Paper Planners
Planner and Notebook Sizes, in Real Numbers
A5, Large and Letter are not standardized the way people assume, and two of them are close enough that covers do not swap. Here are the actual dimensions.
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The sizes, in real measurements
The names are the problem. A5 is an ISO paper standard with a fixed size; Large, Medium and Pocket are brand names that mean whatever the brand decided. Here is what the makers on this site actually publish.
| Name | Dimensions | Used by | What it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| A5 / Medium | 145 x 210 mm, about 5.75" x 8.25" | LEUCHTTURM1917 notebooks, Legend Planner | A handbag, a laptop sleeve, a jacket pocket at a push |
| A5 planner (Leuchtturm) | 145 x 215 mm | LEUCHTTURM1917 2027 weekly planner | Same, 5 mm taller than the notebook |
| Large (Moleskine) | 5" x 8.25" | Moleskine Classic and 2027 planners | Narrower than A5 by about 3/4 of an inch |
| A5 (Rhodia Webnotebook) | 5.5" x 8.25" | Rhodia Webnotebook | Between Moleskine Large and true A5 |
| Letter, 8.5" x 11" | 8.5" x 11" | Clever Fox PRO, Panda Planner Pro, Blue Sky teacher planners | A desk. Not a bag. |
The finding: A5 and Large are not the same size
This is the practical point of the whole page. Moleskine Large is 5 inches wide; true A5 is about 5.75. That is three quarters of an inch, and it is enough that an A5 leather cover will not hold a Moleskine Large snugly and a Moleskine sleeve will not close over an A5 book.
It also means the two are not interchangeable in a refillable cover, which matters if you are buying a leather journal cover as a gift. The good covers state which inserts they accept - our top journal set names Leuchtturm1917, Moleskine and Panda Planner explicitly, which is exactly the sort of statement worth looking for.
Quick picks
Ranked for the person doing the buying. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No image LEUCHTTURM1917 Weekly Planner & Notebook 2027, A5, Dotted 80 gsm paper and a dotted notebook bound into the back, which is the combination fountain-pen users actually ask for. | A pen person who takes notes | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
| 2 | No image Moleskine Classic 12-Month 2027 Weekly Planner, Large Week on the left, ruled notes on the right, and a cover the recipient will recognize before they open it. | The safe gift for almost anyone | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
| 3 | No image Clever Fox Planner PRO Premium, Undated A big undated planner that arrives in a gift box with stickers, a pen loop and three ribbons, and looks like a present before it is opened. | Someone who asked for a whole system | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
1. A pen person who takes notes
LEUCHTTURM1917 Weekly Planner & Notebook 2027, A5, Dotted
80 gsm paper and a dotted notebook bound into the back, which is the combination fountain-pen users actually ask for.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
80 gsm is the number that matters and the reason this is the pick for anyone who owns a fountain pen. Heavier paper is not automatically bleed-proof, but the gap between 80 gsm and the 70 gsm used across the Moleskine Classic line is the single most common cause of a planner that ghosts.
The second half of the book is a dotted notebook. That means the recipient does not have to carry a planner and a journal, which is the actual reason people abandon one of the two.
Two ribbons sounds trivial until you use a book with a planner section and a notes section. One ribbon in each is the whole ergonomics of it.
| Paper weight | 80 gsm, acid freeThe maker publishes this figure. Most planner brands do not.Source: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Weekly Planner & Notebook 2027 A5 |
|---|---|
| Size | A5 medium, 145 x 215 mmSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Weekly Planner & Notebook 2027 A5 |
| Dated range | January to December 2027Calendar overviews for 2026, 2027 and 2028 are printed in the front matter.Source: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Weekly Planner & Notebook 2027 A5 |
| Extras | Two bookmarks, a folding rear pocket, and archival label stickersSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Weekly Planner & Notebook 2027 A5 |
What it does well
- Publishes its paper weight, so a pen buyer can make an informed decision instead of a hopeful one.
- Planner and dotted notebook in one hardcover, with a ribbon for each.
- Front matter carries 2026, 2027 and 2028 overviews for long-range planning.
What it does not
- The hourly weekly grid is denser than a plain week-on-two-pages and can feel like a work tool.
- A5 is slightly taller than the Moleskine Large, so existing covers and sleeves will not fit.
Skip this: if the recipient plans in broad strokes. An hour-by-hour column grid is a meetings tool, and giving one to somebody with three appointments a week just makes the page look empty.
2. The safe gift for almost anyone
Moleskine Classic 12-Month 2027 Weekly Planner, Large
Week on the left, ruled notes on the right, and a cover the recipient will recognize before they open it.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
144 pages across 52 weeks is roughly a spread per week and very little else. That is the point: this is a calendar with room for notes, not a system that asks the recipient to adopt a method.
The recognition matters more than the specification here. A Moleskine is the one planner a non-planner-person can receive without feeling they have been handed homework, which is why it is the default gift and why it is the pick when you do not know their setup.
