Top 15 · updated 2026
Best Stationery Shops & Supplies in Colombo
The top 15 books & stationery in Colombo, ranked by real reviewer feedback.
- 15
- Books & Stationery listed
- 4.8★
- Average rating
- 48
- Reviews aggregated
- Sarath Books
- Top-rated
Colombo's stationery market covers three distinct buyer tiers: students sourcing school supplies (exercise books, geometry sets, art materials for O Level and A Level coursework), office buyers stocking printer paper, filing systems, and presentation materials, and a craft and art community seeking artist-grade drawing supplies, markers, and watercolour sets. The Pettah commercial district — Main Street and Prince Street — is the most cost-effective zone for bulk school supplies and basic office stationery, with family-run shops that have supplied Colombo schools for decades. Modern stationery chains and dedicated art supply stores in Colombo 3, 5, and 7 carry branded and imported ranges suited to office buyers and art students needing consistent quality across a term or project. Core school supplies sell out quickly at Pettah during the December–January school season — go early or call ahead. The list below ranks Colombo stationery shops by range, stock reliability, and ability to source specific items.
- 1
Sarath Books
5.0(5 reviews)Restaurants 9, 11 McCallum Rd, Colombo 01000
- 2
Samudra Book Shop - Colombo
4.8(5 reviews)Restaurants 1141 Maradana Rd, Colombo 00800
- 3
Jeya Book Centre
4.8(5 reviews)Restaurants Peoples Park Complexc, Bodhiraja Rd, Colombo 01100
- 4
Sarasavi Bookshop (Pvt) Ltd
5.0(3 reviews)Restaurants 44/9 Y.M.B.A. Building
- 5
Booxworm - Book Shop
5.0(3 reviews)Restaurants 149, 2 Kolonnawa Rd, Colombo 00900
- 6
Expographic Books Private Limited - Colombo 11
4.8(4 reviews)Restaurants 59 Main St, Colombo 01100
- 7
Windsor Book Shop
4.6(5 reviews)Restaurants 372 Galle Rd, Colombo
- 8
Godage Book Shop
5.0(2 reviews)Restaurants No:661 P De S Kularatne Mawatha, Colombo 01000
- 9
Rohan’s Book Store
5.0(2 reviews)Restaurants Liberty Plaza, Colombo
- 10
Book Studio (Pvt) Ltd
5.0(2 reviews)Restaurants 163 Dr Danister De Silva Mawatha, Colombo 00900
- 11
Missaka Bookshop
5.0(2 reviews)Restaurants Thimbirigasyaya Rd, Colombo 00500
- 12
Vijitha Yapa Bookshop
4.7(3 reviews)Restaurants 105 5th Ln, Colombo 03
- 13
Peters Bookshop
4.7(3 reviews)Restaurants No1/2, McCallum Rd, Colombo
- 14
DANIEL’S BOOKSHOP (PVT) LTD
4.5(2 reviews)Restaurants 287 Galle Rd, Colombo 00600
- 15
Back to the Bible Bookshop
4.5(2 reviews)Restaurants 120A Srimath Anagarika Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 00700
Frequently asked
- What's the highest-rated bookshops & stationery stores in Colombo?
- Sarath Books is currently the highest-rated bookshops & stationery stores in Colombo on Review Guru, with an average of 5.0 out of 5 stars from 5 reviews.
- Which bookshops & stationery stores in Colombo has the most reviews?
- Sarath Books is the most-reviewed bookshops & stationery stores in Colombo with 5 customer reviews. A higher review count typically means a more reliable signal — a 4.5★ rating from 50 reviewers is stronger than a 5★ rating from 3.
- How many bookshops & stationery stores are listed in Colombo?
- Review Guru has 15 bookshops & stationery stores listed in Colombo, aggregating 48 customer reviews across them. We only include a business on a "best of" page once it has at least 3 reviews so the ranking is meaningful.
- How are these bookshops & stationery stores ranked?
- We use a Bayesian-weighted average score that combines the business's own star rating with the volume of reviews it has received. This prevents a single 5-star review from outranking 30 consistent 4-star reviews. Read more on our methodology page.
- Are the reviews verified?
- Reviews on Review Guru come from two sources: native submissions written directly on our platform, and imported reviews from Google Maps that we rewrite for clarity while preserving the original rating, sentiment, and named entities. Source is tagged on each review for transparency.
- Where is the best place to buy school stationery in Colombo — Pettah market or a modern stationery chain?
- Pettah's Main Street and Prince Street are where Colombo families have bought school stationery for generations — exercise books, drawing sheets, geometry sets, pencils, and school bags are available in bulk at prices significantly lower than modern chain stores. The competition between shops keeps pricing sharp, and most can fill a full school shopping list in a single stop. The tradeoff is stock quality: useful for basic supplies where brands are broadly equivalent, less reliable when a specific branded item is required. Modern stationery chains in Colombo 3, 5, and 7 cost more but carry consistently branded lines — Atlas, Faber-Castell, Staedtler, and imported art ranges are more reliably in stock here. For the most cost-effective back-to-school run, Pettah is the right zone; for specific branded school supplies or art materials for a project, the chain stores deliver more consistency.
- Which areas in Colombo are best for art supplies and craft materials?
- Art supplies in Colombo concentrate at stationery and art shops in Colombo 3 (Kollupitiya) and Colombo 5 (Havelock Town), where stores serving the O Level and A Level art market carry watercolour sets, oil colours, canvases, brushes, and craft cutting tools. For professional-grade or imported artist materials — specific paper weights, larger-format sketch pads, quality brush sets, or palette knives — specialist art supply shops in and around Colombo 7 are the most reliable source. Fabric, beads, and general craft materials appear at Pettah fabric and notions stores alongside the stationery shops. For a specific product not stocked locally, several listed shops can source from Colombo importers within a few days — calling ahead saves a wasted trip.
- Which Colombo stationery shops offer online ordering and home delivery?
- Online stationery purchasing in Colombo is available through e-commerce platforms and listed shops that accept WhatsApp orders for delivery. Kapruka and Ikman carry a broad range of stationery and school supply brands for home delivery; several established Colombo stationery chains have website order forms or active Facebook shop pages. For standard school supplies and office stationery, online availability is generally reliable for branded lines such as Atlas notebooks and common Faber-Castell items. For art supplies — specific paper grades, professional brushes, or branded watercolour sets — stock accuracy online is less consistent, and calling a listed shop to confirm availability before ordering is the more reliable route. Most Colombo stationery shops that offer delivery charge LKR 200–500 for Colombo addresses; a small number of operators offer same-day delivery for orders placed before noon.