Leuchtturm1917 vs Kokuyo Campus: Which Notebook Is Better?

The Leuchtturm1917 and the Kokuyo Campus are two of the most popular notebooks in the stationery world — but they come from radically different design philosophies. The Leuchtturm1917 is a German-engineered, feature-rich journal designed for organized thinkers who want numbered pages, an index, and a hardcover that feels substantial. The Kokuyo Campus is a Japanese-engineered, no-frills workhorse designed for daily writing at a price so low it feels almost absurd.

Comparing them directly is a bit like comparing a Swiss army knife to a chef’s knife. One does many things competently; the other does one thing exceptionally well. But that’s exactly the comparison most notebook buyers need — because choosing between these two comes down to what you actually value in a notebook.

We’ve used both notebooks extensively — filling multiple volumes of each with daily writing, project notes, journaling, and planning. This head-to-head comparison covers every factor that matters: paper quality, binding, page count, sizes, pricing, fountain pen friendliness, and the features (or deliberate lack of features) that define each notebook’s character.

Quick Comparison Table

Feature	Leuchtturm1917	Kokuyo Campus
Origin	Germany	Japan
Paper weight	80gsm	75gsm (standard) / 70gsm (thin)
Page count	251 numbered pages (A5)	30-100 sheets (60-200 pages)
Ruling options	Blank, ruled, grid, dot grid	Ruled (A/B/C/U lines), grid
Binding	Thread-bound hardcover or softcover	Staple-bound (thin) / Ring-bound / Glue-bound
Cover	Hardcover (standard), softcover available	Soft cardstock cover
Sizes	Pocket, A5, A4+, B5	B5 (standard), A5, A4, B6, Semi-B5
Numbered pages	Yes	No
Index pages	Yes (table of contents)	No
Page labels	Yes (date/topic fields per page)	No
Bookmark ribbons	2	0
Back pocket	Yes (expandable)	No
Lay-flat	Yes	Yes (staple/ring) / Mostly (glue)
Colors available	20+ cover colors	Limited (varies by type)
Fountain pen friendly	Fair (ghosting common)	Good to excellent
Price (A5/B5)	~$20–25	~$2–5
Price per page	~$0.09	~$0.02-0.05

Check Price: Leuchtturm1917 on Amazon

Paper Quality

Paper quality is the most important factor in any notebook comparison, and it’s where the Leuchtturm1917 and Kokuyo Campus diverge most sharply.

Leuchtturm1917 Paper (80gsm)

Leuchtturm1917 uses an 80gsm acid-free paper that’s smooth, bright white, and consistent. On paper (pun intended), 80gsm sounds like it should outperform 75gsm Kokuyo paper. In practice, the relationship is more nuanced.

The Leuchtturm’s paper is designed for general-purpose writing. It handles ballpoint pens and pencils beautifully — lines are crisp, the surface is smooth without being slippery, and the paper has a satisfying feel under the pen. It’s good paper by everyday standards.

However, the Leuchtturm’s paper has a well-known weakness: ghosting. Even with gel pens, writing on one side of the page is clearly visible from the other side. With fountain pens, ghosting becomes pronounced, and wet inks can feather or bleed through entirely. The 80gsm weight suggests the paper should handle ink well, but the specific paper formulation prioritizes smoothness and brightness over ink resistance.

Best pen pairings: Ballpoints (Uni Jetstream, Pilot Acroball), fine-tip gel pens (0.38-0.5mm), pencils. Fountain pens are usable with fine nibs and dry inks, but expect visible ghosting.

Kokuyo Campus Paper (75gsm)

Kokuyo Campus paper is one of Japanese stationery’s quiet triumphs. At 75gsm, it’s thinner than the Leuchtturm on paper — but in practice, it handles ink significantly better. The Campus paper is engineered with Kokuyo’s proprietary surface treatment that resists feathering and bleed-through while maintaining a smooth writing feel.

The result: gel pens, ballpoints, and fine-to-medium fountain pens all perform excellently on Campus paper. Ghosting is minimal — noticeably less than the Leuchtturm despite the lower gsm weight. This is a powerful demonstration that paper weight alone doesn’t determine ink performance; paper formulation and surface treatment matter just as much, if not more.

