When do you start looking for a new planner each year?
My annual search for the best mom planner usually starts in August or September each year. I start looking at new cover designs and page layouts. I want to see all the new colors and designs. I love comparing the different layouts.
You might say I’m a planner fanatic. I love planners. I can’t walk by an aisle in a store with planners and not stop to look at the designs. But choosing the best planner can be overwhelming with so many choices. I’d like to help you simplify your 2021 planner search with this best planners for moms review.
In this review, I’m recommending the best planners and organizers for moms in 2021. The best planners for moms are divided into categories. To help you focus your search, planners are rated by the best daily planner, best weekly planner, best family planner, best working mom planner even the best life planner and more.
HOW TO CHOOSE A PLANNER
Choosing a planner is a very personal decision. Picking the right planner makes all the difference between a planner you use that organizes your life and a planner that just sits on a shelf collecting dust.
When you find the right planner, it’s like magic. You can organize your time, keep track of appointments, remember to take your kids to soccer practice, be on time, set goals and get things done.
In years past, I have spent 2 and 3 months reviewing calendars, testing calendars, and waffling between planners trying to decide which one will work for me. I created this best planner 2021 review to make it easy for you to find the best planner.
Before we start reviewing the best planners and organizers for moms, let’s consider a few planner basics to help you refine what you want and need in your planner. Answer these questions:
- What size planner do you want? Do you want a planner that will fit in your purse to carry around or one that is a desktop size and lays on a countertop or desk?
- Do you like a colorful planner? Or do you prefer a minimalist planner with few distractions?
- What layout works best for you? I personally prefer vertical layouts, but sometimes horizontal is better.
- Do you have a busy life? How much space do you need to track activities? Do you like to track things by the hour? Or just by the day?
- Think about your favorite planner from the past, what did you like best about it? If you had a planner you did not like, why did not dislike it?
If you find the right planner, you will use it all year (maybe even purchase it again and again for several years). Before you purchase a planner, take a few minutes to really consider what you like and don’t like about planners and what they need to include to be a useful planner and organizing tool for you.
For your convenience, this post includes affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Read my disclosure policy here. I would also like to thank the Erin Condren team, My PA Planner, Planner Pad, the Ulitmate Weekly Planner, and PurpleTrail Planner for providing me planners to review. All opinions here are my own.
WHAT ARE THE BEST PLANNERS FOR MOMS 2021?
- The Best Custom Planner – PurpleTrail Planner
- Best Life Planner – In the Leafy TreeTops Planner
- Best Weekly Planner – Erin Condren Planner
- Best Daily Planner – Day Designer Planner
- Best Working Mom Planner – Living Well Planner
- Best Christian Planner – The Hope Planner
- Best Family Planner – MomAgenda
- Best Entrepreneur Planner – My PA Planner
- Best Productivity Planner – Planner Pad
- Best Stay At Home Mom Planner – The Ultimate Weekly Planner
- Best Purse Planner – 2021 Mom’s Plan-It
- Best Parent Planner – 2021 Amy Knapp Family Organizer
1. BEST CUSTOM PLANNER – PURPLETRAIL
Sometimes the best option for a planner is a personalized planner. With a custom planner, you can design the planner you want and make it most useful for you. PurpleTrail is my favorite custom planner for moms.
PurpleTrail has 2 planner sizes 6″ X 8″ and 8 1/2″ X 11″. You can choose a smaller purse size or full desk size.
PurpleTrail also offers several page layouts including daily, weekly, monthly designs in various vertical and horizontal styles. They even offer the popular mom planner layout.
You can also choose a beautiful cover from many designs. I love the inspiring cover designs PurpleTrail offers and colorful layouts with your name and the year or even a collage of family photos. With this planner, you get to choose your favorite cover.
If you like, you can also add up to 4 additional page sections to this planner like “to-do” lists, note pages, checklists, nutrition trackers, travel itineraries and more. Pick and choose the add-on’s that work for you.
Due to the many customizations available with the PurpleTrail planner, I love using it as a personal planner or a blog planner. One of the best customizations is being able to start your planner on any month that works best for you.
If you are picky about your planner and like unique designs, check out the designs and page layouts at PurpleTrail see if they have the perfect planner for you.
For more on PurpleTrail planners, read my PurpleTrail mom planner review and academic planner review.
