The amount of baby products to choose from is dizzying, and ultimately, the best baby monitor for your family is one that gives you peace of mind. That means it should be easy for you to set up and operate, provide clear (and timely) picture and sound and maintain its battery life so you can check on your little one throughout the day or night. After testing 10 monitors—some Wi-Fi-based, some with dedicated handheld monitors and some with both—I found the Eufy SpaceView Pro was the overall winner. Its large screen, adjustable settings and easy connectivity make it a quick and simple way to monitor your baby when you aren’t right at their bedside.
After months of testing, these are some of the best baby monitors: Eufy SpaceView Pro, Chillax ... [+]
For a Wi-Fi-connected baby monitor that’s still portable, highly reliable and easy to see, hear and use, I picked the high-performing Chillax Giraffe Cam Pro. And for the best portable option, the Lollipop Baby Monitor with True Crying Detection is ideal, especially if you plan on traveling. I picked two more winners as well, the CuboAi Plus Smart Baby Monitor and the Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro. All five winners made the cut thanks to their ease of use, excellent sound and video quality, night vision modes and simple set up. Additional features like portability, two-way audio and app integration were also considered and noted, and I tested (and included) a mix of Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi options.
As a mom of five (including a newborn), I’ve used baby monitors throughout my nearly decade of parenting, so I had plenty of real-life experience before testing products for this list. I also enlisted the help of Jada Shapiro, postpartum doula, parenting expert and founder of boober, to weigh in on safety, usability, functionality and how to choose the best model for your family. Based on our combined expertise, below you can read about the best baby monitors I tested plus tried-and-true advice to help you make your selection.
- Best Overall Baby Monitor: Eufy SpaceView Pro
- Best Wi-Fi Baby Monitor: Chillax Giraffe Cam Pro
- Best Baby Monitor For Portability: Lollipop Baby Monitor
- Best Baby Monitor For Sleep Analytics: CuboAi Plus Smart Baby Monitor
- Best Long-Range Baby Monitor: Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro
Simplicity And Function Combined
The Eufy SpaceView Pro had the easiest setup process of any monitor I tested, which is one of the reasons it’s my pick for new parents and my favorite monitor overall. It comes pre-paired with a “private channel” portable monitor that does not rely on Wi-Fi, so it’s seamless to use. The Eufy has everything you’d expect from a traditional baby monitor, but with extras like a convenient stand-up base. The battery life offers an impressive 12 hours of active viewing and 30 hours of standby, and I never once encountered any sort of connectivity issue.
I used the Eufy SpaceView Pro to remotely pan and zoom around my baby's crib from all the way across ... [+]
The Eufy had the most convenient design of any monitor we tested: the back of the handheld monitor includes a triangular base that lets it sit up on its own for easy viewing (it’s like a PopSocket on your phone, but sturdier). This makes it a bit bulky, which might be a disadvantage if you want to carry it around in your pocket. But, I found its design convenient since I could set down the monitor while cooking dinner, helping my other kids or working at the computer. And, with a range of up to 1,000 feet, Eufy boasts one of the longest ranges of any monitor we tested.
Just-Right Alarms
Nobody wants a monitor that sounds an alarm every time the baby rolls or squeals, and the Eufy monitor offered the best sensitivity options of the monitors we tested. It has five sensitivities and only pops out of sleep mode to alert you your baby is awake based on the setting you pick. This eliminates a lot of unnecessary middle-of-the-night waking when your baby is simply soothing themselves back to sleep or rolling around to get comfortable. Unfortunately, there’s no button for a quick transition back to sleep mode. Instead, the handheld monitor shuts down after a set time.
A Note On Eufy’s Wi-Fi Cameras
Recently, some of Eufy’s Wi-Fi connected security cameras made headlines for some possible vulnerabilities in its video stream that didn’t appear to be as encrypted as promised. Essentially, it appeared that someone could tap into an individual security camera stream online with the right amount of info and interest. Eufy has responded to the charge by revamping its cameras to eliminate this possibility. However, these issues do not impact the Eufy SpaceView Pro baby monitor at all, because it cannot connect to the Internet—at all in any shape.
