Notebook reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 249 Reddit reviews across 18 subreddits and 66 posts to rank the best Notebook brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/notebooks, r/fountainpens, r/bulletjournal, r/linux4noobs, r/Journaling. Top-rated brands include Midori (4.6/5), Kokuyo (4.4/5), Rhodia (4.5/5).
Stats
Reviews249
Subreddits18
Posts66
Brands70
Products45
249 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Midori
4.6
(35)
"I like Midori MD. It's the only notebook I found that is toothy enough for pencils but can handle fountain pens and wet pens well too."
"+1 on Midori! I love their paper."
"Those brands are great. I would recommend Midori MD as well!"
"Midori MD A5. Cant be beaten."
"The paper is great to write with various pens, dotted paper, light."
"Best notebook I’ve used so far is Midori. My fountain pens write smoothly on it and my inks neither bleed through nor skip."
"I'd go for either Midori MD or Leuchtturm1917."
"I really like it. There is minimal ghosting, even with highlighters!"
"100039742848% recommend. i’ve used these notebooks since i was 16 (22 now) and i adore them."
"I have filled dozens and dozens of Midori A5 notebooks and cannot recommend them highly enough."
#2
Kokuyo
4.4
(23)
"Kokuyo has a notebook with different smooth messes of paper. I can't remember off the top of my head what it's called ... I love it though."
"Kokuyo is one of the most popular brands."
"Kokuyo softring! Ideally the sooofa line, which is harder to find in person."
"Check out kokuyo binders, I think the space is enough and their paper feels really great."
"I love them and are very affordable."
"I love them and are very affordable."
"It only has 100 pages but less bulky to carry and high quality paper"
"Kokuyo Campus notebooks are highly recommended."
"Cheap, easy to write on, good paper."
"Kokuyo campus notebooks."
#3
Rhodia
4.5
(22)
"Rhodia is really good"
"Rhodia are great."
"Rhodia or dingbats my preference."
"You can't go wrong with Rhodia"
"For a great writing experience you can go with Rhodia."
"Rhodia. They actually use clairefontaine paper."
"I saw others mentioning Rhodia and that paper has an especially smooth feel to it."
"Rhodia and clairefontane, awesome paper too."
"Rhodia have quite a few ring bound variants. Paper is amazing for fountain!"
"B5 notebooks I've used with dotted or sectioned grids and fountain pen friendly paper: Rhodia."
#4
Leuchtturm1917
4.5
(20)
"One of the best options is surely the Leuchtturm1917 A5 in 120 gsm."
"I second (third?) Leuchtturm1917."
"I believe they do have softcover notebooks as well in their line up."
"An A6 Leuchtturm, either hard or soft cover, is in my daily carry for the same purposes."
"I use a Leuchtturm1917 - 2025 Weekly Planner & Notebook (A5)."
"Neil Gaiman actually writes his first draft by hand with a fountain pen!"
"Neil Gaiman writes all of his books using pen and paper. Well he uses Leuchtturm1917 notebooks."
"I love my leuchtturm notebooks."
"Leuchtturm1917 is a great option, as it can be found at HomeGoods/TJ Maxx stores for much cheaper than usual retail price."
"Leuchtturm1917 for numbered pages"
#5
Leuchtturm
4.2
(15)
"I have two in-progress notebooks, one (Leuchtturm A5 120g) for daily notes."
"Leuchtturm is probably the best."
"Leuchtturm, Clairefontaine and Field Notes are all good options."
"Leuchtturm, sterling ink (tomoe river paper), jetpens has a lot of options too."
"Leuchtturm is fine, and personally I love it."
"I like Leuchtturm and Rhodia for general use."
"B5 notebooks I've used with dotted or sectioned grids and fountain pen friendly paper: Leuchtturm 1917."
"All reasonably priced and fountain pen friendly."
"I like Leuchtturm or Rhodia notebooks."
"You can try leuchtturm, cognitive surplus, or Kokuyo campus."
#6
Clairefontaine
4.6
(13)
"Clairefontaine paper is wonderful! I live in France and have such easy access to it."
