How much do school supplies cost in Mexico

What Profeco found for the SEP list

Mexico's consumer protection agency, the Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor (Profeco), checks what the SEP's suggested list costs during the back-to-school season. In its August 25, 2025 report for the 2025–2026 school year, presented by Federal Consumer Attorney Iván Escalante Ruiz, the full first- and second-grade list cost between $203.87 pesos at the cheapest and $418.80 at the most expensive. Third grade, which adds a pen and a ruler, ran from $223.68 to $454.81. Fourth to sixth grade, which adds a geometry set, ran from $237.68 to $493.82. The three grades of secundaria ran from $295.04 to $598.82.

Profeco's monitoring started on June 16, 2025 and covered 689 back-to-school products, and Escalante Ruiz stressed that prices depend on the city and the store. That gap is the useful part: at every level, the most expensive version of the same list cost roughly twice the cheapest.

Two cautions when you use these numbers for 2026. The 2026–2027 SEP list adds a pack of 50 white sheets to every primaria grade and to secundaria, which the 2025–2026 totals do not include. And secundaria asks for one notebook per subject, so its real total depends on how many subjects your child has.

What single items cost

For the 2026–2027 season, Profeco reported on August 17, 2026 that it was monitoring 734 back-to-school products, including supplies, uniforms and sneakers. It gave two examples: a 12-piece pack of wooden colored pencils ranged from $28.70 to $75.00 pesos, and scissors from $14.89 to $26.90.

Its July 31, 2025 report on individual items shows how wide the range can be for one product. A 100-sheet professional large-grid notebook went from $19.50 to $129.00. A 30 cm plastic ruler started at $14.00. Scissors ran from $14.60 to $72.00, a three-pack of ballpoint pens from $12.00 to $23.00, and a glue stick from $12.20 to $30.00. Liquid glue ranged from $12.40 to $85.00, although the cheapest and the most expensive bottles were different sizes.

Notebooks deserve the most attention because the list asks for several. Fourth to sixth grade needs five, four small-grid and one lined. At Profeco's lowest and highest 2025 prices for a 100-sheet professional notebook, five notebooks would cost $97.50 or $645.00.

Other estimates you will see

News outlets publish their own figures, and they rarely match Profeco's. In August 2026 the newspaper El Imparcial estimated the 2026–2027 list from INEGI average prices for July 2026 at $412.60 for first and second grade of primaria, $610.35 for third grade, and $1,094.05 for fourth to sixth grade and secundaria.

The difference is mostly method. Profeco reports the lowest and highest totals it observed in stores, while El Imparcial built its estimate from official average prices. Different methods give different answers, which is why pricing your own list, with your own stores and what you already have at home, beats any headline number.

What schools can and cannot require

Profeco's guidance on private schools, issued on July 26, 2025 and based on guidelines published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on March 10, 1992, says schools must let families choose freely where to buy supplies, uniforms, books or materials, without imposing specific suppliers or places of purchase. It also says schools must accept supplies and uniforms that are not new, as long as they are in good condition, and books as long as they are current editions.

The SEP's own list says teachers may suggest materials beyond the minimum for projects and activities, while making sure buying them is not an economic burden for families. Its 2026–2027 text also promotes reusing what families already have at home.

This guide summarizes guidance published by Profeco and the SEP. It is not legal advice. If you have a dispute with a school, Profeco is the agency to contact.

How to spend less

Profeco's back-to-school shopping guide reads like a checklist. Review last year's supplies and reuse what is in good condition. Skip the pricier products decorated with fashionable characters. Shop with the list in hand and buy only what is on it. Check that each item is complete and undamaged before paying, keep the receipts in case you need an exchange, and avoid the informal market.

Compare before you buy. Profeco's Quién es Quién en los Precios service publishes prices by product, store and city. In a shopping guide published in 2016, Profeco found price differences from 7 percent to 463 percent between the cheapest and the most expensive versions of the same school items, and a 518 percent spread on spiral notebooks, equal to $51.80 on a single notebook. The figures are old, but the 2025 notebook range of $19.50 to $129.00 shows the pattern has not gone away.

Common budgeting mistakes

Budgeting only for the SEP list. The SEP list is a minimum. Teachers may add materials, and uniforms and shoes are separate costs that Profeco monitors alongside supplies.

Counting secundaria notebooks too late. One notebook per subject adds up quickly, and each teacher picks the type. Find out the subjects and rulings before buying notebooks in bulk.

Paying for what is already at home. Go through drawers before the first trip. A geometry set or a pair of scissors from last year costs nothing.

Losing the running total. After two or three store trips, receipts end up in different bags. ListaEscolar keeps the SEP list for the grade with a price next to each item and shows what you have spent and what the remaining items come to, with reused and at-home items costing nothing.

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