Long-Term Testing Notes After A Year Of Testing
After testing the Eufy for nearly a year, including with my recently born fifth child, I continue to appreciate the Eufy’s strong commitment to basics: a super clear picture, high security without Wi-Fi concerns and portability. I took the Eufy on multiple family camping trips when I wanted a monitor and needed it to be able to work without Wi-Fi given our location. It also came along on a family cross-country trip to Canada, where I’m happy to report that the monitor worked well in spite of the baby being even further away from our room than he would be at home. This is my go-to trusted monitor that I know will go the distance and continue to prove its reliability every time. Want more details? Read my in-depth review of the Eufy SpaceView Pro.
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For parents who want the best of both worlds—Wi-Fi and a private channel dedicated monitor—the Chillax Giraffe Cam Pro is the best value monitor I found. The 1080p monitor had the highest quality picture among the monitors tested, which helped me see small details like whether a baby is just starting to wake up, is sucking their thumb, or has drifted off to sleep. The portable monitor is also pre-paired, making setup easy, and clear directions helped me quickly pair the camera to the app with a QR code. It doesn’t sacrifice visibility, sound quality or overall usability despite costing less than the Eufy.
A Long Range And Impressive Picture Quality
The Chillax Giraffe Cam Pro had the longest range of any monitors I tested at 1,200 feet. Of course, you can check in from anywhere using the app if you set up the Wi-Fi connection—that way, you can monitor your kids when they are home with a babysitter. (That said, Shapiro warned against spending date nights worrying about whether your baby is sleeping as long as you’ve left them with a trustworthy caregiver.)
I like that you can set up "smart zones" with the Giraffe Cam Pro to see if your child is roaming ... [+]
‘Smart Zone,’ Privacy And Wellness Features
I also appreciated some of the Giraffe Cam Pro’s standout features that make this monitor a great investment for growing kids. You can customize a “smart zone” on the monitor by setting a designated area as if you were cropping a picture of your baby’s crib. Then, the monitor will notify you if the baby moves outside that zone. This feature will be helpful as your infant grows up and moves to a toddler bed; it lets you know if your child is roaming around the room instead of nodding off to sleep.
If you’re worried about security with Wi-Fi monitors, you’ll appreciate the precautions available in this one. You have to grant permission for Grandma or other users to see the camera feed. There’s also a privacy button to turn the Wi-Fi on and off, which Shapiro says decreases the likelihood of getting hacked if the monitor isn’t always available.
While you shouldn’t rely on the app instead of a medical device, the app does provide health and wellness monitoring. It can monitor sleep times, diaper logs, feedings, growth, teething milestones and more.
Long-Term Testing Notes After A Year Of Testing
The crystal clear view of this baby monitor continues to outperform other choices, even the Lollipop which I love, making it much easier to observe the baby for facial expressions, and even to visually observe breathing.
One downside is that the Giraffe Cam Pro, like other Wi-Fi monitors, has to be re-paired anytime it’s unplugged by a pesky toddler up to no good. This process is a bit cumbersome, and I wish it always automatically re-paired to my phone’s app. One additional concern, which could be simply our Wi-Fi not performing at its best, is that when you are talking to the kid via the microphone function, sometimes the camera stalls or buffers a bit, causing a delay in regaining video after each comment. Check out my the full Chillax Giraffe Cam Pro review for more extensive details.
The whimsically named Lollipop is the most versatile monitor I tested. It’s designed to wrap around almost any surface, from a crib rail to a nearby lamp. It can even curl up like a snake’s tail to create a stand for itself, making it a perfect traveling companion. The Lollipop is also baby proof; even though my son managed to unwrap the camera from his bedside rail, I wasn't concerned because the safe, smart design offers zero removable parts or choking hazards.
The Deal With ‘True Crying Detection’
Lollipop’s so-called “true crying detection” distinguishes this monitor from its peers— it’s better at blocking out background noise, such as my youngest son’s three older brothers stomping past the baby’s room during nap time. This feature prevents parents from being alerted to every little noise. Similar to the Chillax, it can alert you if your baby’s leg is stuck outside the crib or otherwise moves outside a preset zone. This is especially helpful when your baby reaches an ambitious age and thinks crawling out of the crib seems like a fun option.
