There’s something uniquely satisfying about starting a new diary or planner, and with new year now just a couple of months away (how did that happen?), it’s nearly time to make your 2025 pick.
For cover design variation, Papier has almost too many to choose from, so start there. We love The Completist’s designs too. Or, if you need something that’s easily portable, Moleskine has you covered. As for their layout, planners with dedicated spaces for to-do lists and top priorities do some of the organisational groundwork for you, whereas others will be much better suited to free-hand notes.
Tend to use your diaries sporadically and end up left with lots of blank pages? Choose an undated layout, so there’s no pressure to use them everyday – just dip back in whenever motivation strikes. And if you’re looking for a more holistic approach to planning your life, some encourage self reflection, habit-tracking, and long-term goal setting.
Whether it’s to level up from the notes app, or for Christmas gifting inspiration (some come with personalisation as an option, so for this, they’re perfect), these are our top picks.
How we tested
While assessing these diaries and planners, we scrutinised their layout and features that could help with organisation, as well as more hollistic planning. We considered how structured or flexible they were, as well as how they looked, and what their quality was like. We also considered whether they were designed to be portable – were they lightweight and compact, and was the cover durable (hardback), or more flismy (paperback)?
The best diaries and planners for 2025 are:
Papier hardback weekly
Papier does cover designs and personalisation well, so the number of cover designs for its diaries is dizzying. We opted for the “Best Year Yet” cover, which can be personalised with your own image and text. Uploading the photo of our cat, Pusky, was super simple, and it came out crisp, and true to the original.
Our ball-point pen just glides across the paper’s super smooth finish, and the hardback cover feels reassuringly substantial. In terms of the layout, the bulk of the diary is a simple week-view, spread over a double page, so this could be used for anything from reminders to short journal entries.
Our favourite feature though, is the double-page spread for each month, as you can commit new habits to paper here, and other longer-term goals for the month. There’s a blank page per month which is perfect for doodles, ideas and mind-maps, too.
There’s quite a lot of plain paper at the back, perfect for shopping lists and other miscellaneous thoughts and notes. The contacts page may be less helpful for most people who store contacts digitally. But it provides a good balance between scheduling and holistic planning, as well as structure and flexibility – a great all-rounder.
Buy now £25.00, Papier.com
Moleskine daily planner
If you’d prefer something more compact and portable, this pocket-sized daily planner from the tried and trusted brand Moleskine is a strong contender. It has an elastic band that keeps it closed, which is good for privacy, protecting the pages from damage, and keeping scraps of paper enclosed, and it’s so compact that it fits into the inner pocket of our tote bag.
There’s a day-per-page layout, and you can either use the times (from 8am to 8pm) down the side of the page to plot out your day, or you can ignore them, as they’re so tiny, and use the space for free-hand note taking.
Distinctive features include the“year’s best moments”, a join-the-dots-map of the world for those who travel a lot, and even an on–paper miniature ruler (who knows, it could come in handy). There’s a page dedicated to ideas and goals, and another for travel plans, but there’s not a lot of space here. However, this is one of the least expensive on our list, and it’ll get the job done.
Buy now £19.32, Amazon.co.uk
The Completist Hildy undated daily planner book
The Completist makes some very cool-looking stationary, and this Hildy diary is a case in point. It looks great on our desk, with a retro, super-fun yet chic design. We love the pop of electric blue. This particular design will be back in stock at some point in the first week of November, but in the meantime, there are other designs available.
In terms of layout, it’s undated, which is perfect for the noncommittal planner wanting to dip in and out of the diary throughout the year. We love the slightly textured finish of the cover, but just bear in mind that this is one of the bulkier diaries, which doesn’t lend it to portability. And there aren’t many plain notes pages (there’s only two).
But, this is fitting if you’re after structure and unstructured space. Each day has an hour-by-hour schedule (from 7am to 8pm), while there’s also a to-do list, and a unlined space for free-hand note taking, reminders and other off-piste jottings. And if you often feel overwhelmed by your to-do list, the daily priorities box is a helpful addition.
Buy now £35.00, The-completist.com
Martha Brook personalised A5 vegan leather 2025 diary
With its luxuriously soft vegan leather cover, this weekly diary is excellent for gifting, as it can be personalised with your giftees initials. It looks lovely, especially with the elastic band that holds it closed, as it looks very neat on our desk, and it comes in four different colourways.
The pages lie completely flat as soon as you open the planner, so you don’t need to press down on the pages before you start to write, which is owing to the spiral binding. The cover does sit slightly awkwardly around the binding, but this wasn’t an issue.
As for the layout, it’s very simple. The bulk is in week view, which is best suited to writing notes, or brief journal entries, rather than lists, owing to the lined design. There’s also a year view and a month view, for keeping important birthdays and other reminders, or for highlighting holidays or important periods at work. And for everything else, a good chunk of lined pages at the back.
Buy now £28.95, Marthabrook.com
Redstone diary 2025: moments of happiness
The Redstone diary for 2025 is an absolute joy. The pages are packed with art, photography, poetry and more, all set on the theme of “moments of happiness”, kicking off with a reflection on the search for happiness, written by historian, writer and critic, Marina Warner.
It has a no-frills, simple layout, with a week per page, and no pre-plotted out sections, so it’s not geared towards getting organised, but it’s a lovely item to have on your desk. The paper feels thick, and we like that the front of the notebook serves as a notepad. Plus, there are pockets in the front, which is useful is you need to protect loose pieces of paper, like receipts.
