If you get the right combination of absorbancy and waterproof wrap, then you don't need to change a cloth nappy more often than a disposable one, hub2dee.
We've been cloth nappying for nearly 10 years, on and off, and over the past five years the choice and quality have really improved. If I were starting from scratch now I'd probably go for totsbots. 10 years ago there wasn't anything like that: I started with AIO (Kooshies and a now-defunct Canadian brand called Mikey Diaper) for my eldest, moved on to folded and pinned terries with oldstyle plastic pants and later ME wraps for no., 2, and am now reusing all the old terries and muslins on dd2, but pad-folded this time and held in place by Nature Babies popper wraps. We use paper liners, but if the nappy's only wet you can wash them a few times before they fall apart.
It's cheap, easy and completely effective -- can't remember ever having a leak.
The reason so many AIO are pants is because there isn't enough absorbancy in them, so however good the waterproofing, the wetness has to go somewhere, usually leaking out around the legs or waistband. Some brands of wrap also wick out through the fabric I tried a couple of (v. expensive) Bumpy so-called PUL wraps, which were particularly bad for this. Never had that problem with the Nature Babies or ME wraps. I think the theory with the fleece wraps is that because some of th moisture evaporates through the fleece, it lessens the strain on the absorbancy of the actual nappy, so may be able to go for longer, eg. at night. Suspect they might wick, though, where the baby is lying on it, and def. would during the daytime in buggy or car seat. Never tried them, though too mean, and happy with the system we have!