Best Baby Monitors for 2024 [CNET]

Our Experts

$49.95).

One of the challenges I faced when setting this monitor up was getting the handheld monitor to connect to Wi-Fi. Eventually, I got it to work, but a feature that stood out to me was that you had the option to use the monitor with or without Wi-Fi. If you don’t use it with Wi-Fi, you can connect the camera and handheld monitor together instead. This is a well-thought-out idea since it allows you to use it anywhere, and even if the Wi-Fi goes out, it is still functional. I downloaded the app so I could compare the difference between how the handheld monitor displays the image versus on the smartphone. I found the app to be easy to use and set up. You can also set it up with a tablet if you prefer. I also liked how you could zoom in and out and adjust the view on the phone. The one thing I found unclear was how to take screenshots or videos, but I eventually realized that it was a small arrow icon on the right-hand side. If you want to be able to use this feature, you need to grant the app full access to your photo gallery. Additionally, the video and photo icon controls the two-way microphone, nightlight and sound machine option on the monitor.

VTech provides a sleep analysis on your child, but it only works if you have it mounted over the sleep space, so I wasn’t able to take advantage of this feature. There is also a rewind option on the app, but I couldn’t figure out how to use it, so I wish that had been clearer. Another way this camera is versatile is that you can use it as your baby enters toddlerhood and set up “danger zones.” So if your curious toddler is in an area they shouldn’t be in, you will get alerted. Similar to the other baby monitor apps, you can customize your settings to receive alerts when the baby cries, wakes up or falls asleep, warning detections if the baby rolls over and more. If you’re looking for a versatile baby monitor that you can access from just about any device, add the V-Care monitor to your baby registry.

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Vtech camera and monitor

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Vtech camera and monitor

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my.nanit.com. This is the baby monitor I’ve been using since my son was born, so I already had some firsthand experience with it. You can purchase it with a floor stand, a wall mount or a flex stand. I have it on a wall mount right above my son’s crib. Overall, it’s easy to set up the Wi-Fi connection, but in the past, I’ve had issues with the Wi-Fi disconnecting — even with a Wi-Fi extender. Considering the price point of this monitor, I would expect the connection to be pristine the majority of the time. If you experience connection issues, you can contact Nanit’s support team via email and they usually respond, but by that point, you’ve most likely troubleshooted the issue. I will say that I didn’t experience any connection issues during this past month, and I suspect that upgrading to the Milestones subscription may have improved it.

You don’t need a subscription to use this monitor, but if you want extra insight, Nanit offers a Memories ($120/year) and Milestones ($300/year) subscription. Milestones lets you add 50 users and captures all of your baby’s milestones with unlimited access, whereas the Memories plan captures 200 memories to an in-app baby album and offers 30 days of sleep data and video clips. Some other additions you can purchase are the breathing band (to monitor baby’s breathing), the breathing wear sleeping bag, Nanit smart sheets (to track baby’s measurements) and more.

I like having the video monitor on my phone because it’s easy to access. This was particularly helpful one night after I put my son to bed and he suddenly started projectile vomiting. I could see and hear clearly through the video and audio coming through the app, plus I got an alert. The Nanit has a picture-in-picture video option that allows me to access other apps while using my phone. I also like that I can keep an eye on my son in the crib even while away from home. I can see how this feature could be a nuisance if someone prefers to have a separate monitor instead because you would need to keep the app open overnight. Nanit does have a night mode option that darkens the screen and lights up when there’s an alert. It also doubles as a nightlight and sound machine. You can customize which alerts you want to receive, which is always a plus. One of the downsides to consider is that if the app malfunctions or the Wi-Fi goes out, there is no alternative way to view the monitor.

One of the advantages of upgrading your subscription is that you get a daily and weekly overview of your child’s sleeping habits. I found this particularly helpful because my son hasn’t always been the best sleeper, so it gives me peace of mind seeing the stats that tell me he’s getting enough sleep. You also have the option to connect with a community of other Nanit users through the app. Nanit offers tips on improving baby sleeping habits, but I wasn’t a fan of these and chose to opt-out. I’ve learned parents sometimes have to go through trial and error to find the right sleep approach for their kids. Some parents may love the additional details this monitor offers, while others may find the features superfluous or anxiety-inducing. Ultimately it’s up to you if you want a baby monitor with this many features and don’t mind the price point. If you aren’t set on this one, there are others on the list that may be a better fit for your family.

