The 9 Very Best Baby Monitors

Type: Non-Wi-Fi video monitor, 1,000-foot range | Video display: 720p HD camera, 5-inch display | Features: LED sound indicator, active noise-reduction technology

The Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro baby monitor is the latest version of the DXR-8 model, which is extremely popular among Amazon users, with close to 50,000 reviews on the website, as well as with Babylist users, according to LaBracio. It’s the monitor that I personally use and love. Out of the several I’ve tried over the years with both of my kids, this one just works every single time. After two and half years of everyday use, it’s still reliable, easy to use, with great video quality. I will note that the battery life on the parent unit is not great, but that’s not necessarily a deal breaker for me. (The brand sells a replacement battery, which I plan on getting.) It’s a non-Wi-Fi-enabled a.k.a. local video baby monitor — one that uses a radio-frequency-based system to transmit information and requires both a camera and a “parent unit” (or separate viewing device instead of an app on your phone). I am a longtime fan of this line and have used both models, and I can attest that the Pro is an incredible improvement over the original device, which I already loved. I still use the Pro with my older son, who is 4 years old, and recommend paying $35 more for it. (I am planning on buying a second camera to use in the baby’s room, where we’re currently using the Nanit — more on that, below.) The Pro has all the features of the original but is better. One of the main upgrades is the five-inch HD screen, a noticeably larger, crisper display than the 3.5-inch original. As I wrote in a review of the Pro, making the switch was quite literally like going from low- to high-def. The enhanced night vision on the 720p video feed is so clear we could actually see my son’s open eyes at night, which we couldn’t do with the original monitor. It has an improved coverage range of 1,000 feet, which is helpful if you live in a larger home. The Pro comes with active noise-reduction technology that reduces background noises such as fans, but because it doesn’t work when a sound machine is on, this feature is less important for our purposes.

Another feature that sets the DXR-8 Pro apart from other local video monitors is its LED soundbar, a favorite feature of Nevares’s, who uses the older device as a backup on her consults in case the Wi-Fi cuts out on a smart monitor. The audio indicator allows you to turn off the sound (and the screen) but still see whether there’s noise coming from the room by way of LED lights that flash green and red. “I like to be able to have the ability to turn the volume off and watch the baby and not hear it,” says Nevares. It can be paired with up to four additional cameras (sold separately), a feature that Strategist contributor Kelsey Osgood says she really appreciated when she had a second child 19 months after giving birth to her first. It has pan (135 degrees both left and right for a total range of 270) and tilt (95 degrees up and 25 degrees down, or 110 degrees) capabilities and comes with a zoom lens. (You can buy a wide-angle lens separately.) A final note: I love how sturdy and well made this monitor is. My son has yanked the camera off the dresser more than a dozen times and it has never once broken or even cracked. The screen unit has also been thrown across the room and manhandled by two zealous kids and has stayed in one piece.

Type: Wi-Fi smart monitor | Video display: 1080p HD camera | Features: Sleep metrics, optional wearables

If you’re looking for a smart, Wi-Fi-enabled monitor that can provide you with insights into how your baby is sleeping and more, then you’ll want to consider the Nanit. The smart monitor received the most recommendations, with five of our experts telling us it’s a favorite. Made for the tech- and data-obsessed parent who wants to know and track everything about their baby, it has won a number of awards and was named one of the best inventions of 2018 by Time magazine. It’s an over-the-crib Wi-Fi camera that not only offers standard video-monitoring capabilities but provides data, including sleep metrics, via its app. The bird’s-eye camera captures real-time HD-quality video and uses what the company calls “computer vision” to track whether your child is awake, sleeping, or fussing — no wearables required. Nanit synthesizes this data to generate nightly sleep reports and sleep scores, even providing tips on how to help your baby sleep better. As the Bump’s executive editor, Lauren Kay, puts it, “The Nanit is a two-in-one monitor that gives you helpful training and guidance when it comes to sleep, which is different from a lot of the competitors.”

