It depends greatly on the qualifications of the doula, the services you want (how much time you will want her to spend with you), geographic areas, etc. In my area, the Pacific Northwest, doulas run around $250-600, but in big cities such as Seattle, SF, LA, etc., they could run upwards of $1200-1500. Try this website and call some doulas in your area for specific prices. Good luck. http://www.dona.org/
In the Missouri area it runs between $300 - $700 depending on qualifications & certifications, as well as experience. However we do have a LOT of Doulas in the area that are willing to work on a sliding scale, or who accept payment plans, or even a few who volunteer their services. A lot of towns/cities have a Doula group where any Doulas in the area can join & you can access a data base of them. I would recommend that you Google Doulas in your specific town then get in touch with the president of the group & let her know your price range....she will know who is in her group and can usually set you up with several women that you can then interview yourself. Many have websites of their own or a group website where you can find out tons of information about them. I know Missouri's is www.doulasofgreaterstlouis.com There are also groups in the Chicago area & I know their price range is between $750 - $1500 You can also check with your insurance company & see if they would cover all or part of the cost of your Doula, some will do third party reimbursement! Finally you can always look for a "student" Doula, this is someone who has all of their training done but needs to attend a certain number of births in order to achieve their certification, most will do your birth for free or for a VERY reduced rate in exchange for you agreeing to fill out their evaluation form (usually 5 questions). They have all of the same training that a certified Doula has however they do not have the experience. You can find more information about Doula services & the benefits of using a Doula on my personal website: www.myspace.com/APeaInThePodDoulaServices
I hope that was helpful!?