Going back to school is more expensive than ever this year in Spain

This September is the most expensive back-to-school period in Spain’s history, according to two separate analyses - one from price comparison site Idealo and another from financial comparator Banqmi (iAhorro) - with Idealo putting the average spend per student at 505.16 euros.

But families aren’t without options: swapping paper textbooks for digital ones and buying second hand products are both cutting money off the bill.

Idealo’s tracked “basic basket”, consisting of sports tracksuits, a backpack, stationery, sports shoes and paper textbooks, now costs 505.16 euros per student, up from 425.01 euros in 2022. That’s an increase of just over 80 euros, or roughly 19% in four years.

But the pace of increase has actually slowed: this year’s rise over 2025 was just 0.78%, the smallest year-on-year jump in the five-year run, even as the total has now cleared the 500-euro mark for the second year running.

Idealo’s figures reveal that textbooks, in the regions where families have to pay for them, remain by far the biggest single cost, at 371.73 euros - around 73.6% of the whole basket cost - but they are also the slowest-rising item this year, up only 1.67% from 2025.

On the other hand, school backpacks mark the biggest price increase. Their cost has jumped 11.25%, from 29.42 to 32.73 euros, making them the fastest-rising item in the basket. The price of stationery (notebooks, folders, pencil cases) has risen 5.26%, to 50.80 euros.

Not everything has increased, though. Tracksuits have fallen 19.56% (from 26.07 to 20.97 euros) and trainers have dropped 9.22% (from 31.87 to 28.93 euros) - a reminder that sportswear is pulling the average down even as school supplies and bags pull it up.

Idealo’s findings also suggest that swapping paper textbooks for digital ones is the single biggest way to cut the bill: doing so brings the total price of the basket down from 505.16 to 340.83 euros - a saving of 164.33 euros, or about 32.5%.

But although digital books are still far cheaper in absolute terms, their price has grown by nearly twice the rate of paper books over four years and buying digital also requires a computer or tablet, a cost the basket does not include.

With prices at a record high this year, people are turning to second-hand items to ease the blow on their wallet.

As a result, resale platforms are seeing unusual traffic. According to companies in the sector, “Between late June and early September, sales of second-hand school supplies surge”.

As stated by Wallapop, a Spanish digital platform for the selling of second-hand items, more than half (54%) of families in Spain now buy at least one item, such as a maths textbook, a uniform jumper, or a calculator, second-hand, saving an average of 111 euros per student per year.

Wallapop also puts potential household savings as high as 200 euros per child, and notes buying used items can roughly halve the cost of books specifically.

Textbooks are the single most searched item on resale platforms (44% of searches) and they are “establishing themselves as the product with the greatest resale potential” followed by electronics like tablets and calculators (15%), uniforms and sports kit (11%) and backpacks and accessories (10%).

According to financial comparator Banqmi, “the start of the school year is one of the most financially challenging times of the year for families”.

Banqmi’s regional breakdown for the total back-to-school cost during the academic year puts the national average at 429.28 euros, but the range is wide.

The results reveal different expenses across the county. There’s a gap of roughly 87 euros - about 21% - between the regions that spend the most on back-to-school materials, with Andalucía among the highest figures.

Aside from considering digital textbooks and buying second-hand items, consumer organisations have various tips to help with increasing back to school expenses.

Idealo recommends avoiding impulse purchases and first checking which materials from the previous academic year can still be used. For example, backpacks, pencil cases and calculators can be used for more than one school year.

Another suggestion is to compare prices, as the same product may be priced differently depending on the shop and when you buy it.

A third tip is to distinguish between the items that are essential for the start of term and those that can wait, as not all school supplies need to be bought before the first day of term.