Recommended for you: Best Weekly Planners for Moms
2. BEST LIFE PLANNER – IN THE LEAFY TREETOPS
If you want a total life organizer, then In the Leafy Treetops offers a great planner for moms. This planner includes a monthly layout and a weekly layout.
The weekly layout for this planner gives you 3 divided horizontal spaces daily that can be custom designated either as the morning, afternoon, evening or by your family member names or other categories (meal planning, appointments, etc…) that fit your life and planning needs.
Every month in this planner has extra planning pages, weekly reminders, things to focus on and more.
In the Leafy TreeTops is also beautifully designed with pretty layouts and colors every month. I always love seeing the new designs each year.
This planner also includes pages for gift ideas, Christmas menu planning, monthly and weekly focus and so much more. You will find it’s easy to keep your whole life organized with this planner.
One negative to this planner if you want a purse-size planner, this one is a little big (too thick too heavy to carry every day).
3. BEST WEEKLY PLANNER – ERIN CONDREN PLANNER
The Erin Condren Life Planner has everything a busy mom needs in one place to keep your home and life organized.

This planner includes:
- Pages for weekly planning
- 3 Different page layouts to choose from
- Monthly features and focus goals
- Monthly notes and reminders pages
- Inspiring quotes
- And more…
Moms love simplifying busy life schedules with the Erin Condren Life planner. Click here for your copy.
Read my full Erin Condren Life Planner review here.
4. BEST DAILY PLANNER – DAY DESIGNER
The beautiful Day Designer Planner is the best daily planner for moms. This planner is both an hourly planning and a daily “to-do” list to help you focus on your daily priorities.
Each day also has a designated space for your daily “top 3 priorities” to make sure you are getting your priorities done and hourly space for your daily activities.
This planner comes with many different cover styles.
One possible negative is that because it’s a daily planner, it’s a thicker planner and probably too large and heavy for most moms to carry in their purse. But the pretty layout will accent your desk or countertop.
Click here to see to find the right Day Designer Planner for you.
5. BEST PLANNER FOR WORKING MOMS – THE LIVING WELL PLANNER
For moms that need a planner to organize their home, plan family activities, meal plan and more, choose The Living Well Planner. A colorful planner with beautiful designs and space for daily activities, home cleaning, setting priorities, and more.
This planner is designed for moms that want to make their planner their own.
This undated planner has pages for monthly planning, weekly planning, goal setting, budgeting and more.
The Living Well Planner gives busy moms the organizing tools they need to easily manage their daily and weekly plans.
This planner is available as a full-size planner/desk layout.
Check out The Living Well Planner and see the many different creative ways to design your day.
6. BEST CHRISTIAN PLANNER – THE HOPE PLANNER
If you are looking for a Christian planner, try The Hope Planner. This beautiful planner has is perfect for journaling and daily planning.
The Hope Planner comes in weekly and daily designs. The daily layout includes space to write a daily Bible verse and prayer requests plus daily to-do’s and appointments.
The weekly layout includes vertical weekly planning space and prayer requests, devotional habits, reminders to reach out to others and more…
Click here to get your copy of the Hope Planner and see how you can be more organized and closer to Christ.
7. BEST FAMILY PLANNER – MOMAGENDA
MomAgenda is a great planner for moms that like to track activities for yourself and your kids/family members separate and simple. The planner has soft page tones, but no flashy or distracting designs, just easy clean page layouts.
On the top portion of this planner, you have space for the morning, afternoon and evening planning. On the lower half of the page, you can assign space for yourself, kids, menu planning, chores and more.
MomAgenda comes in 2 sizes, hardback or spiral, and several formats and colors. This planner is a minimalist planner it doesn’t have lots of features, designs or pictures. If you like simple, this is the planner for you.
You might also like: How to Organize Your Day with a Planner
8. BEST ENTREPRENEUR PLANNER – MY PA PLANNER
Owning a business is hard work. The MY PA Planner is for entrepreneur women that like to set goals, track productivity, basic income tracking, social media planning and more. The My PA Planner gives you the tools you need to run your business.
You will love this business planner with monthly goal and project planning pages, monthly income/expense overview, hourly planning, weekly to-do lists, and weekly wins and more.
The one planner you need to run your business.
Organize and plan your business success with the My PA Planner.
