The Best Pocket Notebooks for All Budgets

Running a journaling website means I’ve spent years with notebooks. I have a stash that would make most people raise an eyebrow, and I’ve tried enough paper, covers, and ruling options to have fairly strong opinions about what actually works versus what just looks good in a flat lay. But all of a sudden, I needed to know about the best pocket notebooks.

Pocket notebooks are a slightly different world from the A5 journals I normally live in, so when I started carrying one, I wanted to go in properly rather than just grabbing the most recognisable name on Amazon. What I found was that the notebook most people default to is also the one most people in the stationery world have quietly moved on from.

This post covers nine pocket notebooks available on Amazon, compared across paper quality, features, durability, and value. If you’re still figuring out what you’d actually use a pocket notebook for, the post on 40 pocket notebook uses is worth a read first.

The Best Pocket Notebooks at a glance

The best all-rounder: Leuchtturm1917 Pocket A6

The Leuchtturm1917 Pocket A6 is definitely one of the best pocket notebooks, and here’s why: no other pocket notebook at this price packs in this many genuinely useful features. Every page is numbered. There’s a table of contents at the front. Two ribbon bookmarks, an expandable rear pocket, eight perforated tear-out sheets, and labelling stickers, all in four ruling options and over 60 colour choices.

The 80gsm acid-free paper handles ballpoints, gel pens, and fine-nib fountain pens well. I’ve seen reports of ghosting with wetter inks, and occasional grumbles about batch-to-batch inconsistency, so it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re a heavy ink user. For most everyday pens, it performs reliably.

Despite its features, it isn’t the pocket notebook I’ve chosen to use. I’m not sure why, but I personally don’t love the feel of a Leuchtturm1917. However, I would recommend one purely because my dislike is pretty irrational (self-awareness, see?) and because they are good notebooks.

One practical note on carry: the hardcover measures 90mm wide by 150mm tall, which is slightly narrower and taller than true A6 and can feel bulky in a jeans pocket. The softcover version is the more practical choice for genuine everyday carry.

The numbered pages and table of contents are what set this apart from everything else in this roundup. If you refer back to notes regularly, or if you’re building a capture and migrate system of any kind, those features start to feel essential pretty quickly.

Best for fountain pen users: Rhodia Webnotebook A6

I press hard when I write and use a lot of different pens, but I’m not a fountain pen user, so for this one, I’m drawing on what I know about the paper rather than personal daily use.

The 90gsm Clairefontaine vellum in the Rhodia Webnotebook A6 has a strong reputation for a reason. Feathering is virtually non-existent, and bleed-through is minimal. For anyone who writes with fountain pens, this is widely considered one of the best pocket notebooks.

The padded faux-leather hardcover feels solid, and the elastic closure, ribbon bookmark, and rear pocket cover the practical bases. The things it doesn’t have: page numbering, an index, a pen loop. The cover also picks up fingerprints and scuffs more than most. And the paper is almost too smooth for pencil as they tend to slide rather than grip.

The Rhodia Webnotebook is often similarly priced to the Leuchtturm but delivers paper that’s arguably better, which makes it a strong value for the right user.

The writer’s notebook: Midori MD A6

The Midori MD A6 looks like it shouldn’t work on paper (no pun intended). The paper weight is approximately 70gsm, which is on the lower end of this roundup, but Midori’s proprietary MD paper has been developed and refined since the 1960s and genuinely outperforms heavier stock from other brands. Bleed-through with fountain pens is essentially zero, and feathering doesn’t happen.

The trade-off is that everything else is stripped back to almost nothing. Softcover card with no protection unless you buy a separate sleeve (Midori sell these, and it’s compatible with A6 Hobonichi covers). There’s no elastic, no pen loop, no pocket, no numbered pages. Just a ribbon bookmark and a clean, open page.

It lies completely flat from the first page, which many other pocket notebooks in this roundup can’t match.

There’s no dot-grid option (lined, grid, or blank only), and stock can be patchy on Amazon depending on where you are. Worth the effort of tracking down if the writing experience is what matters most to you.

Best paper thickness and eco credentials: Dingbats Wildlife A6

The Dingbats Wildlife A6 was the first notebook I put in my basket when I decided to start carrying a pocket notebook. I’ve used Dingbats for years in larger formats and didn’t need any convincing*. The 100gsm FSC-certified cream paper is the thickest in this roundup, and it shows. You get virtually zero bleed-through and minimal ghosting, even under pressure and with different pen types.

The vegan PU hardcover with a debossed wildlife silhouette is built to last and comes with an elastic closure, pen loop, ribbon bookmark, and a rear pocket.

Two things to know before buying. Every page is micro-perforated for easy tear-outs, which I was initially sceptical about. In practice, I’ve only had a few accidental tears over the years, and a bit of washi tape sorts those out without drama. The pen loop is also on the narrow side for fountain pens, which is a bit of an odd oversight given how well the paper handles them.

