Filofax Original Personal: Rings, Page Size & Refills

Drawing of the Filofax Original Personal leather organiser, 188 × 135 × 38 mm, closed with its strap and opened flat to show six 23 mm rings holding 95 × 171 mm pages — The Original Personal closed and open, drawn to scale (1 mm = 1 px).

Product facts

Product: Filofax The Original Personal Leather Organiser (6-ring, 23 mm)
Brand: Filofax
Brand origin: United Kingdom
Made in: United Kingdom^*
Material: Thick leather (per Filofax); satchel-style, saddle-stitched (per Filofax's blog)
Released: 2012^*
Price range: $$$$over $75 for the cover or binder with its starter insert

Notes on these facts

Made in United Kingdom: Filofax's UK, US and Canadian product pages all say The Original is made in the UK. Other Filofax organisers are made elsewhere: Milligram lists the Malden Compact Zip as made in China, and a UK retailer lists the faux-leather Moonlight Personal as made in China. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Filofax's blog says the first organiser in The Original collection came out in 2012, modelled on its first organisers.
Price bands are typical US retail, checked October 2026. Conversions to US dollars are approximate, at October 2026 rates (US$1 = ¥158 = ₩1,330 = NT$32.5 = CN¥6.7 = SEK 9.9 = DKK 6.7 = ₺49.6 = C$1.41 = A$1.43; €1 = US$1.12; £1 = US$1.32; CHF 1 = US$1.21).

Key takeaways

The Original Personal measures 188 × 135 × 38 mm (7.4 × 5.3 × 1.5 in) and has 23 mm (0.9 in) rings, per Filofax.
Personal refill pages are 95 × 171 mm (3.7 × 6.7 in) and punched with 6 holes.
A hole-spacing reference gives Personal as two groups of three holes 19 mm apart, with 51 mm between the groups.
Filofax's other main page sizes are Mini 67 × 105 mm (5 rings), Pocket 81 × 120 mm and A5 148 × 210 mm.
Filofax says the business began as Norman and Hill Ltd., founded in London on June 6, 1921.

What is the Filofax Original Personal?

The Original Personal is Filofax’s classic leather ring organiser: a strap-closed cover with six 23 mm rings that hold loose, punched pages. Personal is the most common Filofax size, and The Original is the leather model Filofax says is made in the UK.

You add or remove diaries, notes, address pages and dividers as you like.

Filofax’s UK page lists the starter contents: an undated year planner, blank dividers, dotted, plain and ruled paper (including blue, green and pink ruled sheets), to-do lists, contacts, a ruler/page marker, an envelope and a 20-sheet dotted notepad.

Every colour is sold “No Diary”, without a dated refill. Inside, the left side has two card pockets, a vertical slip pocket, two elastic pen loops and an elastic holder; the right side has a slip pocket and a jot pad pocket.

Filofax Original Personal specs

Spec	Value
Size (closed)	188 × 135 × 38 mm (7.4 × 5.3 × 1.5 in)
Rings	6, 23 mm (0.9 in) capacity
Page size	Personal, 95 × 171 mm (3.7 × 6.7 in)
Hole spacing	19 mm within each group of 3; 51 mm between groups (reference site)
Material	Leather
Closure	Strap
Dated diary	Not included (“No Diary” on Filofax’s UK, US and Canadian pages)
Colours	Black, Dark Aqua, Midnight Blue, Pillarbox Red (Filofax UK)
Item code / barcode	022508 / 5059145566099 (Black, Filofax UK)
Made in	United Kingdom (per Filofax)

Size, rings, material and origin come from Filofax’s UK, US and Canadian product pages. The page size comes from refill listings, and the hole spacing from a hole-spacing reference site, not from Filofax.

To scale: Filofax Mini 105 × 67 mm, Pocket 120 × 81 mm, Personal 171 × 95 mm and A5 210 × 148 mm pages; Personal holes in two groups of three, 19 mm apart, 51 mm between groups — Personal pages are as tall as Bible-size pages but much narrower than A5.

Which Filofax size should you choose?

Choose Personal for a planner you carry every day, A5 for a desk planner, and Pocket or Mini for a wallet-sized list book.

Size	Page	Holes	Example ring size
Mini	67 × 105 mm	5	15 mm (Minis since 2021, per Woolworths)
Pocket	81 × 120 mm	6	19 mm (Malden Pocket)
Personal	95 × 171 mm	6	23 mm (The Original)
A5	148 × 210 mm	6	30 mm (Malden A5)

Page sizes come from The Well-Appointed Desk’s size guide; ring sizes from Filofax and retailer listings. Compact organisers take Personal pages on smaller rings: Milligram lists 15 mm rings on the Malden Compact Zip.

