6 Teacher Planners Similar to Erin Condren to Organize a Great School Year

These 6 teacher planners similar to Erin Condren with the same great style and function but cheaper will get you organized this school year – get more planners like Erin Condren

Note: This post may contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links may provide a small commission to me at no extra cost to you. Refer to my Full Privacy Policy and Disclaimers here.

Erin Condren has a comprehensive line of planners, including teacher planners, student planners, life planners, daily planners and weekly planners. It can be overwhelming (and expensive) to find the best Erin Condren planner for you.

So I wanted to give you some alternatives to the Erin Condren teacher planner that will fit your style and budget. I know not everyone loves Erin Condren, can afford the planners or needs more structure or different types of pages in their planners.

1. Simplified Teacher Planner

2022-2023 Simplified Teacher Planner

The Simplified Teacher planner by Emily Ley is a lovely, simple teacher planner with happy pops of color in their signature “happy stripe” rainbow of colors. There is only one option and it’s not customizable. More about the Simplified Teacher Planner:

• 8.5”x11” paper planner and runs on an academic calendar (August to July).
• Personally, I like the hard cover material and gold corners better on the Simplified Planners than the Erin Condrens.
• About Me pages which has spaces for goals, resources and professional development notes.
• prep pages for weekly and daily routines, class procedures, student info and student checklist pages.
• weekly view is a grid format just like Erin Condren with space for 6 periods each, Monday through Friday and a sidebar for notes.
• 24 notes pages (12 lined and 12 grid) which means it seems to have more notes pages than the Erin Condren.
• stickers

I think the Simplified Teacher Option is a lovely option for teachers who like simple planner layouts that she can customize to her liking.

Get $10 off your first order with this coupon.

Buy the Simplified Teacher planner here.

2. Happy Planner Teacher Planner

The Happy Planner has a bright and colorful teacher lesson planner that is like Erin Condren. There is a wide variety of Happy Planner teacher planners and the biggest advantage of the Happy Planner is that it is discbound so it’s much easier to add pages to your planner, move them around as you see fit and even change out the discs and covers. In addition, here’s some more about the Happy Planner Teacher Lesson Planner:

• size is 7”x9.25” so it’s smaller than the Erin Condren.
• It is a dated planner August to July
• checklist pages
• weekly grid pages with space for 7 periods,
• sticker sheets and
• a pocket.
• wide variety of inserts and accessories that you can add to the planner as needed

The box kit is a good deal with extra accessories like dry erase boards, sticky notes, a snap in bookmark, storage folder and more and the entire kit still cheaper than the Erin Condren starting price. The Happy Planner Teacher Planner is a good option if you who want to build and adjust your planner throughout the year.

Buy the Happy Planner teacher planner here

3. Purple Trail Teacher Planner

The Purple Trail teacher planner is super customizable, you can choose everything from the cover to the binding to the interior pages, pockets and add ons. Here’s more about what makes the Purple Trail Teacher Planner a great choice, you can choose:

• size – 2 options – 6”x8” for better portability or 8.5” x 11”.
• cover material – synthetic, laminate or hardcover
• 2 layout options – horizontal Monday through Friday 5 day layout or a vertical 7 days per week layout
• planner length
• start month
• customize the column/row labels on your planning pages.
• colorful or neutral color scheme.
• add ons you need (such as student checklists, classroom reference, lesson plans, seating charts, reading logs, field trips, and unit plans).
• add a pocket and stickers if you like.

The Purple Trail teacher planner is a good option if you know exactly what you want in your teacher planner and want to build it yourself. It is certainly fun building your ideal teacher planner!

4. Clever Fox Teacher Planner

The Clever Fox teacher planner is a great option because it’s undated so you can start it any time. The planner is 7”x10” and book bound so it’s great for left handed teachers or people who don’t like a coil or spiral bound planner. Here’s more info about the Clever Fox Teacher Planner:

• minimalist and neutral black and white layouts so you can easily customize and write in what you need.
• monthly plan grid page (I love grid pages for mind mapping, writing and drawing, it’s my preferred type of notes page these days),
• monthly calendars
• a 7 grid layout for Monday through Friday and a wide notes section on each week.
• student checklists
• student info logs
• communication logs
• important dates by month
• schedule of school events yearly tracker
• Stickers galore (650+)

The Clever Fox Teacher Planner is currently the lowest priced option on this list at regular price and with my coupon code MSV10 you can save 10% off your Clever Fox order. The Clever Fox Teacher Planner is great for minimalist teachers who like to add the sticker flair and colors themselves. It’s also great for people who don’t like the coil or want a beautiful bookbound planner to store on their bookshelf when done. This one gets the best bang for your buck!

