Most bullet journal notebooks are around $15, $20 or $40 for one with really thick paper. What about notebooks that are $15 or less? Here are a few to consider.

Something to note:

I consider $15 USD to be in the mid price range for bullet journal notebooks. The features included vary a lot. Some of the notebooks on this list have good paper, some have paper that’s prone to ghosting, some have page numbers, some have pre-printed index pages – it’s a very mixed bag. You’re probably not going to find THE perfect notebook in this price range, I consider notebooks in this price ideal if you’re starting bullet journaling or want a second notebook to draft spread ideas or lists.

In no particular order…

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1. Clever Fox

This is my top pick for a mix of best value paper that has hardly any ghosting, with multiple cover options and a quality notebook for a good price.

Get the original (more affordable version) of the notebook here on Amazon. If you’d like the version with better paper (but costs a bit more), that’s available here.

2. Erin Condren Softbound

Just sneaking into the list at $14 USD is the Erin Condren sewn bound notebook.

Note: when I purchased the notebook it had 7mm line spacing. They’ve since reduced the spacing to 5mm (which is the size most dot grid notebook come in).

3. Minimalism Art

The first cheap dot grid notebook I purchased to use for drafting bullet journal spreads. The pages lay flat, it’s cheap and there are plenty of cover colors – not just black!

They seem to have upgraded their notebooks since I purchased mine a few years ago with thicker paper and more cover options to choose from (e.g. rose gold).

Price: $8 USD on Amazon

4. Poluma

Similar to the Minimalism Art. If you want a dot grid notebook that’s narrower than A5 size (like the Leuchtturm), this one is good for lists.

Price: $8.60 USD

5. Otto Dot Grid

Terrible paper quality but if you want to try bullet journaling and you’re in Australia, it’s readily available at Officeworks.

Price: $13

6. Kmart Dot Grid

On this list for the same reasons as the Otto Dot Journal, this super cheap notebook is a good one to start bullet journaling with.

Price: $4 AUD

7. Typo dot grid notebooks

Also in Australia these notebooks are often on clearance for around $5.

I recently found a set of 3 x B5 page size notebooks (graph, dot grid and lined) on clearance for only $6!

They have wire bound (lay flat) with bright white pages and covers that aren’t just one color – they usually have patterns or a quote on them.

8. Paipur

if you want a large page size, the Paipur is only $15 USD.

This is a hybrid notebook – one side is dot grid and the other is lined.

9. Northbooks

This brand has exposed stitching that allows the notebook to lay completely flat no matter where you open the notebook.

Price $12 – $20 USD (can purchase in bundles with multiple notebooks to reduce the cost of each notebook) + shipping

10. Scrivwell

One of the first dot grid notebooks I ever bought when there weren’t many cheap dot grid notebooks available. I’ve put this one last on the list as I think the others are better value (most of them have page numbers while this one does not). Compared to the others on this list that also don’t have page numbers, this one is more expensive and the paper quality isn’t much better.

I could only find black when I bought this notebook but there seems to be many colors to choose from now: orange, yellow, red, pink, teal, green, grey, white and brown.

Price: $13 USD

Is there a difference between these notebooks?

Don’t expect the best paper. There are more and more cheap notebooks that all look very similar popping up on Amazon all the time, usually with 100 GSM paper which tends to be prone to ghosting. Really the only difference between these cheap notebooks (I think) is the cover color, the page width and whether it includes page numbers or not.

With the exception of the Paipur notebook, most of the notebooks on this list are around the same page size (US half letter or A5 page size).

Still can’t decide? Download my comparison of more than 30 dot grid notebooks