Natalie Nevares, the founder of Mommywise and a sleep-training expert who coaches new parents, says the Nanit is her favorite of all the cameras she’s used over the years. LaBracio loves it, too, telling us she recommends it all the time for its data-tracking ability. (It’s one of the most popular smart monitors among Babylist users and, anecdotally speaking, among new parents.) “You can pick up on patterns and sort of take a step back and see how your baby is sleeping the whole night,” she says. Jennifer Saxton, the founder of the Tot Squad, loves the monitor’s sleep-tracking feature, saying it helps eliminate the guesswork of trying to figure out how long a baby has been asleep. “The data tracking helps me understand exactly when the baby fell asleep (so I can predict how long I have until she will be up again), and the summary data of her average bedtimes and number of night wakings really help with watching trends during sleep training,” explains Saxton. Echoing this praise, Fathercraft co-founder Paul Zalewski says, “Nanit’s ‘smart features’ are actually useful,” adding that his business partner made significant changes to his son’s bedtime routine based on the Nanit’s analysis. “When a ‘smart product’ can actually deliver on a promise — in this case, that promise is more sleep for babies and parents — that’s pretty spectacular.”

Aside from the data-tracking features of the Nanit, the basic camera function of the monitor is fine. I prefer a non-Wi-Fi monitor (see above), but I decided to test the Nanit with baby No. 2, since we needed a second monitor for his room. I appreciated being able to monitor the baby via the app even when I wasn’t home (great for nights out), and like others have said, it was helpful to be able to see some of those sleep insights. For instance, though my two boys are generally very good sleepers, the Nanit recommended putting the baby to sleep a little earlier, which hadn’t occurred to us. The camera comes with three mounting options including flex stand, wall mount, and floor stand — each more expensive than the last. We opted for the floor stand, which was extremely convenient and easy to set up and position — no mounting hardware required. Since then, Nanit has released an even sleeker-looking stand. (Note that, because it’s a fixed camera, you can’t adjust it unless you physically move it — unlike other non-Wi-Fi monitors on this list.) But one thing that frustrates me and my husband — and this might be true of Wi-Fi monitors in general — is that connectivity can be unstable. When I open the app, sometimes the video feed takes a while to load, or doesn’t load at all, which is extra-annoying when you can hear your baby crying but can’t see whether he’s sitting up or just getting settled — whether you need to go in or let him be. Now that I’m approaching a year using the Nanit, I’ve noticed that the connectivity issues have actually gotten worse, with the camera disconnecting in the middle of the night. It’s the reason why I’m getting a second camera for the Infant Optics monitor so that I can use the same screen for both him and his older brother. If you want even more insight into how your baby is sleeping, you can use the breathing band (which comes with the Nanit Pro; you can get it as a swaddle, sleep sack, or pajamas), which tracks a baby’s breathing motion in real time, without a sensor, by way of the camera. “We used the breathing wear for peace of mind with our infant, especially once she started sleeping on her stomach,” says Saxton. You can purchase Nanit’s smart sheets, which let you to track your baby’s physical growth through the camera. To save a few bucks, you can buy everything in a bundle, but for most families, the Pro camera alone should be more than sufficient. The Nanit Pro includes a free one-year subscription to your video history and data with purchase; after that, you’ll have to pay $5 a month or $50 a year. I personally think this data is less important once your child turns 1, so I didn’t consider paying for an additional year. You can still use the monitor’s basic live-video monitoring without a subscription — you just won’t have access to any of the analytics or sleep insights.

Type: Wi-Fi smart monitor | Video display: 1080p HD camera

For a more affordable Wi-Fi-enabled monitor that has some smart features, both LaBracio and Nevares recommend the Lollipop. LaBracio says it’s a popular choice among Babylist users because the monitor is “cute, modern, and comes in a bunch of fun colors.” Nevares likes that it’s tiny and therefore very portable. Unlike the Nanit, it requires no mounting hardware, thanks to the camera’s bendable, silicone base. “You can wrap it around the bars of the crib or put it on a dresser,” explains LaBracio. (It comes with a wall mount, should you want to coil it around that.) Nevares adds that this monitor is especially good for newborns, “because you can hook it around a crib rail and point it in any direction you want.” Like the Nanit, however, the camera is fixed and you cannot adjust it unless you physically move it. As far as its smart features go, the monitor can detect crying and other noises, whether the baby is trying to climb out of the crib, and tracks sleep patterns and monitors breathing (a free seven-day subscription to access that data is included. After that, plans start at $8 per month or $80 per year). You can pair the Lollipop with a sensor (sold separately) that monitors humidity, temperature, and air quality in the room. Other features of the camera include advanced night vision, two-way talk, a built-in noise machine, and lullabies. “For a smart monitor, it’s a cheaper option,” concludes Nevares.

