The Best Affordable Maternity Work Pants

[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.]

Between Motherhood Maternity closing all of their physical stores, Target shutting down their dressing rooms due to Covid, and just the lack of maternity clothing stores in general, I had a tough time finding good pants for work.

Plus, as a teacher who has just a little over a month left of school till summer, I didn’t want to buy anything super expensive! I decided to turn to Amazon to find some maternity work pants and ordered some of the highest-rated ones. (Side note: I made the mistake of ordering all of these pants one at a time, after the other ones I had ordered weren’t exactly what I was looking for. Then I ended up having to squeeze into my old dress pants in the meantime while I waited for each pair to show up.) So, my recommendation is to order a few pairs all at once so you can compare them — Amazon returns are easy anyway! *At the time I ordered these, they were all less than $30!

Here are my top choices:

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(For size reference, I am about 135 pounds pre-pregnancy and 5’6″. Pictures were taken at exactly 20 weeks pregnant.)

1. Alina Mae Casual Capri Work Pants

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This pair of pants was by far my favorite (and the only ones I kept!) for two reasons:
1. They are SUPER comfortable. When I read some of the Amazon reviews, a couple people said they were too casual (aka too much like leggings). I can see where they’re coming from because they are so soft that they FEEL like leggings…but for me, they definitely don’t look like leggings and are work appropriate.
2. They were a little shorter, and since I only really need these for the month of May (and hopefully they can still fit me when I go back in August!), I wanted something shorter for the warm weather. They’re called capris, but as you can see above they still just go to right above my ankle.

Another plus: They have pockets. All of the other ones I tried on did not.

A couple other notes about these pants:
1. I actually ordered a S first, and then exchanged them for an XS (I never normally take an XS). Because they are stretchy, I felt like smalls were just a little baggy…and the waist especially was a little loose. (Although if I was further along, they probably would’ve been just fine.)
2. There is an adjustable waistband — a good and a bad thing. Great because at only 20 weeks, it is nice to be able to tighten them a little bit. BUT my one small negative about these pants: Because they have an adjustable waistband, the waistband is just a little bit thicker than normal. If I was wearing a tight shirt — especially a white one (see below) — the waistband may show just a little bit. Overall though, not enough for me not to love them.

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2. Motherhood Maternity Super Stretch Work Pants

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These come in a close second place for me, for two reasons:
1. They are not quite as comfortable as my #1 pick. They are still very stretchy, but the material is a little thick and just not quite as soft. In general, I’ve noticed that with Motherhood Maternity stuff: It fits me well, but it’s just not quite as comfortable as other options. (I compared leggings from there and Target…and the Target ones were more comfortable BY FAR.)
2. They are still a good length, but definitely longer than option #1. That said, if it were January, I would buy these pants.

(I ordered a small in these, and they fit great.)

3. Maacie Secret Fit Casual Pants

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These pants, though still a good option that fit fairly well, were by far the least comfortable of the three options. They seemed to be made of a strange thick material that made a crinkling noise as I took them out of the bag. They also seemed to have a shine to them (although it could just be because I decided to order a blue pair rather than black). I sent these back too.

(Again, I ordered a small, and they fit great.)

4. One More non-Amazon Pair I Tried: Old Navy Maternity Full Panel Pixie Pants

I had ordered these first (sorry, no picture because I already returned them). Not only were they the most expensive, but they also didn’t fit me well (hung down too low). As I said earlier, your best bet is to order several Amazon pairs to compare them all! With options to try on in-store few and far between anyway, you just can’t beat free shipping both ways!

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