Looking for the best cheap bullet journals? Some main-brand, dotted notebooks can cost $20 and up. Unless you care about brands, you don’t have to spend a great deal of cash to get a quality bullet journal. In this post, I’ve gathered the best dotted notebooks on a budget.

If this is your first bullet journal, I recommend getting one that is dotted and medium sized. Medium sized notebooks can fit in most bags and purses and dotted pages give you horizontal and vertical flexibility for creative spreads.

All of the notebooks in this list are around 8 x 5 inches (medium) and dotted. Their prices are also half the cost of main branded notebooks!

In this list, I’ve included cheap bullet journal notebooks that come in packs of two or three. Although the overall cost is slightly higher, you’ll get more bang for your buck and have the next journal ready when you finish the first one!

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Best Cheap Bullet Journals

1. URSUNSHINE Dotted Grid Notebook/Journal
2. PAPERAGE Dotted Journal Bullet Notebook
3. MINIMALISM ART Premium Hard Cover Notebook Journal
4. AHGXG (3-Pack) A5 Dotted Spiral Notebook
5. RETTACY Dotted Notebook
6. YeeATZ Dotted Journal Bullet Notebook with Pen Holder
7. ARTFAN Bullet Dotted Journal

1. URSUNSHINE Dotted Grid Notebook/Journal

• Ruling: Dotted
• Quantity: 1 notebook
• Size: 8.25 x 5 inches
• Pages: 128
• Cover: Faux leather hard cover, comes in multiple colors and styles

I use this dotted notebook for my current bullet journal! I absolutely love it! This journal is minimalistic in design and doesn’t have any page numbers or branded logos. It is a great notebook to customize and make your own. It’s one of the best dotted notebooks with an affordable price.

Some of its features include a back pocket, elastic closure, and ribbon bookmark. The journal easily lays flat, making it ideal for sketches. It also comes in multiple colors and designs!

Its pages are made of thick, acid-free paper and have an off-white color. They also have low bleeding, so you won’t see the ink pass through the paper.

I’ve used this brand’s journal previously in a different color. For my current bullet journal, I’ve used this notebook for several weeks and I still highly recommend it! This is one of the best cheap bullet journals for beginners who want to save a few bucks, but don’t want to compromise quality.

2. PAPERAGE Dotted Journal Bullet Notebook

• Ruling: Dotted
• Quantity: 1 notebook
• Size: 8 x 5.7 inches
• Pages: 160
• Cover: Water-resistant vegan leather cover, multiple colors

This dotted notebook is another great cheap bullet journal option. Like the URSUNSHINE brand notebook, it doesn’t come with page numbers or pre-made layouts. The only main difference is the Paperage notebook contains more pages than the one above.

Like the other notebook, it opens flat and contains a ribbon bookmark, card holder, and elastic closure band.

On the listing, it states that the paper is 100 GSM acid-free and in a light ivory color. GSM stands for grams per square meter. The higher the GSM, the thicker and more durable the paper is. A high GSM also means it is less likely for ink to bleed through. I would say that 100 GSM is pretty good for a bullet journal, but you might get some minor bleeding.

3. MINIMALISM ART Premium Hard Cover Notebook Journal

• Ruling: Dotted
• Quantity: 1 notebook
• Size: 8.3 x 5 inches
• Pages: 122
• Cover: Leatherette hard cover, multiple colors

I adore the design of this journal. It contains an engraved logo on the cover. Minimalism Art’s journal design is classy and sophisticated, while staying minimalistic. Their notebook is designed in San Fransisco! This is one of the best dotted notebooks with amazing design!

Like the other two, this journal opens flat. It contains two ribbon bookmarks! This is ideal for people who need to constantly refer back to a monthly or custom spread in their bullet journal. The journal has an inner pocket and elastic closure band.

Its pages are ink bleed-resistant, ivory colored, and acid-free. According to the description, the paper is 120 GSM. This is a good GSM and you should expect to get less bleeding in your bullet journal.

It does contain a pre-made table of contents (it’s pretty small though!). You might need to leave extra pages in the front to extend it if you plan on using it.

At some point, I believe a newer, unnumbered-page version of this notebook was created. The description continues to state that the pages are unnumbered, but I wouldn’t count on it.

This dotted journal has great quality and an inexpensive price tag. It is one of the best cheap bullet journals out there. I recommend giving this notebook a go!

4. AHGXG (3-Pack) A5 Dotted Spiral Notebook

• Ruling: Dotted
• Quantity: 3 notebooks
• Size: 8 x 5 inches
• Pages: 160 per notebook
• Cover: Waterproof clear hardcover

Out of all the notebooks on this list, this journal is the only one that is spiral bounded. I’m not against spiral bounded notebooks, but they tend to feel flimsier than hardcover or softcover bound notebooks. However, a floppy journal can still be durable.

I recommend spiral bounded notebooks for people who want to erase mistakes by ripping out entire pages. This is the only type of binding where you can unnoticeably take out paper.

Before you look at the price tag and think “wow, this is more expensive than the other three”, this listing comes with three notebooks. Three! You can share the other two with friends or save it for a different project.

This notebook has a simple dotted design and doesn’t come with any additional features. It has a clear hardcover, so you can decorate the front and back with your own design. The paper quality is not bad. It contains 100 GSM thick paper and has a cream color. You should expect low bleeding when using this journal.

This is one of the best cheap bullet journal notebooks for beginners or perfectionists, because you can freely experiment with different spreads and creative designs. If you don’t like them, simply rip them out!

