It has always been a good idea to know the best price for school supplies before you go shopping, but these days, prices fluctuate wildly. It’s more beneficial than ever before to comparison shop. I used to say if you wanted to save time, you could do all your supply shopping at Walmart or even at Kroger (during school supply sales only), but now I’m seeing such crazy price increases on random items, that advice no longer holds true.
Why Comparison Shopping Matters More This Year
Imagine this scenario: There are 20 items in your cart. Let’s say you’ve saved a total of $5 on 19 of them by shopping really smart and comparison shopping, but on that last thing, you inadvertently overpaid by $5. That’s a wash; no savings at all. Worse, and maybe more common, you accidentally overpay by $10 because on that particular item you just don’t know the usual price.
This is the same idea behind knowing your buy prices — once you have your numbers memorized, spotting a real deal takes no effort at all.
Some folks do not think it’s worth getting this picky about school supply prices. To those folks I say, “Congratulations! You have lots of money.” I really am happy for them.
I don’t find myself to be in the position of lots of spare cash lying around and even if I was, I’ve lived frugally so long I’m not sure I could turn it off. I’d use the savings to help others, or save for the future, or buy a glamorous dog collar for the puppy. Something. I wouldn’t want to donate it to a store, LOL. 😀
Anyway, to help you shop frugally I’ve spent way too much time on this school supply price list below. Enjoy, and let me know in the comments below what you plan to do with the money you’ve saved on back-to-school shopping!
If you see quality school supplies on sale for LESS than the prices below, you know you’re getting an amazing deal. You may want to consider stocking up if you know you’ll need to restock later this year.
School Supply Price List (Updated 2026)
|
Item |
Price |
|---|---|
|
Sharpie permanent marker |
.75 |
|
Crayola crayons, 24ct |
.50 |
|
Crayola markers, 10ct |
$1 |
|
Crayola colored pencils, 12ct |
$1 |
|
Elmer’s school glue, 4oz |
.50 |
|
Elmer’s washable purple glue sticks, 2ct |
.50 |
|
spiral notebooks, 70 sheets |
.35 |
|
poly folder with pockets or prongs |
.50 |
|
ballpoint pens, 10ct |
$1 |
|
pink erasers, 2ct |
.50 |
|
highlighters, 5ct |
$2 |
|
2-hole pencil sharpener |
.50 |
|
notebook filler paper, 150 sheets |
$1 |
|
pencil box or plastic storage case |
$1 |
|
5-inch kid scissors |
$1 |
|
Ticonderoga pencils, 12ct |
$3 |
|
composition books |
.50 |
|
regular pencils, 12ct |
.50 |
|
generic school glue, 4oz |
.25 |
|
3×5 index cards, 100ct |
.50 |
|
Expo dry-erase markers |
$1 |
Where You Can Find These Deals
This year, major box retailers are working hard to keep prices down and keep customers, which is great news for us. The stores that consistently have the cheapest school supply prices (on basic supplies) are Walmart, Kroger, and Target.
Sam’s Club often has good prices on bulk supplies; if you can find what you’re looking for and you need a lot of them, Sam’s is the place to shop. I recently got a great deal on a 24-pack of Sharpie permanent markers. Anyone need a Sharpie? I have a ton!
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