Mount the Lollipop monitor almost anywhere, making it ideal for travel.
Disadvantages Worth Noting
The setup is extremely easy, but the app-based monitoring has its disadvantages. You can pan or tilt the camera using the app, for example. But if your child is mobile enough to move around the room and you want to follow them with the camera, you’ll need to move the camera further away and set up a boundary to see the whole room.
Long-Term Testing Notes After A Year Of Testing
The flexible Lollipop camera has made its rounds throughout my nursery over the last year, adjusting to the baby’s growing size and to his growing curiosity and ability to grab the camera. I finally wrapped it high up on a lamp base, giving a nice bird’s-eye view of the crib. Like the Chillax, sometimes the Wi-Fi can’t keep up with the livestream, and if I leave the monitor video open in the app for a while, it starts to struggle to keep up, delivering the dreaded spinning wheel instead of a picture of my baby. This prompts me to exit the app and go back in. I also have come to prefer the slightly larger default view of the Chillax over the Lollipop’s smaller picture (before enlarging each on the app).
The CuboAi Plus baby monitor is Wi-Fi based and the ultimate package in sleep analytics. This monitor alerts parents to young babies rolling over accidentally and if the baby's face is covered but also provides sleep reports, lullabies, video playback and photo capture, as well as crying, temperature and humidity alerts—and many, many more options. The app was easy to navigate as were the settings and there
Knowing Baby’s Every Move Isn’t For Everyone
I found it offered one of the clearest images among the Wi-Fi baby monitors I tested and the sound was decent if a bit sensitive. However, my expert sources warned that some of those extras can actually be more anxiety-inducing, so keep an eye on how much you are checking these analytics and how much importance you are putting on a monitor’s data versus your own parental intuition. I was annoyed when a humidity warning sounded repeatedly and yet the room felt fine to me. It is one of the cutest monitors though, subtly shaped like a bird watching over your baby.
The monitor has periodic sales during holidays and Amazon Prime Day (serious sales, like $100 off) and has a 45-day money back guarantee. This provides a free way to try it out to see if it fits your needs. It can also give parents a chance to decide if sleep analytics are for them, and whether those feel calming or anxiety inducing.
Use This Monitor At home And Take It On The Go
Although it’s an extra purchase, I really like the new travel case they offer to go with this monitor. We camp a lot, and monitors tucked into plastic bags for travel can get unwieldy and annoying. It’s a small convenience but feels like you have your act together a bit as a parent when you have a monitor providing sleep analytics and a specific case for it.
There are also multiple setup options from attaching the base to crib, a wall mount or a separate stand. I found threading the cord through the stand tedious, though, and this was the only baby monitor my child managed to actually pull down.
If you plan on using this monitor mostly at home, keep the bird-shaped design in mind. I liked it at first but now it’s not something that really goes with my toddler’s room (excavators!).
This handheld-only Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro baby monitor features a 1,000-foot range, has active background noise reduction and pans 330-degrees, making it another excellent option for your nursery. It’s a bit more mechanical looking and not as visually appealing as some of the other picks here, but that’s due to the various lenses available for optimal viewing, such as wide-angle and zoom lenses. The monitor is reliable, without many additional extras that many parents might not want.
Keep Track Of Those Toddlers On The Move
As your kids get older and craftier in moving about the room, this zoom lens feature becomes more critical to really seeing what’s going on. My toddler son likes to leave his bed and sleep on top of the vent on the floor, which is on the opposite side of the room from the monitor. I can zoom in and make sure he’s OK as he ventures beyond his typical sleeping spot. And yes, don’t worry, I went back in to put him in the bed.
Tuning Out The Background Noise
The noise reduction component is helpful if you are trying to listen to say, your baby breathing on the monitor. If they have a cold and you want to hear how they’re doing, you aren’t picking up their siblings yelling in the background and the dog barking. As I move out of baby life and into toddler life (again) this is a must-have, because with babies it’s more about if they are asleep or awake. If you are checking on a toddler, you might be looking for something specific like this.