For a full deep dive into Kokuyo’s paper technology, see our Kokuyo Campus Notebook review.

Best pen pairings: Everything works well. Gel pens (Pilot Juice, Pentel EnerGel), ballpoints (Uni Jetstream), fine-to-medium fountain pens, markers, highlighters. The Campus paper is remarkably versatile.

Paper Verdict

Winner: Kokuyo Campus. Despite lower gsm, Kokuyo’s paper engineering produces better ink handling, less ghosting, and broader pen compatibility. The Leuchtturm’s paper is adequate for ballpoints and pencils but falls short with wet inks and fountain pens. If paper quality is your primary concern — and for most notebook users, it should be — the Kokuyo Campus wins convincingly.

Fountain Pen Friendliness

This deserves its own section because it’s often the deciding factor for a significant segment of notebook buyers.

Leuchtturm1917 with Fountain Pens

The Leuchtturm1917 has a complicated reputation among fountain pen users. Some users report acceptable performance with dry, well-behaved inks and fine nibs. Others describe frustrating ghosting, feathering, and even bleed-through with medium nibs and wetter inks.

In our testing, the Leuchtturm’s fountain pen performance is fair — but only with constraints. An extra-fine or fine nib with a dry ink (like Pilot Blue-Black) produces readable results with moderate ghosting. A medium nib with a wet ink (like many Pilot Iroshizuku colors) produces heavy ghosting and occasional bleed spots. Broad nibs are not recommended.

The practical impact: if you use fountain pens with the Leuchtturm, you’ll likely write on only one side of each page, effectively halving your usable page count. For a $20+ notebook, that’s a meaningful penalty.

Kokuyo Campus with Fountain Pens

The Kokuyo Campus handles fountain pens well — comfortably in the “good to excellent” range. Fine and medium nibs produce clean lines with minimal feathering and low ghosting. Even wet inks behave respectably, though very wet broad nibs will push the paper’s limits.

We regularly use the Kokuyo Campus with medium-nib fountain pens and have no complaints. Both sides of the page remain usable, and ink colors display nicely against the slightly off-white paper. It’s not as impressive for ink display as Tomoe River paper or Midori MD Paper — you won’t see ink sheen or dramatic shading — but for practical, everyday fountain pen writing, the Campus delivers.

Fountain Pen Verdict

Winner: Kokuyo Campus, decisively. The Campus paper handles fountain pens with the reliability you’d expect from a purpose-engineered Japanese paper. The Leuchtturm’s fountain pen performance is its most significant weakness. If fountain pens are part of your writing rotation, the Kokuyo Campus is the clear choice.

Check Price: Kokuyo Campus Notebooks on Amazon

Binding and Construction

Leuchtturm1917 Binding

The standard Leuchtturm1917 uses thread-bound (also called Smyth-sewn) binding with a hardcover case. This is a premium binding method: the pages are sewn together in signatures, then glued into a rigid cover. The result is a notebook that:

• Lays flat when opened — essential for comfortable writing
• Stays together over extended use — thread binding is durable
• Feels substantial — the hardcover adds rigidity and protection
• Looks professional — the clean, minimal design works in any setting

The hardcover is functional and protective, though it adds weight and bulk compared to softcover notebooks. Leuchtturm also offers a softcover version that’s lighter and more flexible, using the same thread binding but with a flexible cardstock cover.

Kokuyo Campus Binding

Kokuyo Campus notebooks come in multiple binding styles, each suited to different use cases:

Staple-bound (standard thin notebooks): The classic Campus binding. Two or three staples through the spine hold 30-40 sheets together. It’s simple, it lays perfectly flat, and it’s lightweight. The trade-off: staple-bound notebooks max out at around 40 sheets before the binding becomes unreliable.

Glue-bound (thick notebooks): For higher page counts (50-100 sheets), Kokuyo uses a glue binding. These notebooks lay mostly flat — not quite as perfectly as staple-bound, but close. The glue binding is durable for its price point.

Ring-bound (Smart Ring / Binder): Kokuyo’s ring-bound options let you add, remove, and rearrange pages. This is a fundamentally different notebook experience — more like a customizable binder than a traditional notebook. The Smart Ring system is thin and elegant, avoiding the bulk of traditional ring binders.