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The Nanit installed on a wall mount

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The Nanit installed on a wall mount

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The Nanit Pro is a Wi-Fi-powered baby monitor that you can manage on your smartphone via the Nanit app (available for iOS and Android). You can also connect it to your Google Home, Amazon Alexa or webstream it on my.nanit.com. This is the baby monitor I’ve been using since my son was born, so I already had some firsthand experience with it. You can purchase it with a floor stand, a wall mount or a flex stand. I have it on a wall mount right above my son’s crib. Overall, it’s easy to set up the Wi-Fi connection, but in the past, I’ve had issues with the Wi-Fi disconnecting — even with a Wi-Fi extender. Considering the price point of this monitor, I would expect the connection to be pristine the majority of the time. If you experience connection issues, you can contact Nanit’s support team via email and they usually respond, but by that point, you’ve most likely troubleshooted the issue. I will say that I didn’t experience any connection issues during this past month, and I suspect that upgrading to the Milestones subscription may have improved it.

You don’t need a subscription to use this monitor, but if you want extra insight, Nanit offers a Memories ($120/year) and Milestones ($300/year) subscription. Milestones lets you add 50 users and captures all of your baby’s milestones with unlimited access, whereas the Memories plan captures 200 memories to an in-app baby album and offers 30 days of sleep data and video clips. Some other additions you can purchase are the breathing band (to monitor baby’s breathing), the breathing wear sleeping bag, Nanit smart sheets (to track baby’s measurements) and more.

I like having the video monitor on my phone because it’s easy to access. This was particularly helpful one night after I put my son to bed and he suddenly started projectile vomiting. I could see and hear clearly through the video and audio coming through the app, plus I got an alert. The Nanit has a picture-in-picture video option that allows me to access other apps while using my phone. I also like that I can keep an eye on my son in the crib even while away from home. I can see how this feature could be a nuisance if someone prefers to have a separate monitor instead because you would need to keep the app open overnight. Nanit does have a night mode option that darkens the screen and lights up when there’s an alert. It also doubles as a nightlight and sound machine. You can customize which alerts you want to receive, which is always a plus. One of the downsides to consider is that if the app malfunctions or the Wi-Fi goes out, there is no alternative way to view the monitor.

One of the advantages of upgrading your subscription is that you get a daily and weekly overview of your child’s sleeping habits. I found this particularly helpful because my son hasn’t always been the best sleeper, so it gives me peace of mind seeing the stats that tell me he’s getting enough sleep. You also have the option to connect with a community of other Nanit users through the app. Nanit offers tips on improving baby sleeping habits, but I wasn’t a fan of these and chose to opt-out. I’ve learned parents sometimes have to go through trial and error to find the right sleep approach for their kids. Some parents may love the additional details this monitor offers, while others may find the features superfluous or anxiety-inducing. Ultimately it’s up to you if you want a baby monitor with this many features and don’t mind the price point. If you aren’t set on this one, there are others on the list that may be a better fit for your family.

FDA-cleared in 2023. The Dream Sock is the first and only over-the-counter medical pulse oximetry solution for infants. This baby monitor is powered through Wi-Fi and connects to the Owlet app (available on iOS and Android). The app is free and there is no paid subscription. The setup requires you to use the Owlet camera to scan a QR code found through the app. I had to try it several times before the app and the camera synced together. One thing I liked about this camera is that the cord was the longest of all the monitors, and its magnetic base made it the most adjustable, so you get the best camera angle possible. This was super helpful since the area where I have my son’s pack ‘n play requires a tricky angle to get the whole view.

I was somewhat familiar with the Owlet Dream Sock before testing but had never explored it as an option for my family. Please note: The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using direct-to-consumer heart rate and pulse oximetry monitoring devices to prevent sudden infant death syndrome or other sleep-related deaths. The AAP warns that there is not enough evidence to support that these types of devices can prevent these deaths from occurring and give parents a false sense of security. Owlet states on its website that the Dream Sock is intended for tracking your child’s well-being by monitoring sleep patterns, quality and duration of sleep.

As long as you use the Dream Sock correctly, you can reap the benefits. Setting up the sock requires connecting to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The package came with four different-sized socks that are meant to fit healthy infants weighing 6 pounds to 30 pounds. The socks contain a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, which is similar to what hospitals use to test your heart rate. The sock has velcro straps so you can easily adjust it around your child’s foot. I found the setup for the sock to be easier than the camera, but using the sock on my son took some trial and error. For one, he was not a fan of having something attached to his foot and kept trying to take it off. Secondly, sometimes I’d have to troubleshoot getting the sock and camera to work from the app if it lost connection. You also need to keep the sock on the charging base when it’s not in use for it to remain charged. If you don’t place it back on the base, the battery will drain and it won’t work correctly. The base itself lights up different colors and each one has a different meaning:

• Green light: A blinking green light means it’s capturing the heart rate and oxygen readings. Once established and everything seems in range, the blinking becomes more steady.
• Red light: If the base starts blinking red this means oxygen levels or heart rate levels are out of range.
• Blue light: This means the base is unable to detect the sock via Bluetooth and it will also play the lullaby “Hush Little Baby” to notify you.
• Yellow light: This indicates that the sock is unable to find a reading on your baby’s foot.

