7 of the best 2026 paper planners + accessories (in my opinion)
If you know me, you know I’m still a paper planner girlie through and THROUGH. If you were to look on my bookshelf, I have several planners from years’ past, and the amount of joy I feel when I get to buy a planner for the new year is unmatched and ongoing.
For years, I got the same Sugar Paper pocket planner from Target but they’ve since sunsetted that style, which leaves me on the hunt for the best planner to meet my needs. And this year, I SCOURED the internet for a new planner and I thought I’d share my top 10 picks to help you on your search. I know that Hobonichi planners are all the hype, but they require too much extra creativity and customization for my liking, So, in this post I’ll lay out my criteria for what makes a good planner, I’ll share features of the ones I picked, I’ll let you know the planner who won my heart this year and I’ll share some of my favorite planner accessories.
First — to see if we’re planner compatible, here’s my non-negosh planner criteria:
1. Has to be bound — no spirals here. 📒🙅🏼♀️
I simply cannot do spiral-bound planners anymore. I can’t. I always think a current latest one will be the exception, and by August I’m regretting my decision. For me, they always break down and do not stand the test of time enough to be my ride or die companion for a year. There’s nothing worse than when your back cover fell off because the binding got snagged in your bag. Plus, you can never really get it back to factory settings once it’s been pulled and bent a few times. So, for me, I need a perfect-bound planner (book style). And while we’re at it, I prefer a sturdy cover, like fabric bound, or something adjacent. I had a recycled “paper pulp” covered planner last year and it was peeling by September, so much so, I had to cover it all in a new patterned duct tape just to survive.
2. I like weekly or daily planners, but I NEED the Month-At-A-Glance, too.
I like daily or weekly planner formats (though I prefer weekly the most). However, be it with daily OR weekly formats, I still also need there to be Monthly At-A-Glance pages because sometimes you just need to see the whole month, and if i have my say, they’ll be separating each month too, not all batched at the beginning.
3. Has to have some aesthetic character (i.e. not be boring)
Since paper planners are like school supply shopping for adults, I simply cannot settle for a boring planner. 2 years ago, I bought a pocket planner off of Amazon (this one to be exact) and even though it served its purpose, I was just so bored looking at it. I like whimsy, I like a little pizazz, I love paper goods too much to settle for a boring planner, you know?
4. I want it to fit in my bag, so it’s usually labeled a pocket or mini planner (no 9.5” x 11” here).
This is more a personal preference but I work remotely, so that means I am not toting a laptop bag to-and-fro as much as someone who works in an office each day or has a hybrid situation. Given this, I’m usually keeping my planner in my purse alongside my kindle and keys, etc. For me, if i’m going to use my planner every single day (or at minimum every single week), I need it to be pocket or mini so it’s with me. Plus, when someone asks me to make plans, I hate to be like “Sorry, my planner is at home” because I couldn’t tag it along with me.
5. I want it to help me get where I want to go (i.e. trackers or customizability)
In 2025, after reading the book The Happiness Project, I was inspired to do my own (which you can read about here). This meant I had a dedicated theme each month, and my planner for this year (2025) was a huge part of my success, because I had enough room to jot down the theme for each month, and some of the actions and objectives that went along with it. Additionally, I like the option to track habits (like daily vitamins, top priorities, etc. I like my planners to have a little bit more than just a space to jot down a game night…. I like to also use them to continue my own becoming, so I appreciate a few extra pages or spaces that allow me to ponder and contribute to that.
Honorable Mentions: (a.k.a things I appreciate but can live without)
A place for important dates/birthdays
Saturday and Sunday as their own full-sized day
Notebook pages in front or back
Next Year-At-A-Glance (meaning a 1-page 2027 calendar in a 2026 planner)
Area for a to-do list each week
Monthly Tabs
Okay, so without further adieu, here are the top 10 planners I found (in no particular order except for #1). *drum roll please*
Things I’ll Cancel Later Mini Undated Weekly Planner by Brass Monkey - THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE PLANNER and my 2026 pick! Before you click away because you think I’m crazy for starting this guide with an undated planner, as they say on their website, this planner is more like “Un-yeared” because they do most of the heavy lifting for you. It already has alllll the days in there, and you get to do some light customization (which I adored) of clarifying what day of the week the month starts on (for the monthly-at-a-glances) plus circling which day of the week the year falls on. It’s a bit of a puzzle at first, but I loved this level of customization. PLUS, this planner is just the bees knees in every other way. It’s aesthetic. It’s a good size. It’s got realllly witty banter, is super well thought out, and has a bunch of extras like end-of-month reflections, and each day has some trivia and some random holidays on it (like January 5th being National Whipped Cream Day). It’s the perfect amount of whimsy that I was looking for in a daily companion, and I cannot wait to use it!