Do other brands’ refills fit a Filofax Personal?

Yes, if they’re the six-ring Personal format, which several brands sell under different names. The Well-Appointed Desk notes that Kikki K, DayRunner and Day-Timer also use Personal-size pages. PLOTTER’s Bible refills are 170 × 93 mm, a millimetre or two smaller.

Hole spacing matters more than the name. Check a refill against the 19/51 mm pattern before buying in bulk.

What inserts are available for the Filofax Personal?

Filofax sells Personal-size notepaper, notepads, dated diaries, to-do sheets, dividers and storage inserts, each with its own item code. These are the main ones on Filofax’s own sites.

Insert	Item code	What it is	Maker or third-party
White Ruled Notepaper	133008	30 ruled white sheets	Filofax
White Ruled Notepaper Value Pack	133047	100 ruled white sheets	Filofax
White Plain Notepaper		30 plain white sheets	Filofax
White Quadrille Notepaper		20 squared white sheets	Filofax
White Ruled Notepad	132210	40-sheet pad that clips to the rings or sits in a rear pocket on some models	Filofax
Month on Two Pages Diary 2027	27-68425	Monthly diary with tabs, 128 g/m² white paper	Filofax
Minimal Week on Two Pages Diary 2027	27-68490	Horizontal week across two pages, white paper	Filofax
One Day on Two Pages Diary 2027	27-68417	Day per spread, English and French, 80 g/m² paper	Filofax
To Do Refill	132204	20 to-do sheets	Filofax
White Dividers	132872	Six white card dividers with blank tabs	Filofax
Cotton Cream Subject Dividers	131678	Six pre-printed tab dividers	Filofax
Zip Closure Envelope	133618	Personal-size envelope with a zip closure	Filofax

Codes, sheet counts and paper weights come from Filofax’s UK and US product pages. The US site lists the to-do refill under a different code, 132864.

Filofax groups everything that fits on its Personal-compatible refills page, which also covers Personal Clipbooks.

How much does the Filofax Original cost?

The Original Personal falls in our $$$$ band (over $75 for a cover with its starter insert). On October 20, 2026, Filofax’s UK store listed it at £80 (about US$106), and its US store at US$125.

How does it compare with other systems?

A Filofax holds far more pages than a PLOTTER Leather Binder, whose rings are 11 mm, but it’s more than twice as thick. Elastic-band systems such as the TRAVELER’S notebook use bound refills instead of loose pages. Our notebook systems comparison puts all five side by side.

Where is the Filofax Original made?

Filofax’s UK, US and Canadian product pages say The Original is made in the UK. Not every Filofax is: Milligram lists the Malden Compact Zip as made in China, and a UK office supplier lists the faux-leather Moonlight Personal the same way.

The brand is British. Filofax says it began as Norman and Hill Ltd., founded in London on June 6, 1921. Wikipedia traces the design to American Lefax organisers that the firm imported, and the name to “file of facts”.

Frequently asked questions

What size is a Filofax Personal page?

A Filofax Personal page is 95 × 171 mm (3.7 × 6.7 in), punched with six holes. Some retailers round it to 95 × 170 mm.

What size are the rings on the Filofax Original Personal?

Filofax lists a 23 mm (0.9 in) ring capacity for The Original Personal. Other Personal organisers differ: the Malden Compact Zip has 15 mm rings.

What is the hole spacing on Filofax Personal refills?

A hole-spacing reference gives Personal as 19/51 mm: two groups of three holes, 19 mm apart within a group, with 51 mm between the groups. Filofax doesn't publish the spacing in the sources we found, so check against a refill before punching your own.

Is Filofax Personal the same as Bible size?

They're the same page format family. Filofax Personal is 95 × 171 mm, and PLOTTER's Bible refills are 170 × 93 mm; other brands sell the size under their own names.

Where is the Filofax Original made?

Filofax's product pages say The Original is made in the UK. That isn't true of every Filofax: some models, such as the Malden Compact Zip, are listed as made in China.

Does the Filofax Original come with a diary?

Filofax's Canadian page says The Original Personal does not include a dated refill. Diaries are sold separately as yearly refills.

What does Filofax stand for?

The name is usually traced to "file of facts". Filofax says the company began as Norman and Hill Ltd. in London in 1921 and later renamed itself after its organiser.

Sources (28)

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