The 5 Top Bullet Journal Options (under $10)
I kind of stumbled into this Bullet Journal thing, but I’ve now been doing it daily since (checks backlog of journals) March of 2019. During that time, I’ve burned through quite a few bullet journals, both cheap and otherwise.
Through time and experimentation, I found that my perfect journaling routine is split into 3 daily section: daily gratitude, tasks, and reflection. This ends up taking up one spread (two pages) for every day, which means that I can fill out a standard notebook in just a few of months.
Every time I need a new one, I head over to Amazon…only to be overwhelmed by the avalanche of bullet journal options to sort through, many with low prices, high star ratings and plenty of reviews.
So I’ve ended up trying all of the top options under $10. To save you some time trying to compare seemingly identical models, I’ve put a side by side comparison of these journals.
To be on this list, the bullet journal must (1) cost less than $10, (2) have at least 4.5 stars on Amazon, and (3) have hundreds of reviews.
Oh, and one last thing: for those that aren’t familiar with paper (like I wasn’t before I started on this journey) one of the ways to measure paper quality is GSM. This means Grams per Square Meter. The higher the number means heavier paper, which means it’s less likely to have the ink bleed through
With that, let’s get going.
Poluma Dotted Grid Journal
One of the reasons Bullet Journals initially intimidated me is that they seemed like they were for artsy people who enjoyed designing complicated habit trackers with eye catching colors fun. Like my wife:
With these kinds of habit trackers in mind, Poluma jumps onto the scene with their Dotted Grid Journal. Or maybe it’s called a Bullet Journal. Or maybe it’s the “Dotted Grid Notebook/Journal – Dot Grid Hard Cover Notebook, Premium Thick Paper with Fine Inner Pocket.”
Each one of those SEO grabbing names appears on Amazon. None are particularly catchy, so I’ll go with some variation on Poluma.
The stand out feature for this Poluma Bullet Journal is the page thickness. They’re billed in the Q&A section of the Amazon site as 120 gsm, and they’re definitely study. Here’s the other side of that same picture above:
Yes, you can see the fish, but Nemo there isn’t distracting at all. If you’re not zoomed in and focused on him like I am, he’s hardly noticeable.
The binding on this bullet journal is top notch, and the cover has a smooth, premium feel to it. It comes in 3 colors, and the mint definitely looks good.
Like all the other bullet journals listed here, it has a cloth bookmark and a pocket in back for storing your crap (which I use for jamming in collected business cards and forgetting where I put them).
The journal has 128 pages, which is 64 actual sheets. This is standard for this category. And the pages are NOT numbered.
My wife absolutely loves her Poluma journal. She uses it daily to keep up with her classes, which she (typically) outlines with designs like the one above.
Which is why I would say that if you’re looking to sketch or draw in your notebook, this is probably the one to get.
If you want to track ideas with page numbers, or if you want the cheapest daily writer, I keep on reading.
Quick Stats:
- Size: 8.25″ x 5″
- Pages: 128
- Weight: 120 gsm
Pros:
- Thick pages
- Smooth Cover
- Fun colors (mint, purple, Broncos Orange)
- No quality issues in my version
- Amazon’s Choice, for what that’s worth
Cons:
- No page number
- Only 128 pages (64 sheets)
- Back pocket seems perfunctory
Artfan Bullet Dotted Journal
The next bullet journal on our list is the, um…”Bullet Dotted Journal – Numbers & Index Pages with Label.”
Huh. Yeah, I think all of these names are just so they pop up in your Amazon shopping search.
So let’s go with the company name: the Artfan Bullet Journal.
Artfan’s journal stand out feature is page numbers. This is the only journal of the group that has them, which comes in handy if you’re a really organized person who tracks your ideas enough to keep a Table of Contents.
I really like the idea of a Table of Contents. One of the people who really got me into journaling told me how he kept his house paint color and looked it up years later when they went to sell the house.
Which is really cool…if you’re organized enough to put those kinds of things in the front of the journal.
I got this journal with high aspirations of doing just that. And I failed miserably. That means I ended up with a journal with page numbers I’ll never reference and four fewer usable pages reserved for a Table of Contents that I’ll never use.
The pages are certainly thinner than the Poluma notebook, but they’re hardly distracting if you’re doing normal writing. Amazon’s official description didn’t give an actual page weight, but someone in the comment section said it was 100 gsm, which seems about right.
