Top Yellow Pad Brands that Make Notetaking a Breeze

Finding the perfect yellow notepad can be a game-changer for organization and creativity enthusiasts alike. With a multitude of brands offering various sizes, papers, and features, navigating the sea of options can be overwhelming. Some standout brands in the market are renowned for their durability, paper quality, and usability. To help you pick the right yellow pad for your needs, we've compiled a comprehensive list of the best brands below.

Illustration of yellow pad

Best brands of yellow pad in 2025

Tops

TOPS brand is a leading producer of yellow legal pads, with a history dating back to the late 1800s, offering a wide range of paper weights and sizes including the popular 8.5" x 11.75" option; their pads, often featuring 50 sheets of 16 lb or 20 lb paper, are known for quality construction and include features like Letr-Trim perforation for clean sheet removal and sturdy chipboard backing for writing support. These pads come with either wide or narrow rulings and a distinctive left margin, catering to various writing preferences; TOPS pads, made in the USA, are widely available in retail locations and online, making them a reliable choice for everyday use. You can find their products at TOPS Products.

Ampad

Ampad, founded in 1888 by Thomas Holley, is a premier producer of yellow legal pads, renowned for their distinctive canary yellow color. With a significant portion of the market, Ampad was reportedly responsible for 60% of legal pads sold by the mid-20th century. These pads typically feature a 1.25-inch red margin on the left side and are available in various sizes and rulings such as legal and narrow ruled with 50 or 100 sheets, providing a reliable writing experience for professionals and everyday users. You can find Ampad products here.

Mead

Mead, a well-known brand founded in 1930, stands out as a leading producer of yellow legal pads, offering a variety of options like the classic 8.5" x 11" size with 50 sheets, often featuring 15 lb canary yellow paper and wide or college-ruled lines, ensuring a reliable writing experience; they also provide options like wire-bound pads containing 70 sheets of 20 lb paper. With a long history of providing quality paper products, Mead continues to be a popular choice for both professional and personal use and can be found in most office supply stores.

Roaring Spring

Roaring Spring, established in 1866, is a well-known American producer of paper products, including high-quality yellow legal pads, often made with 15 lb or 20 lb canary paper and containing recycled materials with at least 30% post-consumer waste. These pads are offered in various sizes like 8.5" x 11" and 11" x 9.5" landscape. Typically, they feature 40 to 50 micro-perforated sheets with legal or college ruling, secured with staple and tape binding. Roaring Spring's commitment to environmental sustainability and product quality has made them a prominent name in the paper products industry.

Five Star

Five Star is a well-known brand that produces high-quality yellow pads, often featuring a feint blue ruling with a red margin and a perforated top for easy sheet removal, with some of their yellow pads containing 50 sheets of smooth, 60gsm paper per pad. While not specifically holding a dominant market share in the yellow pad sector, Five Star is a trusted and established supplier of various stationery products, including notebooks and pads, according to OfficeStationery.co.uk. Five Star is known for its commitment to quality, as seen in their other products like saddle pads made from 100% virgin wool, and this dedication is also reflected in their paper products. You can explore their range of products on Amazon.

U Brands

U Brands is a prominent producer of yellow legal pads, known for their quality and reliability, offering various sizes including the standard 8.5" x 11" and junior 5" x 8" pads, often featuring college-ruled lines and a side margin for organized note-taking. Although specific market share data for yellow pads is unavailable, U Brands is recognized for its stationery and office products, emphasizing innovative and creative designs. Their commitment to quality is reflected in their diverse product line, often using soy-based ink and paper from well-managed forests.

Office Depot

Office Depot, founded in 1986, is a prominent retailer of office supplies, including their widely used yellow writing pads which are favored for their 16-lb paper that's great for everyday use; these pads feature a 30-pt chipboard backing for support, and the sheets are often legal-ruled for neatness, with some options having a 13% recycled content. Many users appreciate the consistent quality and the ease of tearing off sheets, making them a reliable choice for note-taking, with some packs containing 50 sheets and being available in packs of 8 or 12. The Office Depot brand has received high ratings with many 5-star reviews from customers for their yellow pads.

AmazonBasics

AmazonBasics is a popular brand, holding 57.8% of Amazon's private label sales in 2019, and their yellow legal pads, often sold in 12-packs with 50 sheets each, feature wide ruling and perforated tops for easy sheet removal, using 16-pound, 24 GSM paper, with many consumers preferring private labels such as this for their cost savings; the yellow color is a traditional choice for legal pads, dating back to the late 1800s.

Staples

Staples brand, a trusted name in office supplies, is a leading producer of yellow notepads, offering various sizes including 8.5" x 11" and 8.5" x 14", with options for both wide and narrow ruled lines. These notepads typically contain 50 or 100 microperforated sheets per pad for easy removal and are available in multi-packs of 6 or 12. Known for their canary yellow paper that helps reduce glare, Staples notepads are ideal for note-taking in various lighting conditions.

National Brand

National Brand is a well-known producer of yellow legal pads, a common office supply since their invention in 1888, with a distinctive yellow color, though the exact reason is debated, and a red margin that was requested by a judge around 1900 for note-taking; though it's hard to pin down an exact market share percentage, National Brand's products can be found in various retailers, and they produce a variety of paper products beyond just yellow pads, maintaining a strong presence in the industry; some users even consider their engineering pads to be ideal, and while white paper has become popular in recent years due to recycling efforts, yellow pads are still widely sold and used, holding a place in many office settings and creative spaces.