9. BEST PRODUCTIVITY PLANNER – PLANNER PAD
If your planner isn’t working for you and you want a planner to help you focus and organize your day, consider the Planner Pad. The Planner Pad is for goal-driven women that like to set goals, plan your day (in hourly increments), daily and weekly to-do lists and more.
The Planner Pad will help you become more productive with weekly tasks and to-do lists. Check out the unique time management system that shows you how to categorize weekly tasks (i.e. home, appointments, business, etc…). Then set the daily priorities and to-do list and finally block out time to be sure each task is completed.
Stop being scattered and disorganized, get the Planner Pad and see how organized your day can be.
Maximize your productivity with the Planner Pad.
10. BEST STAY AT HOME MOM PLANNER – THE ULTIMATE WEEKLY PLANNER
The 2021 Ultimate Weekly Planner is a simple, but encouraging planner. This planner comes in 2 designs: classic and minimal. Each week includes a 2-page spread. In the classic layout (my favorite), one page is for the to-do list and one page is for weekly appointments. In the minimalist design, each week is a 2-page horizontal layout.
If you have a big weekly to-do list, you will probably like the classic layout. If you prefer to detail each day the horizontal layout would be better.
I also love that each week has a Bible verse to encourage you or for weekly memorizing. Each month also has a Bible verse. The classic edition is more colorful, while the minimalist has a black and white design.
Click here to see all the options for the 2021 Ultimate Weekly Planner. If you use the code SMARTMOM10 at checkout, you can save 10% on your entire order.
11. BEST PURSE PLANNER – 2021 MOM’S PLAN-IT
The 2021 Mom’s Plan-It Planner a simple planner for busy moms. Plus, it fits right into your purse or tote and has monthly and weekly planning pages. Each weekly 2-page spread for appointments and daily to-dos and a removable shopping list.

Mom’s Plan-It planner is best suited for moms that don’t have many appointments and only need simple daily reminders each day. It only comes with a horizontal layout. If you just want a simple planner for appointments, school activities, and reminders, this planner is perfect.
12. BEST PARENT PLANNER – AMY KNAPP FAMILY ORGANIZER
The Amy Knapp 2021 Family Organizer is a great parent planner. It’s colorful and bright and filled with stickers. I found this planner a few years ago and I loved keeping a weekly to-do list and having space for daily appointments and plans, too.
This planner has monthly and weekly layouts. The weekly layouts are horizontal with one full page for your weekly “to-do” list and priorities. It also has pages with dates to remember and holidays… plus several pages of fun stickers. If you like a small but useful planner for busy moms, check out the Amy Knapp Family Organizer.
Planner Accessories
What’s a planner without your favorite planner pens, washi tape, and stickers!
Choosing the best planner can take time. Be thoughtful and pick the right personal planner and organizer for you. Use this planner review guide to find the best planner for you this year.
YOUR TURN…
What is your favorite planner? What is the feature you need most in a planner?
PIN IT FOR LATER:
I really like to read new articles about family planners, I’m trying to learn more about it every day and this post help me to know more about it, thank you for this great article
Hey,
This is a wonderful compilation. Thanks for putting it together. As a mum of two, I know how crazy it gets, especially during summer holidays. I’m looking for a great planner for the holidays, and also one that will be good when the get back to school this September.
I’m checking out all the planners on your list, and I also came across ‘Mother Woman Planner’ (www.motherwomanplanner.com), and at first glance I absolutely loved it. Looks like it has everything I would need Plus it is undated which I love! Wonder if you’ve had a chance to review it and what your thought were?
Look forward to hearing your thoughts
Giselle
I just received the Amy Knapp planner as a gift, and I whole-heartedly second your recommendation! The weekly spreads have just enough room for the top 3-5 tasks that I want to fit in around my work-away-from-home job, and I love that each weekly spread has small monthly calendars showing the current and next months.
Plus, each page has perforations along the grocery list, so it can be easily removed. I don’t know that I’ll use this myself, since I usually add shopping list items to my phone, but it may be handy when hubby does the grocery shopping. The front cover has a pocket (a must for me!), and the back pages are full of little stickers. Lots of goodies in a simple planner – and I think it will be perfect for how I plan my weeks right now. I’m so excited to see it on your list!
Hi Michelle, I completely agree. The Amy Knapp planner is perfect for keeping track of all your everyday appointments and tasks. Plus, it’s perfect for tossing in your purse or tote bag – not too big or too heavy.