5. RETTACY Dotted Notebook

• Ruling: Dotted
• Quantity: 2 notebooks
• Size: 8.38 x 5.75 inches
• Pages: 256 (wow!)
• Cover: PU leather hard cover, multiple colors

Out of all the journals in this list, this notebook contains the most pages. You also get two notebooks! These are the best cheap bullet journals for the price!

The paper in this notebook is acid-free, thick, and 120 GSM. You should expect low bleeding.

The RETTACY Dotted Notebook comes with severals features including an elastic closure, a pen holder loop, two bookmarks, a back pocket, and two journal stencils. It also contains eight perforated sheets. Perforated sheets are pieces of paper that contain perforated lines (small holes punches in line) to tear away pages.

In my personal experiences, I haven’t had the need for perforated sheets. Although this notebook comes with the most amount of features, some of these features aren’t necessary (it can be cool to have though!).

This journal is simple and doesn’t contain page numbers. For the price and quality of the pages, this dotted notebook is well worth it! You also get the best price per page value out of this journal.

6. YeeATZ Dotted Journal Bullet Notebook with Pen Holder

• Ruling: Dotted
• Quantity: 1 notebook
• Size: 8.58 x 5.75 inches
• Pages: 128
• Cover: PU leather hard cover, multiple colors

Looking for the best cheap bullet journals? This dotted notebook is affordable and similar to other journals on this list. It is simple and doesn’t contain page numbers.

The paper is 100 GSM, acid-free, and cream colored. You might get minor bleeding when you use this notebook. The YeeATZ dotted journal contains an elastic closure, pen holder loop, three bookmark ribbons, and a back pocket.

Compared to other notebooks on this list, it has three bookmark ribbons! I don’t think you can have too many ribbons in a bullet journal! The notebook overall is sturdy and has good quality. This a great affordable alternative to main brand journals. It’s one of the best bullet journal notebooks with a budget price.

7. ARTFAN Bullet Dotted Journal

• Ruling: Dotted
• Quantity: 1 notebook
• Size: 8.4 x 5.25 inches
• Pages: 128
• Cover: Faux Leather, only comes in teal

Unlike other journals in this list, this dotted journal only comes in one color. The description states that the journal is blue, but the color is closer to a teal color. If you don’t like teal, you might want to check the other color options of notebooks on this list.

Although the GSM is not stated in the description, the paper is acid-free and has low bleeding!

This notebook also has numbered pages! This is a great cheap bullet journal for people who like to organize their pages with a table of contents. It also contains four index pages. Other features include an elastic closure, two bookmarks, an inner pocket, and a label for the spine. It can also lay flat on a surface.

How To Select The Best Cheap Bullet Journal

Still need help searching for the best cheap bullet journals for you? There are many affordable notebooks out there. Not every notebook is the same. To help you select your next bullet journal, I made a list of different features of bullet journals to help you decide what type of notebook you want.

Size

Small

Small bullet journals are around 4 x 3 inches. These notebooks are pocket sized and ideal for people who want to bring their bullet journal wherever they go.

Medium

This is the most common bullet journal size. They are normally around 8 x 5 inches. They are still small enough to throw in a backpack or handbag, but large enough for creative spreads.

Large

Large bullet journals are around 8 x 10 inches. These are pretty big notebooks, but should fit smugly in a backpack. This size is ideal for people who need extra space for their spreads.

Ruling

Dotted

I recommend using dotted paper for a bullet journal. It gives you greater flexibility for your spreads while helping you stay neat.

Graph

Graph paper is also a great choice for a bullet journal. If you don’t get distracted by the vertical and horizontal lines, try it out!

Lined

Lined paper is ideal for journaling, but the horizontal lines might be too limiting for a bullet journal.

Blank

Unless you are extremely tidy when you write or don’t care about how proportional your spreads look, blank paper can make your bullet journal look messy. However, it is ideal for people who want to sketch in their journal.

Pages vs. Sheets

In listings, pages refer to only one side of the paper. For example, if there are 100 pages in a notebook, there are actually 50 sheets of paper inside.

Bound

Spiral Bound

Ideal for people who rip off pages from their journal and don’t want to leave a mark.

Hardcover or softcover bound

Standard bounding for notebooks that are hardcover or softcover.

Hardcover vs. Softcover

I prefer hardcover because they are durable. Depending on the material and quality of a softcover, softcovers can have creases if they are bent.

GSM

This stands for grams per square meter. I recommend getting a journal that is 100 GSM or higher. Anything lower than that, you’ll see obvious bleeding.

Common Features

Some notebooks contain extra features like the ones below. Features don’t make or break a bullet journal. If you have features you desire, I would look out for them.

• Ribbon bookmark
• Elastic closure
• Inner pocket
• Pen holder loop
• Numbered pages
• Index pages

Conclusion: Best Cheap Bullet Journals

This post lists some of the best cheap bullet journals on the market. You can find affordable dotted notebooks on Amazon that are half the cost of main brand journals. You don’t have to buy an expensive bullet journal in order to get a quality item. Many cheap bullet journal alternatives are high quality and sturdy enough to last forever.

I have never purchased a notebook over twenty dollars and I don’t need to. I am happy with the “cheap” bullet journals I’ve used over the years. I hope that this post was helpful and you were able to save money on your next bullet journal! Sometimes the best bullet journal notebooks are the cheapest ones!