The Cost of Formula for One Year

Bottle-fed babies consume a staggering amount of formula during their first year of life. In fact, next to disposable diapers, formula will eat up more of your grocery budget than any other baby-related item in the first year. Numerous variables can affect how much money you'll spend on formula, including the type of formula you buy and what kind of an eater your baby turns out to be.

  1. Basic Costs and Factors

    • The average baby will drink around $1,500 worth of formula before he blows out the candle on his first birthday cake, according to the Kid's Health website. But you can spend far more than that if he's a big eater, if he has a sensitivity to regular formula and needs the super-hypoallergenic brand, or if you prefer to pour straight from the can to avoid the bother of mixing powder.

    Ready-Made Versus Mixing

    • The cheapest formula you can buy is generally the most labor-intensive. In other words, the powder that you must measure with a little cup and mix with water is much cheaper than the formula you simply pour from the can into the baby's bottle. Concentrated liquid formula, which you must dilute with water, falls between the two in convenience and cost. Powdered formulas can save you 27 to 35 percent of the cost of ready-to-pour formulas, Consumer Reports.org found in 2012.

    Brands and Formula Types

    • Convenience isn't the only thing that will cost you when it comes to formula. Hypoallergenic formulas or high-calorie formulas made for premature infants also cost more than standard formulas. Brand names generally cost more than store brands, even though they might have an identical ingredients list. Where you shop also makes a difference in what you pay. Big box stores sometimes sell formula as a loss-leader for a lower price than the supermarket charges.

    Measuring the Amounts

    • Some babies -- like some adults -- drink more than others. Between the ages of 4 and 6 months, a baby might drink between 28 and 32 ounces of formula per day, according to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Four ounces per day might not sound like much of a difference, but it adds up to 28 ounces per week. If you're using a hypoallergenic ready-to-pour formula, which one manufacturer sells for around $10 per 32-ounce can, you could spend $40 per month more to feed your hefty eater than you would for a less enthusiastic eater.

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