The Best Cheap Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapering can be a great way to save money when your baby is born. But building a stash can be a daunting task when you are already living on a tight budget.

This article highlights 6 high quality, cheap cloth diapers with comparisons on sizing, materials, other features, and prices. Plus, we talk about the differences between these diapers and those manufactured in North America, so you know what to watch out for.

What's a mom to do?

While flats and prefolds in combination with covers are usually the least expensive cloth diaper option, many parents still prefer the simplicity of pocket diapers for many reasons! This can be especially true when you will be leaving your baby in the care of others who aren't as familiar with the use of cloth diapers.

Buying on a Budget?

We strive to bring you helpful articles and we think this one's unique. If you're looking for cloth diapers that are easy on the wallet and can help you build your stash inexpensively, we've got a list below. There are tons of cloth diaper reviews out there, but few compare the features of several diapers side by side. So, for the first time ever, we're publishing a head-to-head comparison of 6 cheap cloth diapers brands that have caught our eye!

How Did I Choose the Cheap Cloth Diapers?

Diapers had to meet the following criteria to qualify for this themed article on cheap cloth diapers:

Cost - $13 or less including 1 insert
Pocket or all-in-one design
Not an unbranded clone or copycat (to the best of our knowledge)

What You Need to Know About Cheap Cloth Diapers First

I'm glad you're considering cloth diapering - for so many reasons! Cheap cloth diapers have a wonderful place in this world, bringing an affordable, reusable, environmentally friendly diapering option to many parents who couldn't otherwise afford the start-up costs for cloth diapers.

I don't want to get all preachy on you. But bear with me for a few more minutes - and please just consider the differences between ethical production and clones. As Amanda from the Eco Friendly Family says, "As ethical consumers, we have a responsibility to make choices that not only benefit us, but that do no harm to others." There are lots of great, ethical and affordable cloth diapers out there.

Ethics?

Many cloth diaper brands start out small, with local production. As the industry expands and the brands' reputations grow, many small businesses need to expand to keep up. For some, local production is an easy choice. For others, off-shore production in China and other developing countries represents an opportunity to bring quality diapers to their customers at lower costs.

Some cloth diaper companies were founded by parents turned business people who recognized that the cost of many brands was unachievable for parents on a budget. These companies have sought out manufacturing facilities that have allowed them to make affordable and accessible cloth diapering solutions for budget-conscious parents.

There's one thing that both of these types of these businesses have in common: they care about ethics as much as you do! If they've chosen an off-shore manufacturing facility (in China or another developing country), they will have carefully selected their production facilities after in-person visits. And they will be happy to share more information with you about working conditions, wages, and environmental impacts of their production facilities. So where does ethics become a problem?

Cloning

We all love a great deal, but sometimes the cheap cloth diaper deals are too good to be true!

Knock-off cheap cloth diapers, also known as clones, can look just like expensive brand names, but at a much lower quality. Here's where ethics comes in... clones copy the patented designs of existing brands, snap for snap and feature for feature, without permission. The brands that own the patents worked hard to develop unique features. It may surprise you to learn that many cloth diaper manufacturers have worked for several years to perfect the features you usually take for granted - snap placement, fabric selection, and elastic types!

Even if the patent issues don't bother you, quality can be a real problem. Clones might come with a cheaper price tag, but if you experience delaminated PUL, broken snaps, and non-existent warranties, cheap cloth diapers won't save you any money in the long run! The sad thing is that, for those who are new to cloth diapering, they may not even realize that they aren't getting a quality diaper.

Rebranding

Rebranding is, in my mind, not the same as cloning. Rebranding is perfectly legal. Some companies, including Alva, do provide their basic diapers for sale to other companies. These companies sew their labels onto the diapers. But, the benefit of using one of these companies is that they also take the guess-work out of ordering. They figure out those incomplete and inaccurate descriptions and manage shipping, importing, duties, and other hassles you don't have time for.

In addition, they provide customer service, trouble-shooting, and advice where none might be offered otherwise, and they often provide assurance for warranties, too! Plus, they may offer local pick-up, or much more timely shipping - so you don't have to wait weeks for your new diapers to arrive from Shanghai!

In exchange for this customer service, these companies charge you a higher cost than they paid. And so they should! I've tried to navigate the Alva site myself, and it isn't easy! Most companies that rebrand are usually up-front with you, too, about their business model. I've seen several rebranded Alva diapers, and they are all similar... so what you're buying in these cases is the customer service.

I've met some great small business owners that sell rebranded Alvas and they have been wonderful to deal with! So much easier than trying to figure out what to buy off of the Alva website!

