Are you looking for a new planner this year and wondering why so many people love the Erin Condren Lifeplanner despite the price? Are Erin Condren Planners really worth the money?
The Erin Condren planners are absolutely worth the money and the following 11 points support why this may be the best planner for you.
1. The price is comparable to other popular planners
Make sure when comparing planners that you are actually comparing apples to apples. Not all planners are made the same!
The table below is information I compiled about the Erin Condren LifePlanner and 4 other popular planners. These are all weekly planners and are roughly the same size.
| Planner | Price (USD) | # of Pages | Paper Quality (Paper Weight) | Comes With Box | Coil Bound | Option to Personalize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erin Condren LifePlanner | $55 | 192 + 4 sticker pages | 80 lb | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Emily Ley Weekly Planner | $50 | 218 | 70 lb | Yes | Yes | No |
| Passion Planner Weekly | $46 | 221 | 80 lb | No | No | No |
| Classic Happy Planner | $32.99 | 162 | 65 lb | No | No | No |
| Plum Paper Weekly Planner | $32 | 180 | 70 lb | No | Yes | Yes |
Additional Information About Competition:
- I have used the Emily Ley planner in the past and found that it didn’t stay together as well and there was too much fluff. I wanted something more simple and bigger spaces to write in.
- The Passion Planner has a hardcover, so can not be folded back onto itself. It is a lot different than the Erin Condren planner with regards to layout and what details are included. It has more specific sections, so would be good for people who want help planning what to track.
- I used the Happy Planner last year, but I personally felt that it lacked a lot. It was very bulky and I still had to buy additional packages so that it included everything I needed. I didn’t like the discs. They prevented the pages from turning easily and didn’t allow the planner to flip back onto itself.
- The Plum Paper Planner is the closest option to the Erin Condren planner. They do not come with a sturdy box to store the planner in and the paper quality isn’t as good, which makes it a cheaper option.
2. The pages are thick and pen will not bleed through
Many planners come with paper that is too thin to use different pens and markers in.
The Erin Condren planners have thick paper that will not easily rip or damage.
You can use many different types of pens and markers and you will not be able to see the writing on the back of the page.
3. Erin Condren planners are completely customizable
There are a few other planner creators that offer customization that are similar to what you will get with Erin Condren planners. However, Erin Condren allows you to put your own name on the front or any quote that you want.
There are also many beautiful cover designs to choose from and you decide what colours you want the design to be.
If you want to personalize it further, you can even send in your own picture to include on the cover.
You can also choose a different coil colour. There are 4 coil options; black, rose gold, gold, and platinum.
4. There are many additional pages for taking notes
Most planners don’t include much extra paper at all.
In the Erin Condren planners, you not only get the daily/weekly/monthly spread to write in your tasks, appointments, meetings, etc., with note-taking spaces along the side and bottom of those pages.
You also receive many additional lined papers to keep track of whatever you need. Read this post for tips on how to use your planner as a journal.
I have another post that gives 25 ideas for what you could track in your paper planner.
These lined pages are great for brain dumps, bucket lists, weight loss tracking, exercise schedules, keeping track of movies and books you want to read and so much more.
5. It comes with a thick cover
The cover is laminated with a very thick plastic sheet. It can bend so that you can easily move it around to make it more comfortable to write on. But it is also thick enough that it provides lots of support.
Another bonus is that the inside of both the front and back cover is a spot you can write on with a whiteboard marker for anything you want to quickly glance at that day. One has lines and the other is blank.
It can then just be wiped off at the end of the day, leaving your lined paper intact for long term goals and tasks.
6. Includes a sturdy folder and bookmark
It’s nice to have a folder to hold additional paper that you can’t put into the planner. This is great for extra sticker sheets, business cards, sticky notes, and much more.
There is an open area on both sides of the folder page for more storage.
The planner also comes with a bookmark that snaps into the coil, so that you can easily get to the current page that you are working on. The bookmark also works as a ruler and can measure items up to 9 inches.
7. The covers are interchangeable
The covers can be removed and replaced with another cover that can be purchased from the Erin Condren website.
If you want to keep using the same cover, you can order a planner the following year and reuse the cover from the previous year. This may be preferred if you used a personal photo on the cover.
The covers don’t have the year listed on them (unless you requested that), so they can be used forever.
8. There are frequent sales and coupons
If you aren’t comfortable paying the full price, check back frequently for sales and coupons. Many times throughout the year the planners and other notebooks and accessories go on sale at a great discount.
Erin Condren also uses AfterPay, so you can pay 4 interest free payments instead of one lump sum to help with the cost.
9. There are many sticker options to add
Erin Condren offers stickers that can be used to customize the planner even further, or track bills that are due, appointments, to do lists, etc. The planner comes with 4 pages of stickers to get you started.
They now offer a sticker subscription that you will receive 4 times per year!
There are also many sticker shops on Etsy that sell planner stickers specifically for the Erin Condren planners.
10. The coil is thick and keeps the pages together easily
I have had other planners where there was a cheap, thin coil that just came unraveled and the pages started to fall out or get damaged. But the Erin Condren planner comes with a thick, sturdy coil that keeps everything together nicely.
I haven’t had any issues with pages coming loose and the planner still looks brand new.
11. There are both vertical and horizontal weekly options
It was nice to have the option of which way I wanted my planner to be displayed. The preference may also change at different points in your life, depending on what you are tracking.
Why are Erin Condren Planners So Great?
Erin Condren planners are made of high-quality paper, they are sturdy, the metal coil keeps all of the pages together and makes it easy to flip around between the different pages.
They are functional planners, are beautiful, and allow enough customization to make it your own.
The Erin Condren LifePlanner also comes with 4 pages of foiled stickers, which are fairly expensive on their own.
You can track everything in these planners, so you won’t need to go out and purchase more notebooks. It’s a huge benefit to be able to keep everything in one compact planner.
If you are still unsure about whether an Erin Condren planner is worth the price, I have another post where I provide a detailed review of the 2021 Erin Condren LifePlanner for more information.
In Summary
I have used many different planners throughout my life and there was always something missing in everyone that I tried. I can honestly say that the Erin Condren Lifeplanner includes everything I could possibly need in a planner without having to buy add-on packages.
Based on this, I would recommend the Erin Condren planners to my friends and family. The price of the planner should not be a deterrent when it will keep your life organized and less stressful.
The Erin Condren planners are high quality and will truly help you plan out your day, week, month, and year so that you can have your most successful year yet!