There are no numbered pages or index, but it’s a notebook I reach for without thinking twice*. Dingbats donates 2% of revenue to WWF-UK, too, which is a nice extra.

*full disclosure: I don’t currently use Dingbats for my pocket notebooks. This is purely because I wanted to try a lower price point for a while to see if I would fall in love with pocket notebooks. I also have big, messy writing and wanted to see how quickly I was likely to use up a full notebook.

The disposable working notebook: Field Notes 3-pack

Full transparency: Field Notes have a devoted following, and I’ve been wanting to try them for a while, but I’ve yet to find a sensibly priced pack. They’re available on Amazon, but at inflated prices depending on where you’re buying, so they’re firmly on my list rather than in my hands.

What I know about them: these are not journals. They’re working notebooks designed to be used hard, filled fast, and replaced. Each 3.5 × 5.5-inch kraft cardboard book holds 48 pages of 90gsm paper, saddle-stitched with three stainless steel staples. No elastic, no bookmark, no pocket, no frills at all.

Field Notes are the slimmest and most pocketable format in this roundup, great with pencils and ballpoints, but I hear they are not suitable for fountain pens. The covers scuff and wear with use, which fans consider part of the charm. There’s also a quarterly limited-edition programme that has built a genuinely devoted collector community.

When I’ve tried them, I’ll update this post.

The best starting point: Feela A6 3-pack

The Feela A6 3-pack is where I started, and it’s still where I’d tell most people to begin. For under $10, three notebooks are a very good value. Each one comes with a PU hardcover, elastic closure, two ribbon bookmarks, a pen loop, and even a retractable gel pen. I press hard and use a range of pens; I get some ghosting but no bleed-through, which, for an everyday ballpoint and gel pen writer, is absolutely fine.

The limitations are worth knowing upfront. It only comes in lined ruling (no dot grid, no plain). Each book is 112 pages, which at my pace of two to five pages a day works out to roughly a month per notebook. If you write with fountain pens or particularly wet inks, the paper won’t hold up as well.

But for anyone writing with standard pens who wants a solid, good-looking pocket notebook without the premium price tag, this is a very sensible place to start.

Once you’ve been carrying a pocket notebook for a while and know what you actually want from it, that’s the right moment to upgrade.

A note on Moleskine

Moleskine is the notebook most people think of first, and for a long time, that reputation made sense. It doesn’t hold up as well under scrutiny now. The paper is just 70gsm — the thinnest in this roundup — and fountain pen users consistently find it bleeds, feathers, and ghosts badly. Even heavier gel inks can show through.

There are no numbered pages, no table of contents, and only a single bookmark, all at a comparable price to the Leuchtturm1917, which has all of those things.

The classic cover and elastic closure are still appealing, and 192 pages is a solid count. If you write with ballpoints and pencils and the brand means something to you, it still does the job. But there are better options at the same price.

What to look for when choosing your pocket notebook

Before looking for the best pocket notebook, think about your pens first. Fountain pen users should look at Rhodia, Midori, or Dingbats. For everyone else, most notebooks in this roundup will serve you well since the differences become most apparent with wetter inks. And don’t assume a higher GSM automatically means better paper. The Midori is the best example of that.

Consider how you’ll carry it. For genuine back-pocket carry, Field Notes‘ slim stapled format is the easiest. For bag carry, a hardcover A6 protects the pages better and gives you more to write on. Worth knowing: the Midori is one of the only true ISO A6 (105 × 148mm) in this roundup; the Leuchtturm is narrower, and the Moleskine slightly smaller again.

Decide what features you actually need. Numbered pages and a table of contents (Leuchtturm1917 only here) are genuinely useful if you refer back to notes regularly. If you write, fill, and move on, they add complexity without adding much. My pocket notebook setup post goes into this in more detail.

Best Pocket Notebooks at each price point

Budget (under $5 per notebook):

• The Feela A6 3-pack for hardcovers, elastic closures, dual bookmarks, and pens included, for very little money.
• The Field Notes 3-pack if you want disposable, slim-lined, pocket notebooks.

Mid-range (under $20):

• The Dingbats Wildlife A6 is for thicker paper, durability, and eco-credentials (just note the narrow pen loop before you buy).
• Moleskine for ballpoint pens, and if you like the brand.

Premium ($20 and up):

• The Leuchtturm1917 Pocket A6 offers features and versatility.
• The Rhodia Webnotebook A6 for fountain pen users.
• The Midori MD A6 is for anyone who wants the best possible writing experience and doesn’t need anything else from the notebook (prices vary a lot for these).

Full credit for me starting this goes to Lilla Björn’s YouTube channel for introducing me to pocket notebooks. If you’re interested, I highly recommend watching this video.