5. Bloom Teacher Planner

The Bloom Teacher Planner is a 9”x11” planner and runs from August to July but there are no dates on the monthly calendars so you can start it in the year you need it (i’ve never seen that before but it’s kind of neat especially if you’re a substitute or start your year at a different time). More info about the Bloom Teacher Planner:

• different planner cover choices have different interior page color schemes
• “info for the substitute” page
• student information page
• contact logs
• website login
• field trip planning
• grades trackers.
• 60 weekly planner spreads with a grid for 7 periods per 5 day week.

The Bloom Teacher Planner is like the Erin Condren teacher planner but cheaper. The Bloom Teacher Planner is a good choice for teachers who have a non traditional academic year, substitutes or want a simple yet colorful budget friendly teacher planner.

6. Plum Paper Teacher Planner

Like the Purple Trail Planner, the Plum Paper Teacher Planner is also highly customizable. Plum Paper planners are known for their slick smooth paper. Plum Paper is unique because they offer planners depending on the grade level you teach: preschool + kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school and homeschool. More info about the Plum Paper Teacher Planner, you can choose from:

• 3 size options – A5 (5.8” x 8.3”), 7” x 9” and 8.5” x 11”
• 3 layout options
  • vertical weekly Monday through Friday (room for 7 periods/classes) with a stacked column for Saturday and sunday,
  • horizontal weekly Monday through Friday (room for 7 periods/classes) with smaller rows for Saturday and Sunday,
  • horizontal weekly Monday through Friday (room for 7 periods/classes)
• customize column/row names and column headings for an additional cost
• colorful or modern (pastel neutrals) color scheme
• Sunday start or Monday start on monthly calendar
• number of months (6, 12, 13 or 14)
• start month
• binding options – metal coil, 8 disc punched (discs not included) or not bound or bunched if you have your own binder or disc system.

Other Pages included:

• this year’s goals
• substitute info
• behavior log
• communication log
• class resources and expenses
• checklists
• stickers
• professional development
• a wide variety of add ons

and some more items I didn’t mention depending on the grade level you select. The Plum Paper Teacher Planner is a wonderful choice for teachers who know what they want to build their planner.

Planners Like the Erin Condren Teacher Planner but Cheaper

The Erin Condren Teacher Planner (their most popular coiled planner) starts at $55 regular price so here are planners like Erin Condren but cheaper.

• Bloom Teacher Planners
• Clever Fox teacher planner (use code MSV10 for 10% off)
• Happy Planners
• Plum Paper Teacher Planner (starting price is less than Erin Condren but can be customized for additional cost)
• Deluxe 2022-2023 Teacher Planner (seaside) or watercolor stripes
• Planner and Lesson Plan book

Frequently Asked Questions about Teacher Planners

Is the emily ley teacher planner at target?

I don’t believe so….I don’t see it on target.com. I have not seen them in my local stores either.

Is there a Recollections Teacher Planner?

We used to be able to find Recollections planners at Michael’s craft stores but I don’t see them as available to order. The one Recollections Teacher Planner I found on Amazon was $100 and the last one in stock so that’s a hard pass. Sorry folks! That was a pretty paper planner line that I really liked too.

Is the Blue Sky Teacher Planner at Target?

Yes, Blue Sky has a lovely selection of teacher planners at target.com but a limited stock in stores (I recommend checking online before you head to the store as selection varies by location).

Life Planner Comparisons

If you want to see how these brands’ life planners stack up against each other (and Erin Condren), be sure to check out my Ultimate Planner Comparison which gives you more details on what makes each planner line unique, pros and cons, reviews and a side by side comparison chart.

Life Planner Reviews

I also do super in depth planner reviews with everything you need to know before you buy a planner. You can check out all my planner reviews here. I cover life planners and goal planners right now and adding teacher and homeschool planners soon.

They take me a while to do so if you don’t see a planner and you want a review/feedback about it, just ask! If I have used it or gotten one, I’ll give you my honest opinion.

Well, there you have it 6 great teacher planners like Erin Condren to help you get your school year started on an organized foot. What do you see that will help you this school year?