Binding Verdict

Winner: Depends on your priority. For durability and a premium feel, the Leuchtturm’s thread-bound hardcover wins. For pure lay-flat performance, the Kokuyo Campus staple-bound notebooks are hard to beat. For flexibility and customization, the Kokuyo ring-bound options are in a category the Leuchtturm doesn’t compete in.

Page Count and Capacity

Leuchtturm1917

The standard A5 Leuchtturm1917 contains 251 numbered pages (126 sheets). This is a substantial page count for a single notebook — enough for several months of daily writing. The high page count in a single binding is one of the Leuchtturm’s practical strengths: you carry one notebook that lasts a long time.

Kokuyo Campus

Kokuyo Campus notebooks range from 30 sheets (60 pages) to 100 sheets (200 pages) depending on the model. The most common format is the 30-sheet staple-bound notebook, which provides 60 usable pages — about a quarter of what the Leuchtturm offers per notebook.

This lower page count per notebook sounds like a disadvantage, but many Campus users see it as a feature. Thinner notebooks are lighter, more portable, and less intimidating to start. When one fills up, you start a fresh one without the psychological weight of a half-finished thick notebook. And at $2-5 per notebook, starting fresh is painless.

Page Count Verdict

Winner: Leuchtturm1917 for capacity per notebook. Kokuyo Campus for flexibility. If you want a single notebook that lasts months, the Leuchtturm’s 251 pages deliver. If you prefer thinner notebooks that you can cycle through quickly and dedicate to specific projects, the Campus system is more adaptable.

Sizes Available

Leuchtturm1917 Sizes

• Pocket (A6): 3.5 x 6 inches — for pocket carry and quick notes
• A5: 5.7 x 8.3 inches — the most popular size, good for journaling and planning
• B5: 6.9 x 9.8 inches — more spacious for detailed notes and sketches
• A4+: 8.3 x 11.8 inches — near full-size for extensive writing or sketching

Kokuyo Campus Sizes

• B6: 4.9 x 6.9 inches — compact and portable
• Semi-B5: 6.5 x 9.4 inches — Kokuyo’s unique size between B6 and B5
• B5: 6.9 x 9.8 inches — the standard Campus size, popular in Japan for school and office
• A5: 5.7 x 8.3 inches — matches international A5 standard
• A4: 8.3 x 11.7 inches — full-size for extensive notes

The Kokuyo Campus B5 deserves special mention — it’s the standard notebook size in Japan and slightly larger than A5. If you’ve never tried B5, it’s a revelation: enough room for spacious writing without the bulk of A4. Many users who switch from A5 to B5 never go back.

Size Verdict

Tie. Both brands cover the key sizes. The Leuchtturm is strong at A5 (its most popular format), while the Kokuyo Campus excels at B5 (the Japanese standard). Choose the size that matches your use case; both brands serve it.

Features and Organization

This is where the Leuchtturm1917 tries to justify its price premium — and, honestly, it does a reasonable job.

Leuchtturm1917 Features

• Numbered pages: Every page is pre-numbered, making it easy to reference specific pages and create indexes
• Table of contents: Blank index pages at the front for organizing your content
• Date and topic labels: Pre-printed fields at the top of each page for date and subject
• Two bookmark ribbons: Different-colored ribbons for marking two locations simultaneously
• Expandable back pocket: A gusseted pocket in the back cover for storing loose papers, cards, or notes
• Stickers: A sheet of blank labels for customizing the cover and spine
• Elastic closure band: Keeps the notebook closed in a bag

These features add genuine utility, particularly the numbered pages and table of contents. For bullet journalers, commonplace book keepers, and anyone who references their notebooks after the fact, these organizational aids are valuable. They’re also features you can’t easily replicate in a plain notebook — numbering 251 pages by hand is tedious.

Kokuyo Campus Features

• Clean, functional design — and that’s essentially it

The Kokuyo Campus is deliberately minimal. No numbered pages, no index, no bookmark ribbons, no back pocket. The design philosophy is: give you excellent paper in a well-made binding and get out of the way. Any organizational system you want — numbering, indexing, bookmarking — is yours to add.

