Spain’s back-to-school bill tops €500 as parents debate the pressure to buy new every year

It’s here again, the ‘Back-to-school’ pressure. Lists are being prepared, adverts are hotting the screens and shops have images of cheerful children skipping into school with fresh clothes and back packs splattered across their window displays, but what is the cost amounting to come September?

Spain ranks high in equipment costs

Spain has ranked second only to Italy in recent European comparisons of the financial burden of school equipment, putting Spanish families among those facing the highest costs for getting children ready for a new school year. Figures for 2026 show why the issue is sensitive for parents.

Idealo’s 2026 analysis puts the average back-to-school basket at €505 per pupil, with the total around 19% higher than it was in 2022. Textbooks account for the bulk of the expense, with several everyday school items jumping up in cost. The shiny new backpack, fresh zip with your new favourite character on it, well these are one of the biggest movers this year, with prices up 11.25% compared with 2025 and stationery has risen by 5.26%

It’s not all bad, not everything has gone up. Tracksuits are around 19% cheaper, falling from roughly €26 to €21, and sports footwear has dropped by about 9%.

The back-to-school parent trap

September can create a particular kind of pressure, the feeling that a new school year should mean a completely new set of belongings. Yes, a child may genuinely need new shoes because they have grown, or a replacement backpack because the old one is damaged, but do they need a brand to set of everything each year?

A perfectly good bag can suddenly seem old because classmates have new ones and styles have changed. A lunch box that worked perfectly well last term may no longer feel exciting. Stationery can become part of the annual ritual, with children wanting fresh pencil cases, notebooks and pens even when supplies from the previous year remain usable. That creates a difficult balance for parents. Buying new items can be an enjoyable childhood tradition, but replacing everything every year can also feel wasteful when household budgets are already under pressure.

Each year there is more and more movement online to change this mindset and make it the norm to not have to have this pressure. Idealo recommends checking existing supplies before shopping and separating essentials from items that can wait. Its advice includes comparing prices, using price alerts and considering second-hand options for products such as textbooks, uniforms and school equipment.

Parents are divided over buying new every year

Comments shared online show just how differently families approach the annual school shop.

Some parents see new school equipment as an important part of childhood. One parent said they “buy new every year”, admitting that it can feel wasteful when items remain in good condition, but remembering how exciting it was as a child to choose a new school bag and stationery.

Another took an even stronger position, arguing that children should have new lunch bags, bottles, backpacks and uniforms every year, saying they “would never expect their child to not have new”.

One said they refuse to buy a new bag every year, describing new pencil cases, bottles, lunch boxes and bags annually as unnecessary and saying they would not give in simply because their child wanted something new.

A different parent said they agreed with buying new items when needed, but viewed replacing a perfectly good bag as a waste of money. If children have their own money and want something that is not necessary, they suggested letting them pay for it as a lesson in budgeting.

One parent described their approach as paying when a daughter need something, while asking her to earn or pay for things she simply wants. For that family, the school shop becomes an opportunity to teach children that money is limited rather than an automatic annual spending spree.

With the average school bill now above €500, maybe that pencil case covered in tippex will actually be fine for another few months after all.