Short answer: The best free starting points are the notes previews and free sample chapters on our subject hubs for all 13 subjects, plus publishers' own free samples. Among paid notes, Revise SQE's guides are £17 each, or £232.90 for all 16 SQE1 titles, the University of Law's study manuals start at £45.99 each, and SQE1 Prep's study guides are £9.99 a subject or £49.99 for all 13 with the practice questions built in. Whatever you buy, check the edition against the SRA's law cut-off: for January 2027 that is the law as at 11 September 2026. Prices checked 27 October 2026.
Search "buy SQE1 revision notes" and you get a strange mix: established publishers, university shops, independent note sellers and second-hand eBay lots — with prices from £2.99 to £552 for what all claim to cover the same exam. Some of those options are excellent. Some are a fast way to revise 2022 law for a 2027 exam.
Here are the seven places candidates actually buy SQE1 notes and study guides, what each costs, and the checks that protect you wherever you spend. (Yes, option seven is ours — we have kept the comparison factual so you can judge it on the same terms as the rest.)
The 7 options at a glance
| # | Source | Typical cost (October 2026) | Practice included | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Publisher series (Revise SQE etc.) direct or via bookshops/Amazon | £17/subject; all 16 SQE1 titles for £232.90 | Five questions a chapter; mock books sold separately | Cost at full-series scale |
| 2 | University of Law manuals (ULaw shop) | £45.99/subject; £552 for 15 | SBA questions modelled on the SRA's samples | Density; cost |
| 3 | Law Answered SQE1 Core Guide | £129.99 (one guide for FLK1 and FLK2) | Question bank via a separate membership | Depth when learning cold |
| 4 | Course-provider materials (BPP, BARBRI, QLTS) | Bundled into courses costing thousands (BARBRI from £2,999) | Yes, in-course | Buying a course for the books |
| 5 | Independent note sellers (e.g. on Payhip) | £2.99 (spec checklist) to £76 (FLK1 and FLK2 notes) | Rarely | Unverified quality and currency |
| 6 | Second-hand (eBay, resale groups) | Pre-owned manuals from about £17 on eBay | Whatever the edition had | Out-of-date editions |
| 7 | SQE1 Prep study guides (direct, instant download) | £9.99/subject; all 13 for £49.99 | MCQs + flashcards in every chapter | Digital-first (print costs extra) |
1. Publisher revision series
The Revise SQE series (Fink Publishing) is the established name: respected per-subject guides in print, app ebook and audiobook, direct from the publisher or from bookshops. Quality is consistent; the consideration is total cost: £17 a guide, and the full 16-title set is £232.90 as a bundle (£302.90 with both online mocks). Our full Revise SQE review covers strengths and gaps in detail. Sensible buy: print guides for your hardest two or three subjects.
2. University of Law manuals
ULaw sells its course manuals to the public from £45.99 per title, or £552 for the 15-manual print bundle (full review). Thorough and authoritative, written to support taught courses — which also makes them dense as self-study primary material. Good for course-grade depth on a chosen subject; expensive as a full set.
3. Law Answered SQE1 Core Guide
One study-notes guide for both FLK papers, written by qualified lawyers: £129.99 in print, loose-leaf, or as an interactive ebook with 36 months' access. Its question bank is a separate Law Answered+ membership. Notes suit a second pass; read the free sample before relying on them to learn a topic cold.
4. Course-provider materials
BPP, BARBRI and QLTS School materials are generally part of their course packages rather than retail purchases. If you are weighing up whether the whole course is worth it, that is the prep course comparison question — do not buy a course costing thousands as an expensive way to acquire PDFs.
5. Independent note sellers
Independent sellers list their own notes on storefronts such as Payhip, from £2.99 for a specification checklist to £76 for a full FLK1 and FLK2 set. Occasionally you find a gem. Structurally, though, you are buying unverified work of unknown currency: no editorial review, no guarantee the author passed, and no promise the notes match the current specification. For a rules-current exam that 42% of candidates passed in July 2026, that is a lot of risk to save a few pounds. If you do buy, the checklist below is non-negotiable.
6. Second-hand and resale
eBay lots and group resales of last year's materials look like the smart-money move, and for stable black-letter topics much of the content holds. The problem is you cannot see which parts have moved — specification updates, rule changes, new cases. eBay currently lists last year's 5th-edition ULaw bundle and 180-question mock books written for the old format. Acceptable for background reading; risky as your only source. If the edition predates the current specification, walk away.
7. SQE1 Prep study guides (ours)
Our series exists to be complete (all 13 subjects), current, practice-inclusive and under £50 at once. The facts, stated the same way we stated everyone else's:
- £9.99 per subject or all 13 for £49.99 — against £232.90 for a publisher print set.
- Specification-mapped chapters across over 10,000 pages, written to the day-one competence standard.
- Practice built in: 4,400+ worked MCQs with explanations and over 5,500 flashcards across the series — the practice layer most note sources sell separately or lack.
- Instant EPUB + PDF download, lifetime re-downloads from your library, updates free. Paperbacks on Amazon if you want print.
The trade-off, stated plainly: digital-first delivery, and no tutor attached — they are books, supported by a free personalised study plan rather than a classroom.
The pre-purchase checklist (use it on us too)
Wherever you buy, five checks before paying:
- Specification edition. Which SRA assessment specification was this written against? If the seller cannot answer, that is your answer.
- Coverage list. Can you see the contents page? All 144 topics findable, or selected highlights?
- Sample pages. Any reputable seller shows you inside the book before you buy.
- Practice questions. Included, sold separately, or absent? Reading-only materials leave the exam's core skill untrained.
- Update policy. What happens when the law moves — free updated files, a discounted new edition, or a fresh full-price purchase?
Red flags that should end the conversation
- No date, no edition, no specification reference anywhere in the listing.
- "Guaranteed pass" claims — nobody can guarantee a standard-set exam.
- Pirated copies of paid series. Beyond the ethics, pirate copies are routinely old editions with the covers changed — out-of-date law at any price is expensive when the resit fee is £2,006.
- Screenshots instead of samples — usually means the seller does not control the source material.
FAQ
How much should SQE1 notes cost?
As a sanity range in October 2026: per-subject revision guides £17 (Revise SQE); course manuals £45.99 each (ULaw); complete series from £49.99 (ebooks, ours) to £552 (ULaw's 15 manuals in print). Above that you are paying for a course; below £10 per subject from an unknown seller, apply the checklist hard.
Are marketplace notes ever worth it?
As supplements — another candidate's summary of a topic you already know — sometimes. As your primary source — the absence of editorial review, specification mapping and dates makes them a poor foundation for a closed-book, rules-current exam.
PDF or print notes?
PDF wins on search, portability and price; print wins for annotators. We include both formats (EPUB + PDF) with every book precisely so you do not have to choose — the full trade-off analysis is in ebooks vs paperbacks.
When should I buy — now or nearer the exam?
When you start studying. Materials do not improve with waiting, and late purchases compress your coverage time. The one timing rule that matters: buy materials written against the current specification, and check whether your sitting falls after a specification update.
The bottom line
Buy from sources that show you their contents, date their editions and include practice — publisher series if print and budget suit you, our £49.99 complete series if you want everything current with practice built in for under a quarter of the price of a print set. And run the checklist before you pay anyone, including us: browse the books and sample what is inside.