Other Baby Monitors I Tested
I tested 10 baby monitors in total. They didn’t all make our list, but here are the other contenders.
Nanit Pro: The easy-to-navigate app on the Nanit Pro offers a superb and customizable Wi-Fi experience on your phone. It comes with a band that fits young babies for tracking breathing, and you can buy additional bands for older babies. I found the display was sometimes pixelated as it caught up with the Wi-Fi signal. I also had to manually reconnect the camera when switching rooms and it didn’t pair as easily as others.
Miku Pro Breathing and Sleep Tracking Monitor: This monitor also focuses heavily on health analytics that parents may or may not care about, such as breathing changes and the amount of time the baby spends sleeping or upset. It had similar pairing issues to the Nanit, which could create extra stress for new parents while setting up or moving the monitor. The cord didn’t securely fit in the charging brick, causing the monitor to occasionally lose power. Moreover, the price is quite high.
Papalook BM1: The Papalook features a thin but heavy portable monitor, and featured a cute, animal-shaped camera with 360-degree rotation—something most other models didn’t offer. But the range is shorter than most at 900 feet, the zoom function isn’t as clear and usable as some others and initial setup is harder than with our picks.
VTech Video Baby Monitor: This budget buy is the cheapest option we found, and will suffice for basic video monitor needs. However, the handheld monitor is large and clunky, and might not fit in your pocket. The image is lower quality, and you have to manually change the camera angle, whereas most of the others will pan on their own. The adaptive night light changes colors, which is a cute quality that saves parents from buying a separate nightlight.
Hubble Nursery Pal Premium: This handheld monitor had one of the most creative stands, which lets you use a ring kickstand-style feature to prop it up, or collapse it to carry in your pocket. But the picture quality was just average, and I had multiple issues pairing the monitor with the camera.
How I Tested The Best Baby Monitors
I tested monitors both inside and outside my at the time 1-year-old baby’s nursery, using his multiple naps per day and his overnight sleeps to help us get to know each monitor thoroughly. (I have continued testing the top three winners at home with both my toddler and my newborn for more than a year now.) First, I unboxed each monitor, examined the parts, checked out the directions, charged up all the necessary items and downloaded the app, if needed. I then determined how easily the camera, monitor and app connected (or didn’t).
After the initial setup, I tested the user-friendliness of the app by exploring the various features and capabilities within the app, noting how relevant they are to observing the baby. Next, I set up each camera in the nursery, noting how well a monitor captured a baby’s room, and tried various angles and zoom functions to see how much of the room I could see in the camera.
After extensively testing 10 popular baby monitors, I chose these three as the best: Eufy SpaceView ... [+]
During naps and overnight sleeps I tested for sound quality, visibility and the degree of parent-friendliness. I also noted distress functions such as crying alerts and sensitivity. After getting to know each monitor’s basics, I tried to customize settings. I changed views and notifications and tested extra features like lullabies and two-way communication.
Finally, I discovered more about the various setup options people can use depending on their baby’s age and mobility. I tried out different options including wall and floor mounts and stand-alone camera settings to determine which would be most useful for most babies and toddlers’ rooms.
Long-Term Testing Notes
I continue to use the three top baby monitors in my youngest child’s room, and I provided details on how they’ve held up over the last nearly six months, noting my new likes and dislikes on each within their individual sections. I’m actually expecting another baby soon, and I plan to continue to test these as that child arrives, particularly if there are any differences in functionality while monitoring a newborn vs. an older baby.
How To Select The Best Baby Monitor For You
From choosing between a Wi-Fi to non-Wi-Fi model to having capabilities to adding cameras (toggle among two or more children in separate rooms), here’s what to consider when choosing the best baby monitor for your family.
Wi-Fi Vs. Non-Wi-Fi Monitor
In short, a Wi-Fi monitor connects to your Wi-Fi network, meaning you can view its footage from anywhere, even if you’re outside your home (usually via an app on your smart device). The downside is that it’s possible for intruders to hack into your baby’s camera to eavesdrop or, if there’s a two-way audio feature, speak to your little one.
