I figure most people reading this blog have heard of the Simplified Planner by Emily Ley. It currently costs $60 which, to me, is becoming a bit too expensive for a 1 year planner, especially when you compare it to other planners in a similar price range that offer customisation. So if you like the style of the Simplified Planner but are also turned off by the price tag, she’s done a collaboration with At A Glance. Same colors and style – but much cheaper.

Information in this post current as of the time of writing (May 2021).

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one of these links I’ll receive a small commission in exchange for referring you (at no extra cost to you).

Emily Ley for At a Glance Planner versus the Original Emily Ley Simplified Planner: Which is better?

For my review of the Emily Ley Simplified planner see this post. and for my review of the Emily Ley At a Glance see this post.

Both planners

• Do not have the option to add additional pages
• Do not offer cover personalisation
• Offer calendar year (Jan to Dec) and academic year (Jul – Jun)
• 12 month duration
• US holidays pre-printed in the planner
• US holidays list
• Emily Ley’s Simplicity Challenge list
• The same signature rainbow stripe cover (as well as other cover designs to choose from)
• Wire binding – the pages lay completely flat and can be folded back on themselves
• Split boxes on the monthly calendar spread
• Same colors including full color printed weekly spreads
• Hardcover and softcover versions

Differences:

• Emily Ley Simplified Planner also has bookbound version
• At a Glance collab planners come in more page sizes (similar size to Emily Ley and a smaller page size too)
• At a Glance planner did not come with planner stickers. The Emily Ley came with 1 sheet of stickers
• There are more notes pages in the Emily Ley Simplified Planner

Price & Page Size

Emily Ley Simplified Planner

• Book / sewn bound 6.5″ wide x 8″ high = $50 USD
• Wire bound 7″ wide x 9.25″ high = $60 USD

Emily Ley for At A Glance Collab

• Pocket page size = 3.5″ wide x 6″ high = $13 USD
• 5.5″ wide x 8.5″ high (half US letter size) = $21USD
• 8.5″ wide x 11″ high (US letter size) = $31 USD

Winner: At a Glance Collab Planner (much cheaper!)

Shipping cost

I purchased the Simplified Planner along with a few other planners where the shipping was $41.57 to Australia. The cost to ship one planner to Australia was $26.75 USD

I purchased the At a Glance planner as part of an Amazon haul so I can’t accurately separate / advise the cost but I know it was cheaper than what Emily Ley charges. The At a Glance collab planner didn’t come in a heavy gift box like the Emily Ley planner did. It has a poly (flexible cover) instead of a hardcover, so it weighs much less than the Emily Ley, contributing to a cheaper shipping cost.

Image credit: Amazon

Winner: At a Glance Planner

Monthly Calendar

Both planners start on a Sunday and unfortunately have split boxes rather than restarting the days of the week / dates on the top row.

Emily Ley Simplified Planner

Emily Ley for At A Glance Collab

There’s more color on the At a Glance Collab planners than the original Simplified Planner. It also doesn’t have mini calendars for the previous and next month. Otherwise the layouts are the same.

Winner: Tie

Weekly Spread

Emily Ley Simplified Planner

This is where the higher price tag shows. The paper on the original Simplified Planner is thicker than the At a Glance Collab, however there is still show through of the printing on the backside of the page.

Emily Ley for At A Glance Collab

Winner: Original Simplified Planner

Daily Spread

Emily Ley Simplified Planner

The original Simplified Planner has one page per day with weekends combined onto the same page.

Emily Ley for At A Glance Collab

I could not find a daily version of the At a Glance Collab (appears to come in weekly / monthly or monthly only).

Winner: Emily Ley Simplified Planner

Color printing quality

To me, the color printing quality looks the same between both planners. Clear and bright colors, no speckles where the ink has miss-printed etc.

Winner: Tie

Paper quality

Emily Ley Simplified Planner

The paper is better quality in the Emily Ley Simplified planner: 70 lb. pure white Mohawk Via paper. However, there is still show through of the designs on the backside of the page.

Emily Ley for At A Glance Collab

The paper is very thin on the At a Glance collab planners which is probably the main reason why it’s so much cheaper.

Winner: Emily Ley Simplified Planner

The cover

Emily Ley Simplified Planner

The original Simplified Planner is available in bookbound or wire bound. I purchased both to compare

I like both – they both have a very sturdy hardcover. However the wire binding on the daily version is way too thick – probably the thickest wire coil I’ve come across. The trade off if you choose bookbound, is that there’s so many pages that the pages won’t lay flat (as was the case with the Dapperdesk daily planner).

Read more: Emily Ley Simplified Daily Planner

Emily Ley for At A Glance Collab

The At a Glance collab is available in wire bound only (although there are some loose refill pages that work with the ring bound organizer binder).

When I purchased the collab planner back in 2019, the wire bound cover had a clear pocket so you could switch out the cover insert (or DIY your own) as often as you like. The cover felt like sturdy laminate. The latest 2021 versions have a poly cover (like most discbound planners e.g. Eleven Discs) instead of this.

Winner: Emily Ley

Tabs

The tabs are the same colors in both planners. The original Emily Ley tabs are thicker / more sturdy cardstock with laminate whereas the At a Glance Collab planners feel like laminated paper.

Emily Ley Simplified Planner

Emily Ley for At A Glance Collab

Winner: Emily Ley

Extra Pages

Emily Ley Simplified Planner Extra Pages

• Lined notes pages (the latest 2021 version states there’s 31 notes pages)
• Simplified to do list pages
• Yearly prep
• Bucket list

Emily Ley for At A Glance Collab Extra Pages

• The Process of Simplifying (checklist)
• Simplicity Challenge
• Bucket list
• Holiday list
• 1 notes page
• 2 future planning pages (annual overview)

Winner: Emily Ley Simplified Planner (as there’s more notes pages) and it comes with a sheet of planner stickers

Is it worth paying more to get the original Emily Ley Planner?

No. I much prefer the Emily Ley for At a Glance collab planners. They’re not as heavy and bulky, the pages lay flat, the price tag is much more affordable and the color printing is the same quality as the original Emily Ley Planner.

I would only recommend getting the original Emily Ley planners if you want thicker paper or a daily version.

You can find the original Emily Ley Simplified Planner on her website. The At a Glance Collab planners are available on Amazon.

More planner comparisons

• Agendio versus Golden Coil: Which custom personalised planner is best?
• Day Designer for Blue Sky Planners versus the original Day Designer Planner: Which is better?
• Maggie Holmes versus the Happy Planner

Planning tips

• 5 Planner supplies that have lasted more than 5 years
• How to make your own DIY discbound bullet journal, notebook or planner
• 10 Useful Tips for Digital Planning using Goodnotes

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