Diapers are expensive. As you change each diaper, the costs (or the savings) add up. We took a look at how the costs and the savings compare to each other over a period of 2 ½ years. Potty training happens for many children sometime during toddlerhood. Potty training may be delayed for some children well past the age of three. This timing has a significant impact on the overall cost of diapering as costs per change increase as a child gets older. For juveniles and adults, the cost per change can be more than $1.
The graph below shows how the cost of disposable diapers compares to the cost of cloth diapers during the baby stage. It also includes an estimated break-even point. First time parents usually wait until a baby is eight weeks old before they start using their cloth diapers. Using this assumption, you reach the the break-even point using a bumGenius One-Size Cloth Diaper when your baby is approximately nine months old. You’ll reach the break-even point sooner if the disposables you’d have purchased otherwise would have cost more than $0.19 each.
For the purposes of comparing diaper costs, we’ve assumed the following:
- Approximately 8 diaper changes per day
- $0.19 per disposable diaper
- bumGenius 5.0 One-Size Cloth Diapers – $385 for 24
- Elemental Joy One-Size Pocket Diapers – $115 for 24
- Cloth diaper use beginning at 2 months of age
- Parents wouldn’t have chosen more expensive or less expensive option
- Estimates do not include variable costs of washing
Life is complicated.
Conservative numbers and average real life scenarios predict my numbers, but I can’t possibly tell everyone’s story in one picture. It is a fact though that most families save money when using cloth instead of disposables. The amount of money saved increases over time. Those savings can be spent on valuable alternatives like food, utilities, housing, or your child’s education. 
Modern cloth diapers work like disposable diapers. Instead of being thrown away, they are washed between uses. Visit CottonBabies.com for more information about how to buy cloth diapers for your baby today so you can start saving now.