My copy of the journal had one very distracting issue: the cover had been put on upside down and backwards. See the top photo with the “Artfan” etched at the top? Yeah, that’s the COVER of the bullet journal. Every time I took the book out, I opened it backwards.
I should have returned it to see if try two was printed right, but my old notebook was already full and I didn’t have enough time to order a new one.
Based on the number of positive reviews, I’m guessing this binding issue is rare.
The color options seem to be lacking, too. Black and teal popped up on my Amazon search. I got black, and it’s…fine. A bit boring. Plus the “faux leather” cover feels cheap.
Like the other bullet journals, it has a pocket in the back and a cloth bookmark. The Amazon site claims it has two bookmarks. Maybe they forgot my second one when they printed the notebook in the Upside Down, or maybe it’s a feature they added after I bought mine, but I only had a single bookmark.
Which is fine. The second one would have just marked the Table of Contents I didn’t use.
Artfan’s journal has 128 pages (124 usable, 64 sheets), and will come in handy if you are really into organizing your pages. Otherwise, I would recommend passing on this one.
Quick Stats:
- Size: 8.4″ x 5.3″
- Pages: 128
- Weight: 100 gsm (? – est)
Pros:
- Page numbers!
- Table of contents for page numbers!
- Amazon’s Choice, for what that’s worth
Cons:
- Cover on backwards
- Only 124 writable pages (other 4 are ToC)
- Surface of cover feels cheap (“faux leather”)
- Exact same lame pocket as Poluma
- Black and Teal only
- Can only guess at page weight
URSUNSHINE Dotted Grid Notebook
Next up we have the, um…URSUNSHINE Dotted Grid Notebook/Journal.
I’m not sure how that’s supposed to be pronounced. Is it “You Are Sunshine,” like some sort of inspirational quote, or “Your Sunshine,” like this notebook will be your sunshine on a cloudy day?
If it’s the latter, it makes sense why their non-black colors are bright yellow and Broncos Orange.
Whichever way URSUNSHINE (yes, apparently all caps) is pronounced, the end result is the same. This notebook.
It’s…fine.
Really, this is the most generic of a list of generic bullet journals.
It’s like the Ann of Bullet Journals. Each time I tried to write something about it, I kept thinking, “Her?“
Honestly, it’s fine. It’s pages quite thick, so my writing doesn’t noticeably bleed through. That said, URSUNSHINE didn’t want to get into specifics, simply calling it “Premium Thick Paper.”
Honestly, the only thing that really makes this notebook stand out is that the “smooth” part of the Faux Leather cover, which somehow translated into a weird texturing. It’s not particularly notable on it’s own, but when I felt the other notebooks, it was really odd. Definitely textured, not smooth.
Other than that, though, I don’t have anything bad to say about the notebook either. The binding was good, the pages were high quality, the bookmark is the exact number of bookmarks they advertise on Amazon.
You get what you see. A 128 page (64 sheet) notebook from a painfully generic sounding company that holds up well.
Quick Stats:
- Size: 5″ x 8.25″
- Pages: 128
- Weight: 120 gsm (? – est)
Pros:
- Colors: Yellow, Broncos Orange, and black.
- Thick pages
Cons:
- Her?
- Weird cover texturing (“SMOOTH Faux Leather”)
- Yet another lame back pocket (looks identical to Artfan and Poluma)
- Not Amazon’s Choice, whatever that means
Paperage Dotted Journal Bullet Notebook
Wait one sec, is this a bullet journal from a company that actually seems proud of its brand name?
Yes, yes it is!
This shows on the Amazon page, which prominently displays the Paperage everywhere.
So how does Paperage do with their “Paperage Dotted Journal Bullet Notebook”? Well I like it.
This is the first notebook of the group that actually stands out as being something (slightly) different. It pulls it off by being noticeable shorter and noticeably wider.
It’s not a lot, mind you, but enough that nobody would think it’s just a rebranding of another product.
It’s not just the unique dimensions that make this notebook stand out. It also has 160 pages (or 80 individual sheets), which is fully 20 pages more than the other books. With my journaling habit, it means this journal lasts me an extra 10 days.
It’s not a lot, but it’s something.
The journal comes in 8 different colors that are truly unique. I’ve purchased several of them. I use one as a daily bullet journal, but I have another one for ideas, notes, etc. The unique size and color makes it easily stand out from my daily journal.
