Back-to-School: Comparing prices for school supplies

BALTIMORE, MD (WBFF) — Back-to-school is right around the corner, which means it’s time to do some shopping. But which site will give you the best deals?

We compared the prices of the same or similar items at Walmart, Target and Amazon to see which would add up to the best shopping cart.

Lunchboxes, notebooks, pens, pencils, glue sticks and highlighters came out to be even across the board.

Binders turned out to be cheaper on Amazon, typically.

Amazon and Target sold cheaper planners and calculators than Walmart, while Walmart and Amazon had cheaper backpacks than Target.

Target and Walmart had significantly cheaper folders and erasers.

Walmart had the overall best deals on pencil cases.

Total shopping cart(s):

• Walmart was the cheapest, coming in at $118.43 before tax
• Amazon at $128.82
• Target at $130.19

Notebooks:

• Target: $6.79 (Five Star 150pg 5 Subject College Ruled Notebook 9.5″x6″: Spiral, School Supplies, Acid-Free, Water-Resistant, Multicolored)
• Walmart: $6.97 (Five Star Spiral Notebook + Study App, 5 Subject, Wide Ruled, 8″ x 10.5″, Amethyst)
• Amazon: $6.72 (Five Star Spiral Notebook + Study App, 5 Subject, College Ruled Paper, 8-1/2″ x 11″, 200 Sheets, Fights Ink Bleed, Water Resistant Cover, Pacific Blue (73635))

Binders:

• Target: $4.39 (Avery Standard View 3 Ring Binder, 1″ Round Rings, 175-Sheet Capacity, 1.4 Inch Wide Spine, 1 White Binder, Ideal for Lightweight Organization)
• Walmart: $4.24 (Pen+Gear Durable View 1-inch D-Ring Binder, Black)
• Amazon: $2.99 (Avery Standard View 3 Ring Binder, 1″ Round Rings, 175-Sheet Capacity, 1.4 Inch Wide Spine, 1 White Binder, Ideal for Lightweight Organization and Occasional Referencing (05711))

Folders:

• Target: $0.50 (2 Pocket Plastic Folder with Prongs Black – up&up™)
• Walmart: $0.50 (Pen+Gear, 3-Prong Poly Folder, Black)
• Amazon: $3.99 (Sooez 1 Pack Plastic Folder, 2-Pocket Folders with Prongs | Fit Letter Size Paper, Sturdy 3 Prong File Folders for Documents, Folders with Pockets Back to School Supplies for Kids)

Planners:

• Target: $7.99 (Blue Sky 8″x10″ Student Planner AY 2026-2027 Weekly/Monthly Spiral Non-Tabbed Fern Green)
• Walmart: $10.86 (Blue Sky 2026-2027 Monthly Academic Year Planner Calendar, July 2026 – June 2027, 8″ x 10″, Monthly Layout, Flexible Cover, Laminated Tabs, Wirebound, Chanson)
• Amazon: $8.99 (Blue Sky 2026-2027 Monthly Academic Planner Calendar, 8″x10″, Chanson | July 2026 – June 2027, Flexible Cover, Laminated Tabs, Wirebound, Academic Year)

Pencils:

• Target: $3.69 (Ticonderoga 18ct Pencil Presharp Yellow: No. 2 Wood Cased, 1.0mm Point, Erasable, School Supplies for Kids, Ages 5+)
• Walmart: $4.47 (Ticonderoga Wood Pencils, Unsharpened, #2 HB .3 mm Lead, Yellow, 24 Count)
• Amazon: $3.69 (Ticonderoga Wood-Cased Pencils, Pre-Sharpened, #2 HB Soft, Yellow, 18 Count)

Pens:

• Target: $0.99 (BIC 10pk Round Stic Xtra Life Ballpoint Pens 1.0mm Medium Point Black Ink: Back to School Supplies for Students & Teachers)
• Walmart: $0.97 (BIC Cristal Xtra Smooth Medium Point Ball Pen, School Supplies, 1.0 mm, Black, 10-Count)
• Amazon: $1.79 (BIC Round Stic Black Ballpoint Pens, Medium Point, 1.0mm, 10-Count)

Erasers:

• Target: $1.49 (Paper Mate 3pk Pencil Erasers Pink Pearl)
• Walmart: $1.44 (Paper Mate Pink Pearl Erasers, Large, 3 Count)
• Amazon: $9.36 (PaperMate Pink Pearl Premium Medium Rubber Eraser, 3-Count (2 Pack))

Highlighters:

• Target: $2.49 (Sharpie 4pk Highlighters Smear Guard Chisel Tip Assorted Colors: Bold Highlighters Markers for School & Office, 3+ Years)
• Walmart: $2.44 (Sharpie Tank-Style Highlighters, Chisel Tip, Assorted, 4 Count)
• Amazon: $2.44 (Sharpie Accent Tank-Style Highlighters, Assorted Colors, 4 Count – Back to School, Desk Supplies)

Glue Sticks:

• Target: $2.89 (Elmer’s 3pk Washable School Glue Sticks – Disappearing Purple: Large, Jumbo, White, Art, Stationery, Office Supplies)
• Walmart: $2.88 (Elmer’s Disappearing Purple School Giant Glue Sticks, Washable, 22 g Each, 3 Count)
• Amazon: $2.88 (Elmer’s Disappearing Purple School Glue Sticks, Washable, 22 Grams, 3 Count – Poster, Vision Board, Back to School Supplies, #1 Teacher Brand)

Calculators:

• Target: $16.99 (Texas Instruments TI-30XS Multiview Scientific Calculator: AP & SAT Approved)
• Walmart: $23.28 (TI-30XS MultiView Scientific Calculator with Four-Line Display)
• Amazon: $16.99 (Texas Instruments TI-30XS MultiView Scientific Calculator)

Backpacks:

• Target: $59.99 (JanSport Superbreak Plus FX 17″ Backpack – Nylon Black)
• Walmart: $45.00 (JanSport Unisex Cross Town Plus Laptop Backpack)
• Amazon: $45.00 (JanSport SuperBreak Plus Backpack with Padded 15-inch Laptop Sleeve and Integrated Bottle Pocket – Spacious and Durable Daypack for Work and Travel – Black)

Pencil Cases:

• Target: $9.99 (Yoobi Triple Zip Pencil Pouch – Lavender/Yellow Stripe, School Supplies)
• Walmart: $3.39 (CoreLiving Large Pencil Case Big Capacity Pencil Pouch with 3 Compartments Canvas Pen Bag Marker Pen Bag Pencil Case for Women Black Polka Dot)
• Amazon: $9.99 (CICIMELON Large Capacity Pencil Case 3 Compartment Pouch Pen Bag for School Teen Girl Boy Men Women (Black))

Lunch Boxes:

• Target: $12.00 (Faux Neoprene Lunch Tote – All In Motion™️Black: Zippered Recycled Polyester Bag)
• Walmart: $11.99 (Lunch Box for Kids Boys Girls Men Women, Insulated Small Soft Cooler Lunch Bag Kit for School Work Picnic Travel – Reusable Portable lunchbox, Black)
• Amazon: $13.99 (ZM-YOUTOO Lunch Box for Men – Reusable Lunch Bag Men Adult Women- Insulated Small LunchBox)