Enter your baby’s age and the kind of diapers you buy — get diapers per day, your monthly and first-year cost, and how store brand, name brand, premium and cloth actually compare.
We start from how many diapers a baby of your age band actually goes through per day, then multiply by 30 for the month and by your price per diaper.
0.28, not the price of the box.Sizes overlap on purpose. If your baby is between sizes, go by fit — leaks, red marks or tight tabs mean size up.
| Size | Baby weight | Avg diapers/day | Months in size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preemie (P) | Under 6 lb | as needed | as needed |
| Newborn (N) | Under 10 lb | up to 10 | 1.6 |
| Size 1 | 8–14 lb | up to 9 | 1.7 |
| Size 2 | 10–22 lb | up to 8 | 2.8 |
| Size 3 | 13–26 lb | up to 7 | 5.8 |
| Size 4 | 15–34 lb | up to 7 | 6.8 |
| Size 5 | 20–37 lb | up to 6 | 5.0 |
| Size 6 | 23–44 lb | up to 6 | 5.8 |
| Size 7 | 26–50 lb | up to 6 | 4.1 |
Confidence: these are population averages against one retailer’s prices on one day. Your baby, your brand, your sales and coupons will all move the number — treat the output as a budgeting range, not a bill. This is a money tool, not medical guidance: if your baby has fewer wet diapers than you expect, call your pediatrician.
| Age | Diapers/day | Diapers/month | Wipes/day | Typical size | Store brand /mo | Name brand /mo | Premium /mo | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newborn (0-1 mo) | 8–12 (avg 10) | 300 | 25 | Newborn (N) | $48 | $84 | $126 | high |
| 1-5 months | 8–10 (avg 9) | 270 | 18 | Size 1-2 | $43 | $76 | $113 | high |
| 6-12 months | 6–9 (avg 7) | 210 | 15 | Size 3-4 | $34 | $59 | $88 | high |
| 1-2 years | 5–7 (avg 6) | 180 | 12 | Size 4-5 | $29 | $50 | $76 | medium |
| 2-3 years | 3–6 (avg 5) | 150 | 10 | Size 5-6 | $24 | $42 | $63 | low |
About 8–12 a day in the first month — we use 10 as the working average. That’s roughly 300 a month, or 70+ a week. It drops to 8–10/day at 2–4 months, 7–9 at 5–8 months and 6–8 by 9–12 months.
At newborn usage (about 300 diapers a month), store brand runs roughly $45–60, name brand roughly $80–100 and premium/eco roughly $75–175 depending on the line. Add about $20 a month for wipes at newborn usage. Enter your own price per diaper above for a number that matches what you actually buy.
About 2,900 diapers across the first 12 months. That’s roughly $470 at store-brand prices, $815 at name-brand prices, and around $1,200 at the pricier eco lines — before wipes, which add about $185 more over the year.
Usually yes, eventually. A 24-diaper one-size stash runs roughly $180 at the budget end to $700 at the premium end. Against name-brand disposables at newborn usage that pays back in a few months; against store brand it takes considerably longer. The big win is reusing the stash for a second child. The catch is laundry — our estimate assumes about 2–3 extra loads a week at home. If you use a laundromat or a diaper service, cloth can cost more, not less.
Roughly: Newborn about 1.6 months of use, Size 1 about 1.7 months, Size 2 about 2.8 months, then Sizes 3 and 4 for about 6–7 months each. Newborn is the shortest and the one people over-buy — a single small pack plus one of Size 1 is plenty to start.
Four things move the needle: buy the biggest box (about 10% cheaper per diaper than small packs), use subscribe-and-save, put diapers and wipes on your baby registry (they always get used), and size up before you run out rather than buying an emergency small pack at full price. Mixing a store brand for daytime with a name brand overnight is the most common real-world compromise.