The paper is thick enough, coming in at 100 gsm. I can noticeably see the ghosting through the pages, but it’s not distracting. If I was doing significant art work with markers, it would probably be a problem.
The covers of these notebooks are a little thinner than the other four journals discussed, but is sturdy enough. I think most of the reduction in thickness comes from eschewing the faux leather.
I prefer the simplier cover. It’s not perfect, though, since all three of my Paperage notebooks have some weird scuffing on them from the months of use. It’s not a big problem, but it’s something odd I noticed as I was looking through my stack of journals.
If I had one big complaint, it’s this: the Paperage journal refuses to lie flat without some serious violence. I spent an entire month with my first one using binder clips to try to hold the thing flat. Then I finally realized if I stretched out the spine enough it works fine (without breaking the book).
Clearly something about the binding process makes it need a little help the first time around to get it to lie flat.
Despite the flaws, I really like the Paperage notebooks. Like I mentioned, I’ve gone through 3 so far, and they’ve proven to be a good compromise between page thickness and number of pages. And the colors help me distinguish between notebooks when I’m using multiple notebooks (which is always).
Quick Stats:
- Size: 5.7″ x 8″
- Pages: 160
- Weight: 100 gsm
Pros:
- Wider than others
- Smooth cover – no “faux” attempt here
- All the colors: Burgundy, Green, Navy, Red, Skyblue, White, Yellow, Black
- Real branding effort
- Better back pocket
- Actually seems different from the others
Cons:
- Shorter than others
- Pages thinner than some
- Folds flat…after you rough it up a bit
- Thinner covers (which scuffed up on ALL THREE of mine)
- Not Amazon’s Choice, for what that’s worth
Minimalism Art Classic Notebook Journal
9/20/21 UPDATE: The review below is for the OLD version of this notebook. I just purchased a new one…and it COMPLETELY changed. Now it has numbered pages, a changed cover, an additional fabric bookmark…but WAY fewer pages. I haven’t used it enough to give a full review, but I wanted to give a heads up.
We’re onto our second notebook that seems to be proud of their brand name, the Minimalism Art Classic Notebook Journal. And, unlike all the rest of these notebooks, they actually have their own non-Amazon website.
This is my current notebook, and I got it for one reason: number of pages.
Minimalism Art’s notebook has has significantly more. We’re talking 192 pages, which makes it feel positively spacious compared to the 128 page notebooks. That means 96 unique sheets, which FINALLY gets me through three full months of journaling.
That’s exactly what I wanted.
It has the slightly thinner pages like Paperage and Artfan, but they’re fine for the daily writing. You can see the faint ghosting below.
The cover feels really nice, too, with a PU Leather that’s a big step up from the faux leather on Artfan and URSUNSHINE.
My version did have one small issue: the binding on one of the pages wasn’t completely together. See it below (along with a good look at the ghosting through the pages):
I’m almost through this notebook, and it seems to be holding up fine. You can see that the actual threading in the binding is holding up, but some of the sets of paper are separated.
Minimalism Art has 5 color options. I like the Amber color book. I haven’t yet used the other colors in person, but they don’t seem quite as fun.
Oh, and the back pocket is slightly nicer than the other notebooks. If you actually use that kind of thing.
So far, this one seems to be the best suited for my daily journal. I’m a little disappointed with the binding, but it seems to be holding up so far. Most likely it was just a one off issue, and I’m hoping the next one won’t similar issues.
Quick Stats:
- Size: 5″ x 8.3″
- Pages: 192
- Weight: 100 gsm
Pros:
- Really like cover feel
- More pages!
- Back pocket a bit more quality
- Actual brand name
- Colors: Amber, Blue, Brown, Red, and Black
- Amazon’s Choice, for what that’s worth
Cons:
- Mine had some binding issues
- Pages definitely bleed
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a cheap, simple journal, any of these bullet journals will work.
If you’re looking for daily writing, with just a little bit of bullet journal art, then I would recommend either the journal by Minimalism Art or Paperage. These both have more pages than the other options, but are still plenty sturdy for notes and task lists. I use Minimalism Art for my daily journaling and Paperage for my notes and ideas. Since they are such different colors and sizes, it works out well.
If you’re going the art route, I would recommend Poluma, which has the thick pages their website advertises. The trade off is it has fewer pages, but for those like my wife who aren’t taking daily notes, it’s an easy trade off to make.