The Campus does include one subtle feature worth mentioning: the ruling. Kokuyo’s line ruling includes margin guides and consistent spacing that’s been refined over decades of Japanese student and office use. The ruling isn’t just “lines on a page” — the spacing, weight, and color of the lines are carefully calibrated for comfortable writing over long periods.

Features Verdict

Winner: Leuchtturm1917. If you value built-in organization — numbered pages, table of contents, bookmark ribbons, and a back pocket — the Leuchtturm provides features the Campus doesn’t attempt. If you prefer a blank-slate notebook that lets you build your own system, the Campus’s minimalism is a feature, not a limitation. But on pure feature count, the Leuchtturm wins this category.

Price and Value

This is where the comparison gets uncomfortable for the Leuchtturm1917.

The Numbers

Metric	Leuchtturm1917 (A5)	Kokuyo Campus (B5 5-pack)
Price	~$22	~$10
Pages	251	200 (5 x 40 pages)
Cost per page	~$0.09	~$0.05
Cost per sheet	~$0.17	~$0.10

The Kokuyo Campus is dramatically cheaper. A five-pack of Campus notebooks costs roughly half the price of a single Leuchtturm, and the paper quality is arguably better. Even accounting for the Leuchtturm’s organizational features (numbered pages, index, ribbons), the price differential is stark.

The Leuchtturm’s premium covers the hardcover binding, organizational features, and brand prestige. Whether those things are worth a 4-5x price-per-page premium is a personal calculation. For some users, the Leuchtturm’s all-in-one, premium-feel package justifies the cost. For others, excellent paper at a fraction of the price is the only calculation that matters.

Value Verdict

Winner: Kokuyo Campus, overwhelmingly. On a pure value basis — paper quality relative to price — the Kokuyo Campus is one of the best deals in stationery. The Leuchtturm1917 offers premium features that justify some price premium, but not a 4-5x premium per page. If your budget matters at all, the Campus delivers more for less.

Browse Kokuyo Campus 5-Packs on Amazon

Who Should Buy Which?

Buy the Leuchtturm1917 if:

• You want a single, long-lasting notebook — 251 pages in one volume means months of writing without switching notebooks
• You value organizational features — Numbered pages, table of contents, and bookmark ribbons add genuine utility for reference-heavy use
• You use ballpoints or pencils primarily — The paper performs well with these instruments
• You want a premium, professional look — The hardcover, clean design, and wide color selection project quality
• You’re bullet journaling — The dot grid option with pre-numbered pages is popular in the bullet journal community, though we’d note that the paper’s ghosting can be frustrating with some bujo pen setups
• You’re gifting a notebook — The Leuchtturm presents well and feels like a gift; a $2 Campus notebook does not

Buy the Kokuyo Campus if:

• Paper quality is your top priority — Kokuyo’s paper outperforms the Leuchtturm for ink handling, ghosting resistance, and pen versatility
• You use fountain pens — The Campus handles fountain pens significantly better than the Leuchtturm
• You want value — Five Campus notebooks cost less than one Leuchtturm
• You prefer thinner, lighter notebooks — The staple-bound Campus is slim and ultra-portable
• You write in B5 format — The standard Campus B5 size is excellent and the Leuchtturm’s B5 option is less widely available
• You go through notebooks quickly — At $2-5 each, replacing filled Campus notebooks is painless
• You prefer minimalism — No pre-printed features means total freedom to use the notebook however you want
• You want to try Japanese stationery — The Campus is the perfect entry point. See our Japanese stationery beginner’s guide for more starter recommendations.

The “Both” Option

Many stationery enthusiasts use both notebooks for different purposes. A common setup:

• Leuchtturm1917 for a personal journal or commonplace book — something you write in carefully, reference later, and keep on a shelf
• Kokuyo Campus for daily work notes, class notes, project scratch pads — functional writing that doesn’t need premium binding

This isn’t a cop-out recommendation. The two notebooks genuinely excel at different things, and using each for its strengths gives you the best of both worlds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Leuchtturm1917 worth the price premium over Kokuyo Campus?

It depends entirely on what you’re paying for. If you value the numbered pages, table of contents, hardcover binding, bookmark ribbons, and back pocket — features the Campus doesn’t offer — the premium can be justified. If you primarily care about paper quality and value, the Campus delivers more for less. We’d say the Leuchtturm is worth it for reference notebooks you’ll keep and revisit; the Campus is the better choice for consumable, everyday writing.