"As far as paper goes, my money is on Clairefontaine. Especially if you use fountain pens."
"I love Clairefontaine."
"My go-to everyday carry is an A6 "age bag" notebook from Clairefontaine."
"I use the Clairefontaine My Essential notebook. Superior quality paper."
"I started with Clairefontaine paper, and I love it so much I’m afraid to try anything else."
"Clairefontaine & Rhodia make some excellent for fountain pens B5 softcover notebooks."
"Search for clairfontaine, rhodia and/or Maruman Mnemosyne… all are supposedly good with fountain pens."
"I like Clairefontaine and Rhodia notebooks."
"I like Rhodia & Clairefontaine."
#7
Muji
4.3
(9)
"I personally swear by this system by Muji."
"My on-the-go is a Muji, and it’s great with fountain pens."
"[muji] has great notebooks for equally great prices."
"I like Muji notebooks as well, but find them better for pens than pencils."
"I only use A5s from Muji"
"I think Muji’s pocket notebooks come in dot grid now, so they’d be my first recommendation."
"I've settled on Muji for a loose leaf study binder."
"Muji has loose papers!"
"Look at Muji"
#8
Maruman
4.7
(6)
"I haven’t tried Septcouleur but you could try Mnemosyne by Maruman, very smooth."
"Septcouleur is solid. I like the side spiral. My go to is the Maruman Mnemosyne 105 (A5, 5mm dot) or the Maruman Spiral Dot Basic."
"It really is great paper for fountain pens, and the price is right."
"Maruman Mnemosyne has an A4, ring-bound, squared, landscape-oriented notebook with fantastic paper."
"Maruman Mnemosyne is excellent and relatively inexpensive."
"I generally recommend Maruman, Rhodia, or Clairefontaine."
#9
Moleskine
4.0
(6)
"I loved them. Nice writing experience but also slim and lightweight."
"For me, the moleskein cahier journal for their texture. It’s not the cheapest, but reasonable when you look at price per page."
"Moleskine cahier are also nice and toothy, but almost too rough for soft pencils."
"There is a pattern to finding Moleskines that are Fountain pen friendly."
"My first ever notebook was a Moleskine."
"I am in love with the size of the large moleskine expanded."
#10
Stalogy
4.3
(4)
"Stalogy and Midori notes are often my recommendations for people."
"I use Stalogy notebooks in my Hobo covers."
"Stalogy notebooks are gridded and have good paper"
"Great for cutting off the spine and spiral binding, very convenient."
#11
Hobonichi
4.3
(4)
"Hobonichi cousin! It has monthly, weekly, and daily pages all in one book!"
"Sewn binding with small signatures is the most durable, and also the best for laying flat."
"I recommend Hobonichi notebook placed inside Kokuyo Systemic cover."
"I love Hobonichi but they're on the expensive side and not ideal if you can't stand ghosting."
#12
Leuchtturm 1917
4.0
(4)
"I really like my LEUCHTTURM1917"
"Leuchtturm, Rhodia, and Midori come to mind"
"If you decide on Leuchtturm, be sure to take the one with 120 gsm paper, because that’s the only one resistant to bleeding from most inks."
"After maaaany posts about Leuchtturm hauls, I bought one to see what I was missing and I didn't like it."
#13
Scribbles That Matter
4.0
(4)
"I like Scribbles That Matter and Dingbats."
"I’ve just ordered a Scribbles That Matter! Will let you know what I think when it arrives tomorrow"
"Scribbles That Matter tends to be my go to for UK based journals"
"Scribbles that matter are good and uk based."
#14
Apple
4.0
(4)
"I always recommend building a PC. It's easy to learn, you can find tutorials on Youtube."
"I bought a refurbished m1 MacBook pro with 16gb ram in december for like $900 CAD and it’s a breeze."
"The base MacBook Pro with the m4 (not m4 pro or max) is well within that budget."
"While MacBooks can be used for coding, many students found themselves needing to use university computers due to software compatibility issues."
#15
Midori MD
5.0
(3)
"I’d recommend Midori MD, Apica CD, or a Life Noble notebook."
