Northern Ireland's political parties spent almost £1.5 million on last year's Assembly elections, an Electoral Commission report revealed today.
Total campaign spending was £1,477,625, with the parties spending £648,247 and candidates spending £829,378.
The SDLP, which lost out heavily to Sinn Fein in last year's Assembly elections, spent the most on the campaign trail.
The report revealed that the SDLP spent £234,911 fighting the election, winning 18 seats - six less than in the last elections.
Its nationalist rivals Sinn Fein spent £28,766, picking up 24 seats, six more than in the 1998 election.
The figures mean that each seat cost the SDLP £13,050, more than that of each Sinn Fein seat.
The Ulster Unionist Party, which lost its position as the largest Assembly grouping to Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists, spent £170,912 for its 27 seats.
The DUP, which won 30 seats, was the third highest spending party on £147,867.
It was the first time that parties were subject to new spending controls and they were all within the limits set by the Electoral Commission of £306,000.
The Commission Report concluded that the the general pattern of spending reflected that most parties conducted a localised campaign with more money spent on candidates.
However, it stated, the figures show that the parties ran different campaigns.
The Commission noted that Sinn Fein's reported expenditure suggested it concentrated its resources on individual candidates.
In contrast, the SDLP and Ulster Unionist parties, who lost ground in the election, concentrated on raising their profiles by spending heavily on advertising and media campaigns.
The DUP spent almost £75,000 producing their manifesto and other policy documents, 10 times more than any other party.
The report noted that some political parties have built on their previous experience of the 2001 UK parliamentary elections and are adapting to the requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
But it concluded that candidates were still experiencing difficulties in understanding the legal requirements.
The report pinpointed a number of areas for improvement which include meeting statutory deadlines and a more accurate categorisation of expenditure.
Karamjit Singh, Commissioner with special interest in Northern Ireland affairs was confident the problems could be addressed.
"The Commission believes that through its provision of guidance and training, it can work closely with political parties, agents and candidates to improve their understanding of the current legislative requirements and ensure a consistency in the treatment and reporting of candidates' election expenses," he said.