Do the arithmetic before you assume it is expensive. A 52-week dated planner used all year is a per-week cost most buyers never work out, and it is usually smaller than the coffee they bought while shopping for it.
| Dated range | January to December 2027Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine 2027 12-Month Weekly Planner, Large |
|---|---|
| Size | Large, 5" x 8.25"Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine 2027 12-Month Weekly Planner, Large |
| Pages | 144Weekly spread with ruled notes facing.Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine 2027 12-Month Weekly Planner, Large |
| Included | Stickers and an expandable rear pocketSource: Amazon listing - Moleskine 2027 12-Month Weekly Planner, Large |
| Paper weight | Not publishedMoleskine publishes 70 gsm for the Classic notebook line but does not state a weight on this planner listing. Treat it as a fountain-pen risk until proven otherwise. |
What it does well
- January to December 2027, so it is in season for the whole gifting window and the whole year after it.
- The ruled facing page absorbs people who take notes but do not keep a separate notebook.
- Hard cover, elastic closure, and a rear pocket, so it survives a bag.
What it does not
- Moleskine does not publish a paper weight for this planner, so fountain-pen users are buying blind.
- 144 pages means no daily space at all if the recipient wants a page per day.
Skip this: if they already run a system. A dated planner is the one gift that assumes you know how somebody plans, and planner people are particular. Buy them a pen instead.
3. Someone who asked for a whole system
Clever Fox Planner PRO Premium, Undated
A big undated planner that arrives in a gift box with stickers, a pen loop and three ribbons, and looks like a present before it is opened.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
120 gsm is heavier than anything else in this roundup by a wide margin, and it is the reason this book takes a marker without complaint. It is also the reason it is thick and heavy for its page count.
The gift box is not a small thing when the buyer is you. An unboxed planner needs wrapping and a card; this one already looks like it was chosen.
The trade is structure. Vision pages, goal frameworks and a budget section mean this planner has an opinion about how the recipient should live, and not everybody wants a book that does.
| Paper weight | 120 gsmSource: Amazon listing - Clever Fox Planner PRO Premium, Undated |
|---|---|
| Size | 8.5" x 11"Source: Amazon listing - Clever Fox Planner PRO Premium, Undated |
| Dating | UndatedWeekly pages plus monthly calendars the buyer fills in.Source: Amazon listing - Clever Fox Planner PRO Premium, Undated |
| In the box | Gift box, stickers, user guide, pen loop, elastic band, three bookmarks, rear pocketSource: Amazon listing - Clever Fox Planner PRO Premium, Undated |
What it does well
- 120 gsm paper, published, which is the heaviest stock in this comparison.
- Arrives gift-boxed with stickers and a guide, so it presents well with no wrapping effort.
- Undated, so it never expires on the shelf.
What it does not
- At 8.5" x 11" it is a desk book, not a bag book.
- The goal-setting framework is prescriptive; people who just want a calendar will skip most of the pages.
Skip this: if they carry their planner around. It is a letter-size book and it will not go in a handbag or a laptop sleeve without a fight.
Choosing by where the book lives
- In a bag, every day. A5 or Large. Anything bigger gets bent corners within a fortnight, and a letter-size book in a bag is a book that stays at home by March.
- On a desk, permanently. Letter size, and take the extra room. Hourly time blocking needs tall rows and a letter page gives them.
- In a jacket or a back pocket. Pocket size, and accept that the writing space is genuinely small. Most people who buy pocket books also own a bigger one.
- Both. A5 is the compromise size and it is the compromise almost everybody lands on eventually.
The thing size does to a layout
Size and layout are not independent choices, which is why this page and layouts explained belong together.
An hourly grid running 7am to 10pm needs fifteen rows down a page. On a letter-size page each row is a comfortable writing line. On an A5 page the same fifteen rows are cramped, and on a pocket page they are decorative. If the layout you want is hourly, the size decision is largely made for you.
Questions people actually ask
What size is an A5 planner?
148 x 210 mm as an ISO standard, and makers publish it slightly differently - LEUCHTTURM1917 states 145 x 210 mm for notebooks and 145 x 215 mm for the 2027 weekly planner.
Is Moleskine Large the same as A5?
No. Moleskine Large is 5" x 8.25" and true A5 is about 5.75" x 8.25". The three-quarter-inch difference in width means covers and sleeves are not interchangeable.
What size planner fits in a bag?
A5 or Large. Letter size does not travel well - it gets bent corners in a bag and generally ends up living on a desk.
What size do I need for hourly time blocking?
Letter, 8.5" x 11". An hourly grid from 7am to 10pm is fifteen rows, and on an A5 page those rows are too short to write a real task into.
Do leather covers fit any A5 notebook?
Only if the maker says so. Good covers name the inserts they accept - Leuchtturm1917, Moleskine and Panda Planner are the common three - because the sizes genuinely differ.