The only thing that we didn’t like so much is that it’s a bit flimsy and floppy, and not super durable, because it’s paperback, spiral-bond, and a little on the bigger side. But, all things considered, this will be a fun, enriching way to plan your year, and we think it’s great for gifting.
Buy now £19.95, Theredstoneshop.com
Oliver Bonas pink swirl 2025 diary
Want to set the tone for 2025 with something fun? Colourful, dopamine-inducing designs are Oliver Bonas’s strong suits, and the extremely groovy cover on its 2025 diary is a perfect example. Equipped for daily travel, thanks to a hardback cover, it doesn’t feel bulky for it, and remains packably slim.
In terms of its layout, the week-view is over one page, which is opposite a page with space for notes and lists. Another diary that makes finishing tasks all the more satisfying, it features little circles to tick off tasks as we go. If you like to see your year at a glance, without specific dates, the year-view is great. It’s undated, with only lined space for each month. And, under £20 (just), this diary is a pocket-friendly one, too.
Buy now £19.50, Oliverbonas.com
Intelligent Change productivity planner
Looking to supercharge your productivity? This could be the planner for you. You’ll assign amounts of time to do each task (in 30 minute slots), in order of importance.
We liked how this created a moment of pause before we started our day, and working within a time-frame really was motivating. This set-up could also be a gamechanger for those who tend to flick between tasks while putting off the most difficult ones.
We’re sure that some people will thrive with this kind of structure, but we do think that this kind of daily time management may be too regimented for some people, and even a bit of a faff. But, there’s an entire page per day, too, so there’s plenty of space for free-hand planning too.
It also encourages self reflection, which is excellent if you’re after a more holistic approach planner, as are the productivity-themed quotes throughout, to spur you on. Our only bugbear is that the fabric cover shows dirt quite easily, as it can’t be wiped clean. But, along with the cream pages, it does add a premium feel.
Buy now £28.00, Intelligentchange.com
Marks 2024-2025 gradient weekly A5 diary recycled cover green
There’s a lot to love about this weekly diary, but the pièce de résistance is the transparent cover that should keep it pristine and immune to coffee drips or dog-eared edges. Plus, we love the super funky cover design.
The zippered A5 pocket on the front is a clever feature, particularly handy if you’re forever misplacing your pen but don’t need an entire pencil case, and there are tabs that quickly take you to the right month.
The daily schedule is set out by the hour, which is best for pared-back descriptions of appointments, meetings and tasks. Each day, it sets out how many days have gone by, and how many days are left of the year, which is a nice touch.
The world map and time chart is a great addition if you’re a frequent globe trotter. And, you can start using the diary immediately, as it runs from September 2024.
Buy now £22.00, Papersmiths.co.uk
Raspberry Blossom Harlequin daily planner
This colourful diary is undated, so you can pick it up whenever it suits. We especially love the little circles to tick off tasks, which is, of course, incredibly satisfying.
It covers quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily, and the weekly is next to your schedule, so you can easily refer back to your weekly plan. Colouring in the grid layout for the year could be great for habit tracking, and it’s refreshing to see separation between personal and other to-dos. The weekly reward section is a nice perk, if you like to give yourself that little extra push.
There’s a bit of heft to the diary, so it’s not the most portable, and the layout didn’t quite fit on the page properly on one of the pages. We also wish this came as a hardback, as the paperback edges are prone to wear and tear. But we love that there are quite a lot of notes pages at the back which include coloured pages, that tie in with the bright and fun design.
Buy now £39.95, Raspberryblossom.com
Good Tuesday A4 weekly planner pad, pastel organic
See your entire week at a glance with this A4 paper pad planner, which has no cover and allows you to remove the pages as you go. With its colourful pastel design, it looks really fun, and could be a great option for kids, and a genuinely helpful gift, too.
The layout is super simple and flexible – there’s a column per day, and there’s a small, squared notes section below. Bear in mind, the tradeoff with a paper pad that has no cover means that it’s vulnerable to spills, and we wouldn’t pack this in our bag unless we had a protective folder, so it’s best used as a desk planner, or hung up on a wall or fridge (there’s a version with a magnet for this).
We love that it’s printed on 100 per cent recycled and recyclable paper and posted in plastic-free packaging.
Buy now £12.50, Goodtuesday.com
MY PA 2025 business planner
If you think you need a PA in your life, you might just need this business planner. The MY PA 2025 business planner takes a seriously deep dive into your business plans, as well as more general goal-setting, to help you get on top of things.
Asking questions to help you get a better grasp of your buisness and where it could go, it also covers everything from marketing plans and monthly project plans to cash flow, vaults for all your ideas, and more. You can choose to set monthly and weekly goals, and even plan your days by the hour. But it’s not all work. Holistic features like gratitude with big-picture thinking,
This is a sturdy, hefty thing, so it’s not something you’ll want to tote around everywhere. But the flexible, vegan leather cover with gold detailing gives this a premium feel. We went for the black colourway, but there are other colour options including pink, blue and orange.
Buy now £39.00, Mypaplanner.co.uk
The verdict: Diaries and planners for 2025
With so many design options, a good balance of structured and flexible planning, as well as a protective hardback cover, Papier’s weekly diary is a strong choice for your 2025 diary. Elsewhere, Moleskine’s daily planner is a compact, simple option, while The Completist’s Hildy planner stands apart, thanks to its cool, graphic cover. The Intelligent Change productivity planner is geared towards overcoming procrastination, or, for something a little bit different, consider The Redstone diary 2025.
Looking for more recommendations? Read our review of the best laptop bags for keeping your tech safe
