Day Runner Refills: Complete Guide & Where to Buy

Okay so I’ve been using Day Runner planners for like 15 years now and honestly the refill situation is way more complicated than it should be, but I’ve figured out the system.

The Size Thing Nobody Explains Properly

First thing you gotta know is Day Runner has like five different sizes and they’re all slightly different dimensions which is annoying because you can’t just eyeball it. The main ones you’ll actually find refills for are the Desk size (5.5″ x 8.5″), Portable size (3.75″ x 6.75″), and the Pink Ribbon size which is basically the same as Portable but they market it differently for some reason.

I spent like two hours last month trying to explain this to a client who kept insisting her planner was “medium sized” and we went through this whole thing where she measured it with a ruler because the size isn’t always printed clearly on older binders. So yeah, measure your actual planner before you order anything because returns are a pain.

Desk Size Refills

This is the one I use personally. It’s basically half a sheet of regular paper which makes it super easy to print your own inserts if you want, but we’ll get to that later. The official Day Runner desk refills come in a few formats:

• Daily pages (one page per day, these are THICK)
• Weekly pages (week on two pages, this is what I use)
• Monthly pages (just the calendar grids)
• Undated weekly (more expensive but you can start whenever)

The daily pages are honestly overkill unless you’re scheduling like 15 appointments a day. I tried them for a month in 2019 and my planner became this massive brick that wouldn’t fit in any normal bag. Plus you’re flipping pages constantly which… I don’t know, it broke my flow.

Where to Actually Buy These Things

So here’s where it gets frustrating. Day Runner got acquired by ACCO Brands a while back and the distribution is kind of a mess now. You can’t just walk into any office supply store anymore and find a good selection.

Amazon

Amazon has the most consistent stock but watch out because third-party sellers will jack up the prices like crazy. I’ve seen refills that should cost $15 going for $40 from some random seller with a weird name. Always check if it says “Ships from and sold by Amazon.com” because those are usually priced normally.

The downside is you can’t really tell if you’re getting the current year’s design or old stock. Last year I ordered what I thought were 2023 refills and got 2021 ones which like, they still work obviously but the dates were wrong and I had to write them in myself for two months before I caved and ordered new ones.

Staples

Staples carries them but it’s super hit or miss depending on your location. The store near me has maybe three options max, but their website has more. Free shipping over $25 which is nice because refills usually hit that threshold. Oh and another thing, their website lets you check local inventory before you drive over there, which saved me a trip last week when I needed monthly tabs.

Office Depot

Pretty similar situation to Staples. Their website is clunkier in my opinion but they sometimes have sales that Staples doesn’t. I got like 40% off desk refills last January during their planner sale. Sign up for their rewards thing because they send these random 20% off coupons that work on Day Runner stuff.

Walmart

Wait I forgot to mention Walmart actually stocks some Day Runner refills now, but only online. I wouldn’t have known this except my sister ordered hers from there and told me about it. The selection is limited but if you just need basic weekly or monthly pages, they have them. Prices are decent.

The Day Runner Website

You’d think going directly to dayrunner.com would be the best option but honestly it’s not great? The website feels like it hasn’t been updated since 2015 and navigation is confusing. They do have the full range of products though, including some specialty inserts you can’t find elsewhere. Shipping is kind of expensive unless you’re ordering a bunch of stuff.

Portable Size Refills

My friend Rachel uses the portable size and swears by it for traveling. The refills are harder to find in stores but Amazon usually has them. Same formats as desk size just smaller obviously.

One weird thing about portable refills is they’re often more expensive per page than desk size even though there’s less paper. I think it’s because they sell fewer of them so the economies of scale or whatever. Rachel does this thing where she prints her own on cardstock cut down to size because she got tired of paying $18 for a three-month refill pack.

The Undated vs Dated Debate

Okay so this is gonna sound weird but I actually prefer dated refills even though undated seems more flexible. Here’s why: having the dates printed forces me to stay current with my planning. When I used undated pages I’d skip days and then have to write in dates and it became this whole thing where I’d lose track of what day it actually was.

But undated is better if you’re inconsistent with planner use or if you want to start mid-year. They’re usually more expensive though. Like the Day Runner undated weekly desk refills are around $25-30 versus $15-20 for dated ones.

Combo Packs

Some refills come in combo packs with like weekly pages plus monthly pages plus some blank note pages. These are honestly the best value if you’re just starting out or if you want a complete system. The Day Runner “Seasons” pack has everything you need for a year and costs about the same as buying the components separately.

Alternative and Third-Party Options

This is where it gets interesting because you’re not stuck with official Day Runner refills. Any paper that’s the right size will work with the rings.

AT-A-GLANCE Refills

AT-A-GLANCE is made by the same parent company now and some of their refills fit Day Runner binders. I’ve used their weekly/monthly combo refills in my desk size binder and they worked fine. The paper quality is slightly different, a bit smoother, which I actually preferred for writing with gel pens.

Franklin Covey Compact Size

Okay so funny story, Franklin Covey’s compact size (4.25″ x 6.75″) is really close to Day Runner’s portable size. Not exact but close enough that some people use them interchangeably. The Franklin Covey refills are usually higher quality paper but way more expensive. We’re talking like $30-40 for refills that would cost $15-20 from Day Runner.