Which notebook is better for bullet journaling?

The Leuchtturm1917 dot grid has been the default bullet journal notebook for years, and its numbered pages and table of contents support the bullet journal method natively. However, the paper’s ghosting is a genuine issue — many bullet journalers use markers, highlighters, and multiple pen colors that exacerbate ghosting. The Kokuyo Campus grid notebook handles those same pens with less ghosting. Our recommendation: try the Leuchtturm first (the bullet journal community has extensive resources for it), then consider the Campus if ghosting frustrates you.

Can I use Pilot Iroshizuku fountain pen inks in the Leuchtturm1917?

You can, but expect noticeable ghosting. Iroshizuku inks tend to be on the wetter side, and the Leuchtturm’s paper doesn’t resist wet inks as well as the Kokuyo Campus. With fine nibs, the results are acceptable. With medium or broad nibs, you’ll likely need to skip the back of each page. For the best Iroshizuku experience, the Kokuyo Campus or a Midori MD Notebook are better choices.

Do either of these notebooks use Tomoe River paper?

No. The Leuchtturm uses its own 80gsm paper, and the Kokuyo Campus uses Kokuyo’s proprietary 75gsm paper. Tomoe River paper is found in notebooks like the Hobonichi Techo and select Midori products. For a comparison involving Kokuyo paper versus another premium Japanese option, see our Kokuyo Campus vs Midori MD comparison.

Which notebook lays flatter?

The Kokuyo Campus staple-bound notebooks lay perfectly flat — as flat as a single sheet of paper. The Leuchtturm1917 lays flat well thanks to its thread-bound construction, but the hardcover resists slightly when the notebook is new. After breaking in (a week or two of use), the Leuchtturm lays flat comfortably. For immediate, perfect lay-flat performance, the Campus wins.

Are there other notebooks I should consider alongside these two?

Absolutely. The Japanese notebook market is deep. The Midori MD Notebook offers premium paper quality in a thread-bound binding at a mid-range price. The Maruman Mnemosyne provides excellent paper in a spiral-bound format. And for a detailed landscape of options, see our best Japanese notebooks roundup.

Which notebook is more environmentally friendly?

Both companies have sustainability programs, though specifics vary. Kokuyo Campus notebooks use less material overall (thinner covers, lighter construction), which inherently means less waste per notebook. The Leuchtturm1917 is built to last longer per volume, potentially reducing total consumption if you’d otherwise go through multiple cheaper notebooks. Neither notebook has significant environmental red flags.

Can I get the Kokuyo Campus with numbered pages?

Not from Kokuyo — page numbering isn’t a feature they offer. However, numbering pages yourself is straightforward. Many Campus users number pages by hand as they write — adding the number to the corner of each page as they reach it rather than pre-numbering the entire notebook. It takes seconds per page and provides the same reference utility as pre-printed numbers.

Final Verdict

The Leuchtturm1917 and Kokuyo Campus represent two valid but fundamentally different approaches to notebook design.

The Leuchtturm1917 is a feature-complete journal: hardcover, numbered pages, index, bookmarks, and a back pocket all in one premium package. It’s designed for people who want a notebook that does the organizational work for them and looks good doing it. Its weakness — paper quality with wet inks — is real but not disqualifying for ballpoint and pencil users.

The Kokuyo Campus is a paper-first workhorse: excellent writing surface, functional binding, minimal extras, and a price that makes it essentially disposable. It’s designed for people who care most about how the pen feels on the page and don’t need their notebook to organize itself. Its weakness — lack of features — is deliberate, not an oversight.

If we had to choose one notebook for the rest of our lives, we’d choose the Kokuyo Campus. The paper is better, the value is extraordinary, and the simplicity is liberating. But we’d miss the Leuchtturm’s numbered pages and bookmark ribbons — which is why we keep both in our rotation.

Our recommendation: Buy a Kokuyo Campus five-pack and a single Leuchtturm1917. Use them both. The experience of using each will tell you more about your notebook preferences than any review can.

For more notebook comparisons and recommendations, see our best Japanese notebooks roundup, Kokuyo Campus vs Midori MD comparison, and our full Kokuyo Campus Notebook review.