"Midori MD is one of my favourites. Either in cream (the A5 blank is my go to), or white (the TN inserts)."
"Midori MD paper notebooks, chefs kiss."
#16
Tomoe River
4.7
(3)
"If you use sheening inks, and don't mind longer drying times and some ghosting then there's nothing better than Tomoe River"
"I also tried Tomoe River paper, which is so thin you’ll think it starts to tear or bleed but it doesn’t."
"Tomoe River is the gold standard for fountain friendly papers."
#17
Dell
4.7
(3)
"Dell Latitude business laptops usually work flawlessly"
"I am using Linux Mint Cinnamon on a Dell Latitude E7270. It is lightning fast and is currently my daily driver."
"I have a dell inspiron 5550 i5 with 16Gb mem and a 500Gb disk that runs ubuntu 22.5 with no problem whatsoever"
#18
Yu-Sari
4.3
(3)
"I use Yu-Sari grid in B5, previously used A5 too."
"I enjoy yu-sari notebooks. The cover is a flimsy compared to leuchturm but the paper is great."
"Great for fountain pens, just like Muji, and reasonably priced."
#19
Life
5.0
(2)
"Life every last item has been superior."
"I really like Life Noble notebooks."
#20
Dingbats
5.0
(2)
"I cannot recommend Dingbats enough."
"B5 notebooks I've used with dotted or sectioned grids and fountain pen friendly paper: Dingbats."
#21
Lenovo
5.0
(2)
"Thinkpad business-level laptops usually work flawlessly"
"Typing this on a Lenovo T490s running Fedora Workstation 40, Works really well and off of a fresh install."
#22
Rhodiarama
4.5
(2)
"There's also the Rhodiarama notebooks which do have softcovers as well!"
"Look at Rhodiarama line by Rhodia. They have soft and hard cover. My favorite paper."
#23
Endless Regalia
4.5
(2)
"I would second Endless Regalia - it’s good paper, and thicker than Tomoe River (my everyday go-to)."
"If you like a thicker paper with more tooth and less ghosting I can recommend Endless Regalia paper and the Recorder A5 notebook"
#24
Penco
4.5
(2)
"Penco B7 is your answer."
"Penco B7"
#25
Kokuyo Campus
4.5
(2)
"I love Kokuyo Campus."
"I also recommend the Kokuyo Campus Notebooks, it only has 100 pages but less bulky to carry and high quality paper."
#26
Notebook Therapy
4.5
(2)
"I just love notebook therapy. I love their covers and sizes. It makes me less likely to just “give up” on the notebook"
"I recommend both but I found that NT has more options and cuter covers!"
#27
Oxford
4.5
(2)
"Oxford makes great, inexpensive notebooks using their 'Optik Paper'."
"In the USA, we have the Oxford brand of 80-sheet composition books."
#28
Traveler's Notebook
4.5
(2)
"A ring planner or traveler’s notebook would be my suggestion."
"Midori MD, Clairefontaine, Rhodia and Traveler’s Notebook all have fountain friendly paper."
#29
Happy Planner
4.0
(2)
"I’ve been enjoying my Happy Planner book lately because I can move the pages around so very easily."
"Happy planner and tūl have been the ones I've been buying."
#30
Filofax
4.0
(2)
"Filofax A5, one day on two pages - plenty of room for your notes."
"I use a Filofax for that. It’s refillable and quite sturdy."
#31
Citrus Book Bindery
4.0
(2)
"Citrus Book Bindery in the UK."
"Citrus Book Bindery has very customizable, beautiful notebooks, and is UK based!"
#32
Nuuna
4.0
(2)
"Nuuna!"
"Nuuna"
#33
Apica
4.0
(2)
"I also enjoyed Apica as I find its thicker."
"For small, soft cover I like Apica."
#34
Supernote
4.0
(2)
"I would seriously consider getting an eink notebook like the supernote."
"Seems like a couple of options that are "distraction free" are the upcoming supernote A5x2."
#35
Sakae TP Iroful
5.0
(1)
"If you don't mind A5 size/no lines, Sakae TP Iroful is pretty cheap and spectacular for fountain pens!"
