Cloth Diapering on a Budget: Breakdown of Prices by Diaper Systems

Yahoo! If you’re reading this post, that means you either already use cloth diapers or are considering using them – pat yourself on the back! 

Now, reel yourself in from all those pretty colors and prints that you see and think about your budget. Because let me tell you – it’s easy to over spend on these little beauties!

Think I’m kidding?

Then you probably haven’t started buying yet. I’m really not sure what it is, but cloth diapers do get a bit addicting – silly to say out loud, but you’ll probably find out {if you haven’t already}. 

Today we’re going to look at the real cost of cloth diapering. This is especially important if you’re on a budget.

Here’s the thing that can be overwhelming – there are quite a few different types of cloth diapering systems. 

Here’s a great overview of them all if you need some help. 

Depending on what system you choose, will depend on your budget. We’re going to be focusing on the more budget-friendly systems and their costs.

We’re going to be using some generalizations for these calculations. 

Here’s what we’re using:

• Based on 1 child in diapers.
• We’re going to say that you average 12 diapers a day.  This is an ESTIMATE {and a high one at that}.  If your baby is younger, you’ll use more.  If your baby is older, you’ll use a lot less.
• We’re also going to say that we will purchase enough diapers to wash every other day – so we’ll need 24 diapers.  If you’re on a budget, this is a great amount of diapers.

Prefold and Covers Cloth Diapering System

Prefolds and Flats are quite possibly the cheapest way to cloth diaper. I’ve chosen to price prefolds as they are a little more user friendly since they are already folded to give the most absorbency. 

The Kawaii Organic Natural Cotton Prefolds are priced at $19.95 for a pack of 12.

Another great thing about this system is you’re able to re-use diaper covers a few times before washing, as long as they aren’t soiled. This way, you’re able to purchase less covers. 6 Sweet Pea Diaper OS Covers would be plenty for 1 child, at washing every other day.

As long as you launder your diapers and covers correctly and line dry your covers {this will prolong their life}, you can easily expect them to last through 1 child, if not more.

You’ve cloth diapered a child for 3 years on a budget of $109.55.

All-in-Two Cloth Diapering System

There are plenty of All in Two Cloth Diaper Systems available to purchase. For this price breakdown, I’m using Button Cloth Diapers. This system is very similar to the Best Bottom Cloth Diapers, if you’re familiar with it. 

It’s a bit simpler than prefolds as there is no folding at all. You simply lay an insert into the cover and put it on your baby. These covers can also be re-used and are a One Size cover, so great savings there. You can double up the inserts for more absorbency, which is great for overnight diapering.

Once again, there’s no reason that these diapers wouldn’t last you all the way through Potty Training on 1 child, and probably more than 1 child! 

You’ve cloth diapered a child for 3 years on a budget of $156.00.

China Imported Pocket Cloth Diapering System

We’ll get more into the subject of using China Imported Cloth Diapers in another post in this series, but for now – know that it is an inexpensive system to use when cloth diapering on a budget. 

Using the pocket cloth diapers from Comfy Rumps, you’ll save a ton on pocket cloth diapers if you choose to go this route with pocket cloth diapers. These are one size cloth diapers, so once your baby hits around 10 pounds, they should work all the way until they potty train!

Line drying the shells will help prolong the life of pocket diapers so that they will last all the way through potty training on one child and maybe more.

You’ve cloth diapered a child for 3 years on a budget of $190.80.

Just for the sake of comparison, here’s a couple of figures of a bit more expensive, popular modern systems:

24 bumGenius 4.0 Pocket Cloth Diapers – $430.80

24 AppleCheeks Envelope Covers & Inserts –  $696 {*Note this is a 2 size system, so you’ll actually have to purchase more for 2 sizes}.

Now let’s look at the comparison to Disposables.

After reading the cost breakdown of Disposables on Thinking About Cloth Diapers, I decided to use the 25 cent/diaper cost for disposables. 

Going with the same amount as we did with cloth {12 diapers/day}, total cost of disposable diapers for 3 years would be – $3,285!  {This is on the high end, as most won’t use 12 diapers a day for 3 years, but we’re sticking to the same figures to make it more comparable.}

*You will need to note that I haven’t figured in the cost of laundering or any cloth diaper accessories, such as wet bags, pail liners, etc. On the contrary, I also did not figure in the cost of gas, disposable wipes, or other costs that come with disposable diapering.

Moral of the Story

You can spend as little {or as much} as you want on cloth diapers and still come out ahead of disposable diaper costs. 

If you’re cloth diapering on a budget, I highly recommend that you check out one of the three systems above in more detail. They all have their advantages and work differently for each family.

What Budget Friendly Cloth Diapering System Do You Like the Most?