Best Overall: Pampers Swaddlers

Pampers Swaddlers checks all the boxes we look for in a diaper—great leak protection (as judged by independent tests), excellent reader feedback for overall fit and performance and wide availability with affordable pricing.

What We Liked

• Tops on our absorbency testings and overall fit. This diaper quickly soaked up liquid from different directions and didn’t leak.

• Extras like wetness indicator work well. Yes, you might think this is a gimmick, but our testing revealed it was quite handy.

• Priced well.  

• Different options. Pampers does sell a couple of variations on the Swaddlers, including Swaddlers Sensitive (for babies with sensitive skin). Those are also excellent diapers, but much more expensive.

What Needs Work

• Less than all-natural ingredients. On the plus side for transparency, Pampers lists all their ingredients online. To keep the diapers from leaking, Pampers are made of polypropylene and polyethylene, which are made from fossil fuels.

• Lotion contains petrolatum. This diaper includes a small amount of lotion to soothe baby’s skin. But this lotion contains petrolatum, which some parents try to avoid.

Best Budget-Friendly: Luv’s

We conduct rolling price checks on diapers, both online and offline and chain stores and warehouse clubs. We then take the lowest priced diapers and compare them to lab tests for effectiveness.

The winner this year is Luv’s, impressively priced especially if you buy the large-size box.

What We Liked

• Impressive leak protection. That’s why Luv’s tops our list of bargain choices, based on fit and leak testing. A close second would be Huggies Snug & Dry.

• Pennies add up over time. The savings in using Luv’s is just a few cents per diaper, which may not seem like much. But pennies add up when you’re talking about buying 2300 diapers in your baby’s first year!

• Good enough fit and softness. While not the top ranked diaper in our tests for fit and softness, Luv’s come in close enough to the top of the pack for our recommendation.

What Needs Work

• Scent. Luv’s are “lightly scented,” which some folks find to be overwhelming. We didn’t think the perfume was too much, but we see the point.

• Recent revision has detractors. Luv’s revised the design recently and the reaction among folks is mixed. We tested the new versions for this evaluation and found them worthy of our top budget pick. Others aren’t happy that the diapers aren’t has thick as before.

Best Eco-Friendly Disposable: Bambo Nature

How is that even possible—to be both eco-friendly and disposable? Our top pick for best eco-friendly disposable, Bambo Nature, manages that and more.

What We Liked

• Third party certifications. Made in Denmark, Bambo Nature backs up its environmental talk with certifications: the diapers are FSC-certified, Nordic Ecolabel and the EU’s Ecolabel. Other eco-friendly diapers talk eco-friendliness but rarely back it up with third-party testing.

• Excellent leak protection. Bambo Nature diapers scores at the top for performance based on our testing— very little leakage, strong absorbency and comfort/fit. Too often we see expensive green diapers that tout their eco credentials but do an average to poor job of stopping leaks.

What Needs Work

• Pricey. So what’s the catch? Well, if you said price, give yourself bonus points. Like many other eco-baby gear picks, all the environmental goodness will cost you.

• Sizing. Another caveat: the sizing of European diapers is a bit different from the USA. Basically, the Bambo Nature diapers run large compared to Pampers or Huggies.

Best Cloth Diaper: bumGenius Original One-Size Pocket-Style Cloth Diaper 5.0

Ask ten cloth diaper aficionados for their favorite cloth diapers and you’ll probably get 11 different answers! That’s because there are so many different options out there it can be confusing. And then there is the learning curve.

So let’s cut through the clutter and give you a pick, assuming you are a first-timer with cloth diapers and looking for a simple solution: BumGenius. This cloth diaper combined the best ease of use and overall quality.

What We Liked

• Easy for first-time cloth diapering parents. Some cloth diapers have steep learning curves, with separate accessories. This diaper is an all-in-one—you don’t need to buy separate covers or inserts. Basically, you pop the entire diaper in the wash.

• Good fit.  BumGenius adjusts to fit babies from 7 to 35 lbs.

What Needs Work

• Can’t put in dryer. BumGenius cloth diapers must be line-dried, and that can take a long time (especially in humid climates).

• Bulky. Compared to other diapers, we found these to be somewhat bulky. You might want to experiment with one or two before committing to a major purchase.

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing diapers since 1994 (and actually diapering babies since 1993!). In addition to hands on changing and cleaning, we have also dived into a number of lab tests of disposable diapers. We also evaluate consumer reviews, as well as our own message boards. We also tap into our extensive readership of clothes diaper devotees.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Baby Bargains is your independent and unbiased source for expert baby gear reviews. We’ve been writing and reviewing baby gear since 1994. Yes, that long!

How we picked a winner

We evaluate diapers with in-depth inspections, lab tests and parent interviews. We look for overall leak protection comfort and comfort. We gather significant reader feedback (our book, Baby Bargains has over 1 million copies in print), tracking diapers (both cloth and disposable) for quality and durability. The reliability of diaper brands is another key factor. Since we’ve been doing this since 1994, we have developed detailed profiles of major diaper brands that help guide our recommendations.