I have one client who’s super into the Franklin Covey planning method but wanted a cheaper binder so she uses a Day Runner portable binder with FC refills. The pages stick out slightly on one edge but she doesn’t care.

DIY Printing

If you’ve got a printer and some time, you can make your own refills for basically the cost of paper and ink. There are templates on Etsy and also some free ones on Pinterest. For desk size it’s super easy because you’re just printing on regular letter paper and cutting it in half.

I do this for my extra note pages and project planning sheets. Just regular 20lb printer paper, cut to 5.5″ x 8.5″, punch holes with a 3-hole punch, done. Way cheaper than buying official note page refills which are like $8 for 50 sheets when you can make 100 for the same price.

My cat knocked over my paper cutter last time I was doing this and I had to recut like 30 sheets but whatever, still worth it.

Special Inserts Worth Getting

Beyond the basic weekly and monthly pages there are some specialty inserts that are actually useful and not just gimmicky.

Tab Dividers

The monthly tab dividers are essential in my opinion. They’re these plastic tabs with the month names that make it way easier to flip to the right section. Day Runner sells sets of 12 for around $6-8 depending where you get them. I replace mine every year because they get bent up and gross looking.

Address and Phone Pages

Okay I know everyone keeps contacts on their phone now but I still like having a paper backup in my planner. The Day Runner address refills have like 50 pages with A-Z tabs. Useful when your phone dies or if you’re trying to look something up while on a call and don’t want to put it on speaker.

Expense Tracking

If you’re self-employed or track business expenses, the expense log refills are actually pretty well designed. Each page has columns for date, description, category, and amount. I used these for two years before switching to an app but they were great for keeping receipts organized.

Project Planning Pages

These are basically blank pages with a project title section at the top and then space for tasks, notes, deadlines, whatever. I use them for client projects and event planning. You get like 25 sheets in a pack for $7-8.

Paper Quality Stuff

The paper in Day Runner refills is decent but not amazing. It’s like 20-22lb weight which is fine for ballpoint pens and pencils but if you use markers or heavy gel pens you’ll get some bleed-through.

I tested a bunch of different pens on Day Runner paper last month when my client canceled and I had nothing else to do. Pilot G2 pens in 0.7mm work great, no bleeding. Sharpie pens bleed through like crazy. Papermate Inkjoy are fine. Fountain pens are hit or miss depending on the ink, but most people aren’t using fountain pens in their planners anyway.

The paper is bright white which I like for readability but some people prefer cream colored paper. AT-A-GLANCE refills are slightly more cream toned if that matters to you.

What I Actually Use and Recommend

For most people I recommend starting with the basic weekly/monthly combo pack in whatever size fits your binder. Don’t go crazy buying specialty inserts until you know you’ll use them. I’ve seen too many people drop $60 on refills and accessories and then abandon their planner after three weeks.

My current setup is the desk size weekly refills (dated), monthly tab dividers, and about 20 sheets of blank note pages I printed myself. That’s it. Costs maybe $25 for a year’s worth of weekly pages plus $8 for tabs. Everything else is just extra.

If you travel a lot or carry your planner everywhere, portable size makes more sense. The desk size is kinda bulky for a purse or backpack unless you have a big bag.

Buying for the Full Year vs Quarterly

Most refills come in full year packs (January through December) but you can also find quarterly packs for some formats. The quarterly ones are nice if you’re not sure you’ll stick with the system or if you want to try different layouts throughout the year.

I buy the full year pack in November or December when they go on sale. Usually get like 20-30% off. Then I’m set for the whole next year and don’t have to think about it. But when I first started using Day Runner I bought quarterly packs because I kept switching between weekly and daily layouts trying to figure out what worked.

Mid-Year Starting

If you’re starting mid-year like in June or whatever, some retailers discount the current year refills to clear inventory. I’ve seen 50% off deals in July and August. The alternative is buying undated refills but those are more expensive per page so you gotta do the math on whether the discount dated ones are cheaper even though you’re not using all the pages.

Storage and Organization

Oh wait I forgot to mention this earlier but you don’t have to keep all your refill pages in the binder at once. I keep the current month plus next month in my planner and store the rest in a folder at my desk. Makes the planner way less bulky. When I get to the last week of the month I add the next month’s pages and archive the completed month.

Some people keep everything in the binder all the time but then you’re carrying around like 400 pages which seems excessive. Unless you need to reference old appointments constantly I guess.

Watch Out For Discontinued Styles

This is gonna sound paranoid but Day Runner discontinues specific refill styles sometimes without much warning. Like they had this really nice goals worksheet insert that I loved and used for three years and then suddenly in 2022 they just stopped making it. No announcement or anything, it just disappeared from their catalog.

If you find a specialty insert you really like, consider buying a couple years worth when you find it on sale. I learned this the hard way. Now when I find project planning pages on clearance I buy like three packs.

The basic weekly and monthly formats are safe, they’re not gonna discontinue those, but anything niche or specialty could vanish at any time. Which is frustrating but that’s how it is with planner supplies.