Best Journals for Writing

This journal boasts an awesome corked cover, lays flat, premium, & thick paper that doesn’t bleed – great for bullet journaling. It has a sturdy sewn elastic pen holder, expandable pocket, elastic closure strap, and a ribbon bookmark. Everything you could need at a reasonable price.

“I am super conscious of my consumption and try to consume recycled products when purchasing new things. It took me a bit of searching to find this gem but once I found it, I knew it was perfect! I love the look and feel of the cork exterior and love that it isn’t leather like all those other bullet journals.” – Verified Amazon Customer

This writing journal boasts a smooth faux leather hard cover with elastic closure and bookmark ribbon, along with all the staples of any great journal. And coming in at just around $9, this journal is definitely the best value of the bunch.

“The first thing that you’ll notice with this notebook is how thick and dense the pages are. It’s a welcome change from Moleskine’s paper. I highly recommend this notebook to anyone who has a hobby involving fine writing instruments and stationary. You will not be disappointed.” – Verified Amazon Customer

This writing journal has a little bit of everything: neat tweed cover, it lays flat, has a bookmark. But what separates it is the paper – its glossy page edges add a nice extra little something. The cover is also pretty unique – one of the only on our lists not employing faux leather, but tweed.

“The attention to detail is unmatched- I ordered the linen and love the feel, the silver on the edges of the pages adds a beautiful touch, the two ribbons in the book is exactly what I needed so I don’t have to fold down a page for reference, the back pocket is not all paper (sides have a linen material so it won’t rip).” – Verified Amazon Customer

Another great value, this lined journal has all the features you’d want in a journal: a stylish marble cover, inner pocket, attached elastic closure, and plenty of note-taking space with 144 pages. The pages are premium, withstanding damage from light and air for long-lasting performance.

“I’m saying this as a notebook obsessed shopper, a person who is very meticulous with the quality of a notebook. First, love the hard cover and the detail on the print. The thickness of the paper is perfect, the ink doesn’t go through to the other side of the paper. Third, the pocket that comes on the end is very helpful and well put, it’s not loose or over glued” – Verified Amazon Customer

Another solid journal, known for its pocket in the back (a feature most of these journals have). Its premium matte finished pages make writing in it enjoyable. At 90gsm, it doesn’t have the thickest pages, but they’re plenty thick to prevent most pens from bleeding through.

“There’s absolutely zero bleed-through of the ink to the other side of the page; there’s virtually zero feathering; the ink dries nearly instantaneously; in all honesty the writing experience is better than that afforded by my $200 handmade journal. Basically, I find it nearly impossible to imagine paper being better than this.” – Verified Amazon Customer

The Leuchtturm1917 has almost a cult following – and for good reason Their journals are high quality, well designed – and contain more pages than most others. Page numbers and a table of contents help you organized. Its paper is thinner than those listed above it (80gsm). If you don’t use inky pens, shouldn’t be a problem.

“The Leuchtturms all come with a sheet of labels. There are labels for the spine, which makes it a good choice if you plan to shelve your notebooks at some point, and labels for the front cover. The pages are good and thick, and fountain pen friendly, so you don’t have to worry about a lot of bleed through.” – Verified Amazon Customer

The classic Moleskine notebook – loved by travelers and creatives – is great for writing and free journaling. The journal is very high quality, but the paper is some of the thinnest on the market. If you like to use heavy pens or markers, Moleskines probably aren’t the best fit.

“I’ve been keeping daily journal entries for the past four years, and this was the first time I’ve gone with a Moleskine journal. Right off the bat, you can tell that this is a well-made journal. It’s very sturdy with crisp pages, a nice elastic band, and a handy bookmark that I’ve tugged on a couple of times (unintentionally) and it has stayed. The pages have very little bleed-through with ink despite the fact that they are so thin.” – Verified Amazon Customer

This cork hardcovered writing journal boasts many of the same features as our other journals. One thing that sets the Keegood dot journal is its multi-colored tabs to help keep you organized and lively corked cover.

“Really good quality journal. Paper is nice and thick (perfect for use with a fountain pen), and the binding is strong. Nice touch of including a ruler and page tabs in the back cover pocket of the journal. 5-stars on quality of the product. I would definitely purchase again. ”  – Verified Amazon Customer