#36
Aura Notebook
5.0
(1)
"I am in LOVE with my aura notebook - it is stunning."
#37
Present and Correct
5.0
(1)
"Present and Correct, and I am obsessed with them. You can find so many awesome notebooks there."
#38
Kindle
5.0
(1)
"Kindle scribe is the way to go."
#39
Apical
5.0
(1)
"Apical. Lays flat, really, great paper. Many sizes of note book was no lines, lines, dot grid"
#40
Wonderland
5.0
(1)
"Hands down for me- Wonderland 222."
#41
Shinola
5.0
(1)
"I’ve been loving the Shinola notebook I use for a journal."
#42
Esmie
5.0
(1)
"The Esmie notebooks are to die for… Maybe one day :’)"
#43
Onion Skin Journal
5.0
(1)
"For me, it would be the Onion Skin Journal notebooks. But that is because I love to see the shadowing of my writing on the other side of the page, and the crinkle of the paper."
#44
Peter Pauper Press
5.0
(1)
"They have beautiful art work and designs on their cover."
#45
Raymay Fujii
5.0
(1)
"For me Raymay is great. Raymay Fujii QE1124B Loose Leaf Binder, Business Slim, A5"
#46
Tūl
5.0
(1)
"I love tūl paper and happy planner paper."
#47
Bullet Journal
5.0
(1)
"The best thing for me ever was getting into bullet journaling."
#48
Oasis
5.0
(1)
"I love the oasis notebooks. They have a really nice lined grid and are sold on Amazon."
#49
Passport Traveler's Notebook
5.0
(1)
"I really like the passport travelers notebook with grid and blank inserts!"
#50
Franklin Christoph
5.0
(1)
"My personal favorite is the Franklin Christoph gray book."
#51
Peter Pauper
5.0
(1)
"Not sure if they have B5 size. I use their A5 and honestly I've never had a better notebook."
#52
Atoms to Astronauts
5.0
(1)
"Look up Atoms to Astronauts. I have a couple of their notebooks - amazing quality."
#53
HP
4.0
(1)
"My laptop, an HP Pavion from 2020, is working just fine on Fedora"
#54
Exceed
4.0
(1)
"Walmart Exceed line with the heavy weight paper is surprisingly good."
#55
Danika58
4.0
(1)
"I would recommend danika58.com - everything on her site is quality and FP friendly."
#56
CAL
4.0
(1)
"CAL, B7 Natural, Iroful paper, Original Tomoe River are best at showing sheen."
#57
Iroful
4.0
(1)
"Iroful, Plotter, Cosmo Air Light, Midori, Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Tomoe River, Endless (Regalia Paper)."
#58
Moo
4.0
(1)
"I use the hardback notebooks from Moo actually."
#59
Jinhao
4.0
(1)
"On the fountain pen front, check out a Jinhao 80 on AZ."
#60
Cosmo
4.0
(1)
"I really wanted to try out a Cosmo Note."
#61
Asus
4.0
(1)
"What I like about it is you can install up to 3 ssd (2 NVME, 1 SATA)."
#62
Yop & Tom
4.0
(1)
"Yop & Tom and Scribbles That Matter are good."
#63
Scribble & Dot
4.0
(1)
"Scribble & Dot, or Ottergami. Both available on Amazon UK, for around £12-16. I've tried both, and both have really nice, thick paper of 140gsm or more."
#64
Smythson
4.0
(1)
"There is Smythson, which seems to be great paper."
#65
Plotter
4.0
(1)
"Check out Plotter."
#66
Paperblanks
4.0
(1)
"I use Paperblanks in Midi or Mini size for such purposes. They have good paper."
#67
Mossery
4.0
(1)
"Mossery"
#68
Tiefossi
4.0
(1)
"I have one of the dot grid ones in 160gsm and it's wonderful with my fountain pens."
#69
Musubi
4.0
(1)
"They make these wonderful Peruvian notebooks with Tomoe River Sanzen paper but they're like 200 US dollars! Eeek"
#70
Limelight
4.0
(1)
"You can start with limelight sketchbook price is affordable as well."
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