Non-Wi-Fi cameras don’t pose this hacking risk, but where you can view the footage is limited. Most have a range up to 1,200 feet (often less), so you must be in or near your home to check in on your child.
Easy Setup
For the simplest setup, look for models that come pre-paired with a monitor. You can also look for products that feature QR codes for easy instructions and directions with pictures. Non-Wi-Fi monitors are generally easiest to set up since you don’t have to deal with the extra step of connecting them to your Wi-Fi network.
When it comes to placing or mounting your monitor, we recommend putting it on a shelf with a view of the crib so it’s out of reach from your baby (or other kids). Some monitors go over the crib for a birds-eye-view; if you want this feature, we recommend securing the monitor per the manufacturer’s instructions, whether that’s with a wall mount or straps around the crib.
Video Quality
Cameras that can capture HD video have a resolution of at least 720p, so you should aim for this resolution or higher. For models that include a monitor, the bigger the display, the better. If you opt for a Wi-Fi-based app-only system, you can watch your baby on whatever size screen you own. Your screen could be small if you’re watching on your phone, or larger on an iPad or other tablet. Keep in mind, though, that the video quality may depend on your Wi-Fi connection.
A great baby monitor will have a sharp, detailed display you can see on any mobile device. This ... [+]
Sound Quality
Most monitors do a solid job of helping you hear a crying baby. However, look for options that have multiple sensitivity levels so the monitor isn’t picking up too much background noise and alerting you when the baby doesn’t really need help.
Additionally, some parents might want two-way communication, Shapiro said. With this feature, parents can tell a toddler to get back in bed, or reassure them that they are safe (all of our winners have this feature, and most monitors have it too).
Health Analytics And Distress Features
Shapiro warns that parents should be wary of relying on health analytics from a baby monitor. For example, if your baby has a health condition, watching their breathing analytics via an app shouldn’t replace data from certified medical devices which are used under the direction of a doctor.
“There are a lot of issues that can come up when we’re monitoring things like breathing,” Shapiro said. “We should assume the baby is breathing—[these features] can make us hyper-anxious. These types of monitors can have fail moments that cause panic for people.” Additional features like detecting if something is over your baby’s face should be unnecessary for those following safe sleep practices, as pediatricians suggest no additional items should be in the crib with your baby in the first place.
Range And Connectivity
Baby monitors without Wi-Fi usually usually have a range of about 1,000 to 1,200 feet. Some monitors don’t perform as well when they need to penetrate thick walls or multiple floors, like when you have a second-floor nursery or are going outdoors. That means, if you opt for a non-Wi-Fi monitor, you need to consider how far you need to go vertically as well as horizontally. Connectivity issues became apparent during setup in our tests, but you can consider returning a product that doesn’t connect well. If you’re concerned about range, a Wi-Fi monitor may be the way to go.
Security
Many parents are worried about the security of a Wi-Fi monitor, but there are some simple precautions that can help keep it safe. In addition to password protecting your network, Shapiro suggests “changing the password regularly, turning the monitor off when you’re not using it and making sure you only give the password to people you trust, [along with] updating the software regularly on it.” Some units, like the Chillax Giraffe Cam Pro, only let viewers you authorize see the camera feed, adding another layer of security. All said, the best way to ensure you stay hack-free is to opt for a non-Wi-Fi monitor.
App User Experience
Accompanying apps should be user-friendly, and you can partially explore many of them—just take a browse in the app store—before purchasing the monitor. Some monitors come with some level of additional tracking and content and many offer paid memberships or subscriptions that you can level up to after a trial period. You can likely view parenting content for free from other baby publications, but if having all of the information in your monitor app is more convenient, you can add a subscription.
My Expertise
I’m a parent to five children ages 8 through 4 months old, and I’ve spent my parenting years testing, analyzing and reviewing baby equipment for publications like the Washington Post, Popular Science and Consumer Reports. I’ve seen monitors evolve through nearly a decade of parenting and watched brands add numerous features that are sometimes helpful—and sometimes unnecessary.
