Baby cost estimator template

Free build guide: Baby cost estimator for WordPress

This guide rebuilds the Baby cost estimator from this site in Gravity Forms: 9 inputs, 4 live results and no submit button. Expect about 39 minutes by hand. The template above is the same form as an import file, and the bundle adds a PDF version of this guide with a screenshot of every setting, plus the stylesheet.

You will end up with:

• First-year total
• Ongoing, per month
• One-time purchases
• Per week, over the year

What you need

• Gravity Forms (any license) — Calculation fields are in core.

Everything here is core Gravity Forms. No add-ons.

1. Create the form

1. Go to Forms → New Form and name it Baby cost.
2. In Form Settings → Form Layout, set the CSS Class Name to fo-live-only. Step 3 uses it to hide the submit button.
3. Leave the form open in the editor; the fields come next.

2. Add the fields, in this order

Field IDs are assigned as you add fields. If yours come out differently, change the {Label:ID} references in the formulas to match your IDs. Settings not mentioned stay at their defaults.

1. Diapers & wipes, per month · Number · ID 1
Number Format Currency; Default Value 80; Description “$70–100 disposable; cloth is a one-off $300–600 plus washing.”; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed).

2. Feeding, per month · Number · ID 2
Number Format Currency; Default Value 150; Description “Formula $100–250; breastfeeding $0–50 for a pump, bags and bottles; solids from six months $50–100.”; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed).

3. Childcare, per month · Number · ID 3
Number Format Currency; Default Value 1200; Description “$0 if a parent or relative is home; $800–2,500 for daycare, more for a nanny, by city.”.

4. Clothing, per month · Number · ID 4
Number Format Currency; Default Value 50; Description “They outgrow sizes every 2–3 months. Hand-me-downs cut this to almost nothing.”; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed).

5. Health insurance & medical, per month · Number · ID 5
Number Format Currency; Default Value 150; Description “The premium increase for adding a dependent, plus visits and prescriptions.”; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed).

6. Nursery & furniture · Number · ID 6
Number Format Currency; Default Value 1500; Description “Crib, mattress, dresser, chair, monitor.”; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed).

7. Car seat & stroller · Number · ID 7
Number Format Currency; Default Value 500; Description “Buy the car seat new; strollers are fine second-hand.”; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed).

8. Other gear · Number · ID 8
Number Format Currency; Default Value 400; Description “Carrier, bottles, high chair, play mat, bath.”; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed).

9. Birth, out of pocket · Number · ID 9
Number Format Currency; Default Value 3000; Description “What is left after insurance. $0–5,000 in the US; often $0 elsewhere.”; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed).

10. First-year total · Number · ID 10
Number Format Currency; Custom CSS Class (Appearance tab) fo-result; tick Enable Calculation, Rounding 0.

( {Diapers:1} + {Feeding:2} + {Childcare:3} + {Clothing:4} + {Medical:5} ) * 12 + ( {Nursery:6} + {Travel:7} + {Gear:8} + {Birth:9} )

11. Ongoing, per month · Number · ID 11
Number Format Currency; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed); Custom CSS Class (Appearance tab) fo-result fo-result--sub; tick Enable Calculation, Rounding 0.

( {Diapers:1} + {Feeding:2} + {Childcare:3} + {Clothing:4} + {Medical:5} )

12. One-time purchases · Number · ID 12
Number Format Currency; Layout: half width, on the same row as its neighbour (drag the field beside it in the editor; no CSS class needed); Custom CSS Class (Appearance tab) fo-result fo-result--sub; tick Enable Calculation, Rounding 0.

( {Nursery:6} + {Travel:7} + {Gear:8} + {Birth:9} )

13. Per week, over the year · Number · ID 13
Number Format Currency; Custom CSS Class (Appearance tab) fo-result fo-result--sub; tick Enable Calculation, Rounding 0.

( ( {Diapers:1} + {Feeding:2} + {Childcare:3} + {Clothing:4} + {Medical:5} ) * 12 + ( {Nursery:6} + {Travel:7} + {Gear:8} + {Birth:9} ) ) / 52

3. Hide the submit button

The results are live, so nothing needs submitting. Add this filter to your theme’s functions.php or a code-snippets plugin; it hides the button on any form carrying the fo-live-only class:

add_filter( 'gform_submit_button', function ( $button, $form ) {
	return str_contains( (string) rgar( $form, 'cssClass' ), 'fo-live-only' ) ? '' : $button;
}, 10, 2 );

Or with CSS alone: .fo-live-only_wrapper .gform_footer { display: none; }

4. Put it on a page and make it look like this

Add the form to any page with the Gravity Forms block, or the shortcode [gravityform id="X" title="false" ajax="false"]. The form inherits your theme’s styles; the classes you set in step 2 are hooks for the look you see on this site:

• fo-result on a calculation field makes it the big teal result panel.
• fo-result fo-result--sub makes the smaller secondary figures.
• fo-segmented on a radio field turns it into a segmented switch.
• Two fields on one row is the editor’s own column layout: drag a field beside another and the row splits in half. No CSS class is needed, and the old gf_left_half Ready Classes are deprecated.

The bundle includes the two stylesheets that implement those classes, with notes on matching your brand colours. Without them the form still works; it just looks like your theme’s default Gravity Forms styling.

How the maths works is explained under “How it’s calculated” on the live Baby cost estimator.