Gregory Stahl · Jul 17, 2026

Baby prediction cards are the little forms guests fill out at a baby shower: boy or girl, the date, the weight, who the baby will look like. Someone collects them, and when the baby arrives, the closest guesser wins. Etsy and template shops sell these cards for a few dollars, but the cards themselves are the easy part. We made two free ones for you, and they are built from real data: the same questions that get the most guesses in the Guess the Baby app, across thousands of real baby pools.

Print them, hand them out, and you have a working game. Then stick around for the part the template shops do not talk about: what the paper version really costs, and what happens to those cards in the weeks between the shower and the birth.

Cards, Sheets, or "Baby Pool"? Same Game

You will see these sold as baby prediction cards, baby shower guessing sheets, due date pools, and baby pools. They are all the same idea: guests lock in guesses before the baby arrives, and reality picks the winner. The card is just the container. If you want the full question universe beyond what fits on paper, we published all 40 baby pool questions here.

Free Template 1: The Classic Baby Prediction Card (10 Questions)

Copy the text below into any document, add the parents' names, and print. It is sized to fit two cards per US Letter page, and it works in black and white.

BABY PREDICTION CARD
Baby ____________________  |  Due date: ____ / ____ / ____
Your name: ______________________________
Circle or write your best guess. Closest wins!
1.  Boy or girl?                      Boy  /  Girl
2.  Before or after the due date?     Before  /  On or after
3.  Date the baby arrives:            ____ / ____
4.  Time of birth:                    ____ : ____   AM / PM
5.  Weight:                           ______ lbs  ______ oz
6.  Length:                           ______ inches
7.  Who will the baby look like?      Mom  /  Dad
8.  Full head of hair?                Yes  /  No
9.  First letter of the baby's name:  ______
10. TIE-BREAKER: exact minute of birth:  ____ : ____
Return this card before the party ends. No changing answers!

Free Template 2: The Full Prediction Sheet (20 Questions)

Want a bigger game? This sheet adds the personality questions that get people laughing, taken straight from the app's question bank. Prints one per US Letter page.

THE BIG BABY PREDICTION SHEET
Baby ____________________  |  Due date: ____ / ____ / ____
Your name: ______________________________
THE VITALS
1.  Boy or girl?                       Boy  /  Girl
2.  Before or after the due date?      Before  /  On or after
3.  Date the baby arrives:             ____ / ____
4.  Weekday or weekend?                Weekday  /  Weekend
5.  Time of birth:                     ____ : ____  AM / PM
6.  Weight:                            ______ lbs  ______ oz
7.  Length:                            ______ inches
THE LOOK
8.  Who will the baby look like more?  Mom  /  Dad
9.  Full head of hair?                 Yes  /  No
10. Curly or straight hair?            Curly  /  Straight
11. Dimples?                           Yes  /  No
THE NAME
12. First letter of the name:          A-M  /  N-Z
13. Named after family?                Yes  /  No
DELIVERY ROOM DRAMA
14. Labor length:                      Under 10 hrs  /  10 hrs or more
15. Who cries first in the room?       Mom  /  Dad
16. Who holds the baby first?          Mom  /  Dad
17. Mom's first meal after delivery:   Sweet  /  Savory
18. Dad's first diaper change:         Handles it  /  Makes a face
THE PARENTS
19. Who will be the "strict" parent?   Mom  /  Dad
20. Baby sleeps through night one at home?  Yes  /  No
TIE-BREAKER: exact minute of birth:  ____ : ____

Fun fact from the app's data: the boy-or-girl question gets 6.4 times more guesses than average, 76% of guessers say Mom will be the strict parent, and 60% bet the baby comes before the due date.

How to Run a Paper Baby Pool, Step by Step

1. Pick your card. The 10-question card for a quick game, the 20-question sheet for a party centerpiece.
2. Personalize and print. Add the parents' names and due date, then print one card per guest on cardstock, plus a few spares.
3. Set the table. Cards, pens (about one per two guests), a box or basket for finished cards, and a sign so people know what to do.
4. Set a deadline. Cards go in the box before cake. A deadline is what makes it a game instead of homework.
5. Collect and count. Make sure every card has a name on it, then store the box somewhere safe.
6. Wait. The baby sets the schedule. This is usually weeks, sometimes months.
7. Score by hand. When the baby arrives, dig out the box and check every card against the real answers. Decide in advance how to score near-misses on date, time, and weight.
8. Announce the winner. Text, call, or post to reach everyone who filled out a card, including the people who have already forgotten they played.

The Part No Printable Card Can Solve

Here is how the paper version actually ends. The baby arrives at 2:47 in the morning, eleven days after the shower. The cards are in a box in a closet. Somebody, usually the exhausted new parents, has to find the box, read thirty handwriting samples, score every card by hand, settle whether "7 pounds even" beats "7 lbs 2 oz," and then track down every guest to tell them who won. Most paper pools never get that far. The guesses were made, the fun happened for an afternoon, and nobody ever closes the loop.

That loop is the whole reason Guess the Baby exists as an app. Every guest's guesses live in their own account from the day they join. When the baby arrives, the parents enter the real answers once, the app scores every prediction automatically, the leaderboard settles it, and every player gets the news and the results on their phone, whether the baby came at 2 pm or 2:47 am. Months later the whole family can still open the app and relive who called it. Paper cannot do any of that, and neither can a $6 template, no matter how cute the design is.