Type: Non-Wi-Fi video monitor, 1,000-foot range | Video display: 720p HD camera, 5-inch display screen

The Eufy, which is about $40 cheaper than the Infant Optics, is the monitor of choice for two of the experts I spoke to. “It feels like a modern tech product versus something that you would’ve seen ten years ago,” says Zalewski. “Its parent unit is slim and lightweight, the image quality is excellent, and the user interface is intuitive. Compare that to most other non-Wi-Fi monitors, and there’s a world of difference.” Like with the Infant Optics, the Eufy’s parent unit has a large, five-inch display screen, while the camera, which includes a wide-angle-lens attachment, can pan 330 degrees and tilt 110 degrees, has two-way audio, a coverage range of up to 1,000 feet, and the ability to connect to up to four cameras (sold separately) — a feature loved by Suzie Zeldin Russell, co-owner of the SmartSitting network for child-care professionals. “It’s very easy to switch between cameras, so we can watch our baby nap while checking on our toddler in the playroom,” she says. “We have recommended this monitor to countless friends and consistently get rave reviews in response. Of all the baby gear we own, this is among the very best.”

Type: Wi-Fi video monitor with dual-mode connectivity | Video display: 1080p HD camera, 1,000-foot range | Features: Parent unit with 5-inch screen

If you’re looking for a straightforward, non-fussy, dumb (a.k.a. not smart), Wi-Fi-enabled monitor that comes with both an app and a parent unit, this new model from Motorola, released last year, is your best bet. LaBracio had a chance to try it out, and she recommends it for three key features. The first is its “fresh and new” design. “It’s black and white and more modern and sleeker-looking than a lot of what’s out there.” (The 1080p camera, with its rounded head and body, reminds me of Wall-E, the Pixar robot.) The second is how “very self-intuitive” and “super-easy it is to use.” All LaBracio did was plug it in without even reading the instructions, and it “worked beautifully.” The third is how it can be controlled through either the screen (as with non-Wi-Fi models) or an app. (Most Wi-Fi monitors don’t come with a separate video monitor.) If you don’t feel like setting up the app for whatever reason, you can still use the screen, as LaBracio did on a recent trip. “I didn’t set up anything other than just the monitor. I plugged it in and it was ready to go,” she says. “I could carry the parent unit around the house where we were staying, and it was super-easy.” Something to keep in mind: When you’re using the parent unit, the range tops out at 1,000 feet. Other features include the five-inch color display — which she calls “huge,” though she admits the clarity doesn’t to compare with more expensive models like the Nanit or Miku — as well as two-way talk, noise-level-indicator bars, infrared night vision, room-temperature monitoring, a wall mount, and remote pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities. “It’s different from what else is out there,” LaBracio concludes. It combines the ease of a standard plug-and-go radio-frequency baby monitor with the convenience of a Wi-Fi-enabled device.

I, too, was intrigued by the dual local video and Wi-Fi capabilities and requested one to test. As LaBracio promises, it works straight out of the box without connecting to the Wi-Fi if you use the parent unit. Connecting to the app is simple, too, and I’ve used both at the same time. I found the connectivity on the app to be slightly more reliable than on the Nanit, but both the app interface and parent unit are a little clunky in their design. One thing that annoys me is that there is no way to turn off the camera when you’re done using it unless you physically unplug it from the power source. Still, it’s really convenient to travel with, and if you have a caretaker who prefers a physical screen to using an app, you have options. Plus you can use the app and the parent unit at the same time, which is pretty neat.

Type: Wi-Fi video camera | Video display: 1080p HD camera with color night vision

Instead of getting a baby-specific monitor, many families choose to use a camera from their home’s existing security system. But as LaBracio observes that people are moving away from hacking their Nest and Ring cams and increasingly opting for smart Wi-Fi-enabled baby monitors that provide analytics like the Nanit and Miku. Her prediction: “In the next couple of years, those types of higher-priced monitors will become the standard and outpace video monitors.” Still, they’re expensive and will put you out a couple hundred dollars. According to LaBracio, one new-to-market security camera that has been gaining some buzz for its friendly price is the Wyze Cam V3. It’s what Babylist senior visual designer Tonya and mom of two uses. “I love the Wyze Cam because it’s affordable, super-easy to set up, and can be quickly moved to any room in the house,” she says. It comes with two-way communication, which she says is “great for the toddler years,” and the option to use a micro-SD card for storage, which helps her feel more secure than keeping personal data on the cloud. The Wyze Cam has 1080p color night vision, which makes it ideal as a baby monitor, and it comes with a mount that can be installed three ways.