2026 Weekly Passion Planner - This planner is for the person who is GOING PLACES with big goals and for those who want to get in a rhythm to be their best selves. In addition to being a weekly planner, it’s got Monthly Tabs, a Core Values section in the front, a vision board for your goals, a Passion Roadmap, plus 12 months of habit tracking (across 4 pages) with a Yearly Overview calendar (and a place to put your quarterly goals). It’s also got blank pages in the back for whatever else you’re jotting down. It’s in Monthly → Weekly format and is customizable when you order to pick the size you want and Sunday or Monday start for your weeks.
2026 Happy Planner Skinny Classic Horizontal Planner - Happy Planners are great. They are the only “spiral-esque” planner I can tolerate and they are a plug and play style, too (with various insert offers). This Skinny planner is their smallest “pocket” version. It includes monthly calendars (with tabs), weekly spreads, year-at-a-glance pages and Saturday and Sunday has its own day of space. It’s aesthetic, customizable (you can move all the pages around into an order that you want). It’s pretty simple in regards to extras but if aesthetic, mini and a great canvas is what you’re looking for, this is a great choice.
2026 Foil Bow 12-Month Medium Bound Planner by Good Juju Ink - This was a closeeee runner up for me in picking my planner this year. It’s got everything you want in a planner — whimsy, good layout, aestheticism, sections for celebrations, notes, contacts, and a foil-stamped sticker sheet for extra fun plus metal corners make it just sooo precious. It also has a cute folder in the back to store little odds and ends (random receipts, notes, etc). What I especially like about this one is that each week has a place for habits, top priorities, what you’re looking forward to, a place to put what you’re grateful for and a highlight of the week. I love it a lot.
Papier In the Grid Hardcover 2026 Weekly Planner - This is a really great choice. It’s got all the hits: a year-view for 2026 & 2027, month-view for 2026 (including national holidays), and then the weekly view (each week). There’s a place for monthly goals, to-do lists, priorities & new habits, places for contacts, and a mix of dotted, lined & gridded pages for extra notes. The reason why I DIDN’T pick this planner, is because the months at-a-glance are all in the front (as opposed to being split up between week pages), and then the monthly goals pages are also in the front which isn’t my favorite, favorite.
Rifle Paper 12-month Bi-Weekly Hard Cover Paper Planner - This is a true pocket planner that wins in aesthetics but lacks anything super extra outside of that. This is what I imagine to be for someone who has a planner for their social calendar only, as it’s a bi-weekly layout. But it has Monthly pages as well, and a section for important dates and notes. I also like that it has the band to keep the planner closed.
Part-Time Adult Undated Daily Planner by Brass Monkey - Another one from Brass Monkey. This planner is what actually started it all for me in regards to absolute adoration for a whimsical planner. In 2020, I found a planner from the Brass Monkeys old brand Easy, Tiger. And then, the pandemic hit and I didn’t get to use it hardly AT ALL. How sad?!!? Then, they closed that business and I was DEVASTATED. Then, imagine my surprise when I’m perusing Barnes and Noble and I find this exact daily planner right in front of me?!! I was overjoyed. This planner is great, there are so many extras, it’s a daily planner that again, requires you to mark what day of the week a particular date falls on, as well as what day the month starts on. Remember, it’s dated, it just needs to be calibrated for the year. 10/10 recommend.
There some other planners I love that are already sold out for this year, but i’ll link them HERE and HERE so you can check them out next year.
PLANNER ACCESSORIES:
These Erasable pens are the FUTURE. My friend brought me a cute Legami Giraffe pen from Japan (also erasable) and I am now hooooked. An erasable pen is perfect for a planner because, well, you know, plans change. :)
These sticker sheets add some girly cuteness to any planner. Lots of monthly themed stickers to add some pizazz to holidays and special days.
I am very much a person who likes to have a dedicated “planner pen” so this adhesive pen loop is great so you can always keep them together.
Sometimes I love a good tab separating the months. Most spiral-bound planners do, but not perfect-bound, so if I’m feeling extra crazy, I’ll add monthly tabs to my planner to add some good good. I like these the best because they are thin and don’t raise the pages thickness too much.
Alright — that’s my haul of planners for 2026. What’s your favormoite planner, I would love to know?! If you want to see how I’ve customized by Brass Monkey planner, let me know!
Until next time,
Kaylee