What a Paper Baby Pool Actually Costs

Paper feels free. It is not. The template is only the first line item. Here is the honest math for a typical shower of about 30 guests:

Yes, the bare-minimum version can come in under $19.99: use the free templates above, print in black and white at home, and borrow the pens and the basket. But the four things paper cannot do at any price are still missing: nobody scores it automatically, family who could not travel never get to play, there is no real prize pot without someone chasing cash by hand, and the cards end up in a drawer instead of a leaderboard the whole family revisits. The app is $19.99 once, guests always play free, there is a free demo for up to 3 participants to try first, and it ships updates every month. The paper option is not the cheap one. It is the one that looks cheap until the baby arrives at 2 am.

Should You Buy an Etsy Prediction Card Instead?

If you want paper with a designed look, the $3 to $8 Etsy and Canva templates are genuinely pretty, and matching your shower theme is a real thing. Just know what you are buying: a nicer-looking version of the same paper, with the same printing costs, the same hand-scoring, and the same guests left out if they cannot attend. The free templates on this page run the identical game for zero dollars. Spend the money on the design if the aesthetics matter to you, not because the card does anything more.

The Smarter Printable: One QR Sign Instead of 30 Cards

If you want a printable that removes the work instead of creating it, print one sign instead of thirty cards. Every Guess the Baby game comes with a custom sign carrying your event's QR code, ready to print: set it on the shower table, guests scan it with their camera, download the free app, and are locked in within about a minute. No pens, no box, no handwriting, no hand-scoring, and every guess is saved to each guest's own account for the whole pregnancy. Grandparents included; if they can scan a restaurant menu, they can join.

Want to write your own sign? Three copy options for a 5 x 7 or 8 x 10 card:

Option A (playful):

PLACE YOUR GUESSES Boy or girl? 2 am or 2 pm? Hair or no hair? Scan to lock in your predictions before the baby makes them official. Closest guesser wins.

Option B (classic):

THE BABY POOL Scan the code, download the free app, and make your predictions. Takes about a minute. The leaderboard settles it when the baby arrives.

Option C (prize-pot crowd):

GUESS THE BABY Scan to join the pool. Buy-in collected up front, winner paid when the baby decides. No changing your answers. Bragging rights forever.

Printable Baby Prediction Cards: Your Questions, Answered

Where can I find free printable baby prediction cards? Right on this page. There are two free templates above, a 10-question card and a 20-question sheet, with no email signup and no checkout. Copy the text into any document, add the parents' names, and print.

What questions go on a baby prediction card? The classics are boy or girl, arrival date, time of birth, weight, length, and who the baby will look like. The best cards add personality questions, like who cries first in the delivery room or who will be the strict parent. Our free 20-question sheet includes both kinds, and the full list of 40 questions from the Guess the Baby app is published in our baby pool questions guide.

How many prediction cards should I print for a baby shower? One per guest plus about five spares for mistakes and plus-ones. For a 30-guest shower, print 35. Cardstock survives the party better than regular paper.

How do you play the baby prediction game on paper? Hand every guest a card, set a deadline before the party ends, and collect the cards in a box. When the baby arrives, score each card against the real answers and announce the winner. The scoring and the announcing are the steps most paper pools never finish.

How do you pick the winner of a baby pool? Decide the rules before anyone guesses: exact matches beat near-misses, and closest-without-going-over or plain closest both work for date and weight, as long as you pick one. Add a tie-breaker like the exact minute of birth. In the Guess the Baby app, scoring is automatic across every question the moment the parents confirm the real answers.

Are Etsy baby prediction cards worth buying? If the design matters to you, the $3 to $8 templates are pretty and match shower themes. Functionally they run the same game as the free templates on this page: same printing costs, same hand-scoring, same limits for guests who cannot attend.

What does a paper baby pool actually cost? For a typical 30-guest shower, a realistic setup runs about $40 to $80: template, color printing on cardstock, pens, a collection box, and a table sign, plus hours of your time scoring by hand. A bare-bones black-and-white version can stay under $20 if you already own the extras. Guess the Baby is a flat $19.99 one time, and guests always play free.

Can long-distance family join a printable baby pool? Not really, and that is paper's biggest limit. A card has to be filled out in the room. In Guess the Baby, anyone can join from anywhere with the invite link or QR code, make their guesses in the free app, and follow the same leaderboard as the guests at the party.

Can you play a paper baby pool for money? Only by hand: someone collects cash, tracks who paid, and pays out the winner months later. The app handles this with wagers and Treasurer Mode, where the parents or a designated treasurer collect every buy-in up front before guesses lock, and everyone settles up through one-click Venmo and PayPal integrations. The app never touches the money itself.

What happens to the cards after the baby is born? In most paper pools, honestly, nothing. The cards sit in a box until someone remembers to score them, and guests hear the results secondhand if at all. In the app, every guess is saved to each player's account, results are scored and announced automatically, and the whole family can revisit who called it months later.

Is there an app that replaces printable prediction cards? Yes. Guess the Baby is a dedicated baby pool app for iOS and Android with a 4.7-star rating: 40 ready-made questions plus unlimited custom ones, automatic scoring, optional wagers, and invite-only privacy. It is $19.99 one time for the host, guests always play free, and there is a free demo for up to 3 participants.

Can I use printable cards and the app together? Absolutely, and it works well: print a few cards as table decor or for guests who love the keepsake, and run the real pool in the app so every guess is scored automatically and out-of-town family can play. The one-sign QR option above is the easiest version of both worlds.

Ready to start your baby pool?

Download Guess the Baby and let the predictions begin!