For Further Reading

If you'd like to read more about the ethics of made-in-China diapers, check out these articles fom two popular cloth diaper blogs:

And if you want to support a company that uses North American manufacturing facilities, please check our list of locally produced Canadian and American cloth diaper brands.

A Note about Shipping Costs

As I purchased most of these diapers myself, I was quite surprised by the significant shipping costs on some of the diapers... For a single diaper, in many cases the shipping at least half as much again as the diaper itself.

Additionally, many of these diapers are for sale only through the manufacturer. When this is the case, if you see high shipping costs, you will want to either:

Buy several diapers at once or
Consider buying from a retailer that offers free shipping with a very low or no threshold such as Nicki's Diapers or Amazon.

And now for our list!

Cheap Cloth Diapers (Under 13)

Kawaii One-Size

8-36 lbs, one-size design with 3 rows of rise snaps
This diaper is bigger than some of the others, and would not likely provide a snug fit on a newborn
Hip snaps and a single cross-over snap at waist
Back pocket opening with fleece pocket flap
Narrow band of PUL across inside of front of diaper - apparently reduces wicking at the seams
Outer made of laminated PUL
Inner stay-dry microfleece layer
Comes with 2 3-layer microfiber inserts

cheap Kawaii one-size minky cloth diaper

Buy it on Amazon for 11.45.

Note: Kawaii also offers a newborn size pocket diaper that fits 6-18 lbs. I haven't tried it out yet but will report back when I do.

Glow Bug Diapers

2 rows of snaps on square tabs
Pocket opening at front and back of diaper, with front snap to hold insert in place. PUL cover over pocket opening at front of diaper, plus PUL flap inside back pocket opening to keep microfiber from rubbing at baby's sensitive skin and prevent leaks
2 sets of cross-over waist snaps
4 rows of rise snaps
The inner suedecloth material (called SlimDry (TM))used in this diaper is definitely the flimsiest, which gives this diaper a much lighter feel, but the outer looks to be similar weight to other PUL materials.
Double gusseted leg elastics provide a second line of defense to help to contain messes

Glowbug cloth diaper review

These diapers are not available individually, and are sold only in packs of 12 for $150 - includes 24 snap-in inserts and a coordinating wet bag ($12.50 each). You can browse Glowbug Diapers here.

Sun Baby

Hip snaps and no cross-over waist
One-size with 3 rows of rise snaps
Somewhat narrower than Kawaii and Giggle Life, would provide a better fit on long skinny babies
Back pocket opening
Narrow band of PUL across inside of front of diaper to reduce wicking at the seams
Outer made of PUL
Inner stay-dry microfleece layer
Comes with 1 3-layer microfiber insert

Sunbaby cloth diaper review

$6.75 from Sunbaby Canada, with 1 insert available on Amazon.

Alva Baby - A Series

Hip snaps and 2 narrow cross-over waist snaps
One-size design with 3 rows of rise snaps
This diaper is larger than Sun Baby and Glow Bug diapers and wouldn't fit a newborn well. It has looser leg elastic than some, too, which might I felt might pose a problem on long skinny babies even past the 10 pound mark.
Inner suedecloth doesn't feel as luxurious, but doesn't pill, and apparently resists staining better than fleece. Suedecloth does come with its own challenges, since some babies develop rashes or sensitivity to this material.
Can be purchased with minky or smooth PUL outers in a variety of prints and solids
Each diaper comes with 1 microfiber insert, additional inserts can be purchased
Note: shipping is directly from China and can take a few weeks
The website is hard to navigate. If you find it challenging to understand the cryptic product descriptions on the Alva website, check out the Loving Alva Facebook page posts for more information on Alva diaper materials by series and differences on Alva diaper types.

Alva baby cloth diaper review

Available on Amazon, with 1 insert

Giggle Life

Single row of snaps with 1 cross-over waist snap
One-size design with 3 rows of rise snaps
This diaper is the largest of the 6 in this article, and would not adjust to a newborn sizing
Outer TPU laminated fabric
Inner is soft micro-fleece.
Comes with 2 large 3-layer microfiber inserts
Widest cut, making for big hands to stuff inserts

Giggle Life cloth diaper review

$12 for 1 directly from Giggle Life

In Summary

All of these pockets provide great value for the money. I haven't used them long enough to talk about longevity, but they have all received positive reviews by users in other forums.

The Best of Features

Some of our other budget-friendly ideas for cloth diapering:

Prefolds and Covers

How to Make Your Own Diapers

Sponsor Love