers
Photo: Amazon/Happy Planner

8. Best Planner for Teachers: The Happy Planner Daily, 12-Month Planner

Pros

  • Pages are designed to be customized
  • Great for bullet journalers and creative types
  • Engaging design

Cons

  • Bulky, particularly the giant spiral-bound rings

This planner lasts the longest of the bunch and is the most customizable (there are all kinds of dividers, pockets and stickers you can buy to trick out your Happy Planner). It’s great for crafty types, who like to bullet journal or vision board just as much as they like tracking their to-do’s. Or for anyone who needs a bit more space, say if you need to brainstorm a few lesson plan ideas or jot down notes between classes, which is why I recommend it for teachers and other creative-yet-organized types. It is a bit bulky though, and I found I rarely decorated its pages, even though I aspire to that level of *aesthetics.*

  • Best Discount: Free shipping on Amazon for Prime members; currently $10 off (normally $35, now $25)

How I Chose the Best Planners of 2024:

I’ve been testing and reviewing planners for the past 10 years. Here’s how I go about testing them:

  1. Research the top planners on the market, both in terms of reviews and general buzz. Include any new/under-the-radar brands that seem worth a closer look.
  2. Buy or receive samples of said planners, making no guarantees that any will be featured (or included favorably—I only share what I truly like). Use them for at least one month, noting the pros/cons and who the planner would be best for, since what works for me may not work for someone else.
  3. The best planners are: roomy enough to maintain basic to-dos and meeting notes without being so bloated/bulky that you can’t carry them around. They offer additional tools—like weekly or monthly reviews—but don’t have so many ‘inspirational’ pages that you feel too overwhelmed to use them (or worse, they’re so detailed they really only apply to very few people). Other important factors are paper/cover quality, durability, aesthetics and value.

What’s the Best Planner for Me?

Ask yourself 3 questions:

  1. What do you need the most help organizing and tracking? Is it your to-do list? Do you prefer an hour-by-hour breakdown of the day ahead, because you’re in a ton of meetings or appointments?
  2. How much space do you need for a day’s tasks? (And how much writing do you actually like to do?)
  3. How portable do you want your planner to be? Do you want something slim and bendy, like a folder? Something small that can stash in a purse? Something big enough that you can jot down every stray thought—and bulk doesn’t really matter, because you’ll be keeping it in one place for the most part?

The Main Types of Daily Planners:

  • Annual or Yearly Planners span one calendar year (January through December). They often pop up in stores around November or December, with pages pre-printed with the dates for the year ahead. They’re helpful for keeping track of dates at a glance, and they’re often clearanced out of stores by mid-February.
  • Academic or Mid-Year Planners usually start at the end of summer and run through the school year. Some can be 18 months long, allowing for more long-term planning.
  • Multi-Year Planners are often intended for goal setting, as they span multiple years and let you track your progress over time. They’re a rare find.
  • Undated Planners are great for starting fresh at any time of the year, because you write in each day’s date. That can make them a little annoying for long-term planning, unless you take the time to jot every date of the year in ’em in advance, but they’re also nice if you stop using it for a few weeks then pick things back up—no pages wasted.

Is a Paper Planner Worth It?

It really depends on your organizational style. I love them for the ability to brain dump everything that’s on your mind (especially since a University of Tokyo study found that you’re more likely to remember things when you physically write them down), and I use a digital calendar to alert me to meetings, so I don’t miss them. It’s that one-two punch that helps me stay on top of things.

What Daily Planner Is in That Top Image?

So glad you asked! That’s the Anna Bay Quilted Planner by LH Agenda, which appears in the third spot on this list.

Why Trust Our Planner Recommendations?

While I’ve tried a few other big name brands, I didn’t include them on this list simply because many felt too bulky, or overly simplistic, or straight-up pricey (for what you get) to include. If there’s a brand you love that I didn’t include, I’d love to hear it. DM me @lifebetweenweekends.

A previous version of this story included Rachel Hollis’s Start Today Priority Planner. Since the planner itself has sold out and has been discontinued (and it’s rare to find on eBay), we’ve removed it from this list.