For this article, I reached out to Jada Shapiro, postpartum doula, parenting expert, and founder of boober, where parents find providers and resources and are matched with experts such as doulas. Together, we analyzed the monitors for safety, efficacy, convenience and more.
I continue to test the top performing monitors in my home, as well as analyze newcomers to the market to consider if they’re worthy of our list as well.
Editor’s note: In a later update to this story, home and kids updates writer Fran Sales tapped the following child and sleep experts to help answer some of the most frequently asked questions regarding baby monitors: Tamiz Ahmed, cofounder and CTO of Poppylist, an online registry and parenting resource and Courtney Zentz, founder and CEO of Tiny Transitions Sleep Coaching.
What Is The Best Baby Monitor On The Market?
After months of hands-on testing in my nursery, I believe the best baby monitor is the Eufy SpaceView Pro. It was easiest to use straight out of the box, eliminates Wi-Fi security worries (it doesn’t offer it) and has a nice, easy-to-read screen with great range and battery. There are additional top baby monitors that might work better for another family that prefers Wi-Fi or app monitoring, extra portability or another specific feature. The Chillax Giraffe Cam Pro is a top-performing, affordable Wi-Fi baby monitor that offers excellent image quality, along with some additional analytics like baby sleep stats that might appeal to some. And the Lollipop Baby Monitor with True Crying Detection is extra portable and easy to attach to your crib at night and then the playpen during the day. However, I appreciated that I never once encountered any sort of connectivity issue with Eufy.
What’s The Difference Between A Wi-Fi And Non-Wi-Fi Baby Monitor?
In a nutshell, Wi-Fi baby monitors (like the Chillax Giraffe Cam) allow you to keep an eye on your child using a mobile app, eliminating the need for a receiving device. Tamiz Ahmed, co-founder of online parenting resource Poppylist, explains that Wi-Fi-enabled baby monitors also typically offer extra smart features such as sleep and breathing tracking and noise and motion detection. Some of the higher-end models also collect and analyze your child’s sleep data, which Ahmed adds can help parents optimize your little one’s sleep.
Non-Wi-Fi baby monitors (e.g., the Eufy SpaceView Pro), on the other hand, tend to be less expensive than Wi-Fi models, says Ahmed. These monitors require a separate receiver that connects to the monitor through a non-static channel, although the range is limited, usually to about 1,200 feet or less.
How Do I Choose Between A Wi-Fi And Non-Wi-Fi Baby Monitor?
Courtney Zentz, founder and CEO of Tiny Transitions Sleep Coaching, says that choosing between a Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi baby monitor depends on parents’ style and what features are most important to them. For instance, if security and real-time monitoring are the highest priority, non-Wi-Fi options are your best bet: “They lessen the risk of hackers accessing the monitor, provide real-time visual on the receiving unit and are not dependent on Wi-Fi signals to provide parents the peace they need to get a restful night of sleep,” she says.
But if picture quality and real-time monitoring from anywhere are first and foremost, Zentz recommends Wi-Fi models. “Today we use our phones for everything, so many parents prefer these baby monitors’ technology advantages. Tech-savvy parents do not have to worry about carrying around an additional receiver or be concerned about how far they are from baby while still keeping them in view on their phone, as the signal strength is better from afar,” she explains. Still, Wi-Fi monitors (while mostly safe) are more prone to hackers, and just like any other connected device, “if Wi-Fi is spotty, there can be a delay in receiving data and their feed can be a little delayed,” Zentz adds. In the end, every parent is different and “it really does come down to parenting choices.”
What’s The Best High-End Baby Monitor?
Ahmed points to Nanit Pro (one of the baby monitors our tester also tried and liked but didn’t quite beat out the other contenders) as the best high-end monitor on the market. He recently bought another Nanit for his second child and shares that in he’s a fan of the split-screen app view that lets him monitor both of his kids at once. He uses the floor stand, but it also comes with a wall mount and a travel-friendly portable stand; whichever option you choose, it’ll “look great,” he adds. This model also offers sleep tracking data and includes a breathing band for extra monitoring. The app sends sound and movement notifications.
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