I eventually managed to get the sock to stay on my son’s foot and captured some sleep session readings during his naps. The readings show you the baby’s pulse rate, oxygen levels if it detects movement, the noise in the room, the room temperature and when the baby wakes up. After the baby rises, you receive a full report of the sleep session that tells you how long the baby slept and their average heart rate and oxygen levels. One of the things that surprised me was how the sock was able to tell when and for how long my son was awake and when he was in a light or deep sleep.

This tool can be helpful for parents with newborns and babies because the data can be shown to their pediatrician if their baby is experiencing a sleep regression or if they’re having a hard time figuring out their wake windows and establishing a sleep schedule. If your goal is to get a better understanding of your child’s sleep patterns, the Owlet Dream Duo 2 could be a good choice for your family. If the Dream Sock seems a bit much, the camera is also sold separately and offers a clear picture of your child as well as two-way audio, temperature check and cry notifications. It also predicts their next nap based on their wake windows and offers a picture-in-picture option on your phone app.

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The Owlet Dream Duo 2 comes with the Dream Sock, the Dream Sock charger, the Owlet monitor and a magnetic stand.

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The Owlet Dream Duo 2 comes with the Dream Sock, the Dream Sock charger, the Owlet monitor and a magnetic stand.

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The Dream Duo 2 includes the Owlet Smart HD monitor and the Owlet Dream Sock, which was FDA-cleared in 2023. The Dream Sock is the first and only over-the-counter medical pulse oximetry solution for infants. This baby monitor is powered through Wi-Fi and connects to the Owlet app (available on iOS and Android). The app is free and there is no paid subscription. The setup requires you to use the Owlet camera to scan a QR code found through the app. I had to try it several times before the app and the camera synced together. One thing I liked about this camera is that the cord was the longest of all the monitors, and its magnetic base made it the most adjustable, so you get the best camera angle possible. This was super helpful since the area where I have my son’s pack ‘n play requires a tricky angle to get the whole view.

I was somewhat familiar with the Owlet Dream Sock before testing but had never explored it as an option for my family. Please note: The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using direct-to-consumer heart rate and pulse oximetry monitoring devices to prevent sudden infant death syndrome or other sleep-related deaths. The AAP warns that there is not enough evidence to support that these types of devices can prevent these deaths from occurring and give parents a false sense of security. Owlet states on its website that the Dream Sock is intended for tracking your child’s well-being by monitoring sleep patterns, quality and duration of sleep.

As long as you use the Dream Sock correctly, you can reap the benefits. Setting up the sock requires connecting to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The package came with four different-sized socks that are meant to fit healthy infants weighing 6 pounds to 30 pounds. The socks contain a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, which is similar to what hospitals use to test your heart rate. The sock has velcro straps so you can easily adjust it around your child’s foot. I found the setup for the sock to be easier than the camera, but using the sock on my son took some trial and error. For one, he was not a fan of having something attached to his foot and kept trying to take it off. Secondly, sometimes I’d have to troubleshoot getting the sock and camera to work from the app if it lost connection. You also need to keep the sock on the charging base when it’s not in use for it to remain charged. If you don’t place it back on the base, the battery will drain and it won’t work correctly. The base itself lights up different colors and each one has a different meaning:

• Green light: A blinking green light means it’s capturing the heart rate and oxygen readings. Once established and everything seems in range, the blinking becomes more steady.
• Red light: If the base starts blinking red this means oxygen levels or heart rate levels are out of range.
• Blue light: This means the base is unable to detect the sock via Bluetooth and it will also play the lullaby “Hush Little Baby” to notify you.
• Yellow light: This indicates that the sock is unable to find a reading on your baby’s foot.

I eventually managed to get the sock to stay on my son’s foot and captured some sleep session readings during his naps. The readings show you the baby’s pulse rate, oxygen levels if it detects movement, the noise in the room, the room temperature and when the baby wakes up. After the baby rises, you receive a full report of the sleep session that tells you how long the baby slept and their average heart rate and oxygen levels. One of the things that surprised me was how the sock was able to tell when and for how long my son was awake and when he was in a light or deep sleep.

This tool can be helpful for parents with newborns and babies because the data can be shown to their pediatrician if their baby is experiencing a sleep regression or if they’re having a hard time figuring out their wake windows and establishing a sleep schedule. If your goal is to get a better understanding of your child’s sleep patterns, the Owlet Dream Duo 2 could be a good choice for your family. If the Dream Sock seems a bit much, the camera is also sold separately and offers a clear picture of your child as well as two-way audio, temperature check and cry notifications. It also predicts their next nap based on their wake windows and offers a picture-in-picture option on your phone app.

Best Baby Monitors for 2024