A baby uses approximately 3,000 diapers in their first year alone. Anyone with kids will tell you that adds up quickly, for something the inevitably ends up in a trash can.
In fact, almost half of families admit to finding the cost of diapers burdensome. However, depending on what brand you use and where you buy them, the costs can differ drastically (over $1,000 a year).
To help other parents (and make informed buying choices for myself), I compiled this list of the diaper cost by brand and location. You can keep scrolling to see the full list. However, first are some notably cheap (and notably not so cheap) options:
The Cheapest Diapers
- Walmart Parent’s Choice – Walmart
- Luvs – Amazon
- Sam’s Bran Diapers – Sam’s
- Target Up&Up – Target
- Luvs -Target
- Costco Diapers
- Huggies Snug and Dry – Amazon
- Huggies Snug and Dry – Walmart
- Pampers Babydry – Target
- Pampers Babydry – Amazon
At 11 cents a diaper, Walmart’s store brand is the cheapest diaper I found. A year of Walmart diapers only costs $315.07.
The Most Expensive Diapers
- Hello Bello – Target
- Seventh Generation – Walmart
- Rascal and friends – Amazon
- Millie Moon – Amazon
- Coterie
- Honest Diapers – Walmart
- HealthyBaby Diapers -Target
- Honest Diapers – Amazon
- Honest Diapers – Target
- Dyper
Unsurprisingly, premium brands dominate the most expensive list and there are no store brands on here. However, even the pricier diaper brands can often be significantly cheaper at some stores than others.
Average Diaper Cost By Brand And Store, Full Dataset
How I determined this
Diaper package sizes differ dramatically by brand and store location. In order to level the ground, I broke down the cost per diaper to find a flat comparison point.
I opted to use the largest diaper box size, simply because it is usually the most cost effective way to purchase diapers.
These are the flat prices, meaning I did not take into account subscription services (including Target Red, Amazon Prime, or membership fees for Costco and Sam’s). Nor did I take into account sales or coupons, since those are sporadic. However, they can make a significant difference for an aware purchaser.
For stores, I tried to focus on places that are national (and fairly wide spread) or prominent online. This ended up with Target, Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Sam’s and a few premium online diaper services on our list.
I then painstakingly combed the internet to find the most accurate price I could. Again, I used the largest box and then broke down the number of diapers by box price.
For the cost per day, week, month, and year, I used the 8 diaper a day number. If you have any questions, or would like to see information not displayed in this article, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Hopefully all of this diaper information was actually helpful
If you’re not a parent yet, this number may be comforting or terrifying.
And if you are a parent, you probably already know exactly how much you spend on diapers. In fact, you may be a diaper loyalist to whatever brand hasn’t left you a messy blowout to clean up or given your kiddo a rash. Not all diapers work for all babies after all.
However, if you’re considering other brands, this could be a good starting point. Store brands at Walmart, Target, Sam’s, and Costco provide good bang for you buck and could save you big.
It might also be a good tool for considering where to buy your preferred diaper choice. For example, if you want to buy Millie Moon, it’s $0.21 cheaper per diaper at Target than Amazon. That adds up to over $500 a year.