We've picked out the seven best baby monitors, to suit every age, every need and every budget (with one amazing video monitor priced at less than £22).
We've tested each of these, to weigh up the pros and the cons, and to help shine some light on how they all compete and compare.
From wearable options including a sock monitor that can track baby's oxygen levels and heart rate, and a wristband that can even track parent's sleep, activity and step count to baby monitors with HD cameras that can record and save photos and videos to your phone, baby monitors that double as home security cameras, and even baby monitors with cameras that can swivel 360 degrees (making it ideal for shared bedrooms where you may need to spy on more than one child), these are the very best monitors for your baby, toddler or child.
The best baby monitors for 2021
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Designed by doctors (who are also dads), Bluebell is a wearable baby monitor option – for both parent and baby. The device monitors baby’s breathing, skin temperature, crying, movement and sleeping position, with real-time alerts to the mobile app and wearable parent wristband.
The app can tell you if your baby has turned on their stomach, taken a pause for breath and most importantly whether they are crying and need attention.
Meanwhile the parent wristband not only keeps tabs on baby – it keeps an eye on the parent too! The wristband monitors the parent / carers sleep, step count and mood.
The Bluebell monitor also comes with a 'Smart Hub' which comes with lullabies, a night light, white noise, two-way talk back and room noise/temp monitoring – all controllable via the Bluebell app.
What we like
The clip-on baby monitor attaches to your baby’s clothes, and impressively lasts up to five days on a two-hour charge. Super lightweight, the clip attaches to your baby’s clothing and monitors them 24/7. It's splash (and vomit) proof, and safe to use from birth. You'll also be alerted when it’s not attached to baby properly. The second monitor is a parent wristband that features a clock display and gives you real time alerts on how your baby is doing.
We love that Bluebell monitors your baby's breathing, temperature, crying, movement, sleep and more. You'll get real-time vibration alerts to your Parent wristband and Mobile app, 24/7, even without Wi-Fi (you can use it outside the house).
Knowing you're connected and will only be alerted when needed will help you to relax, plus the parent wristband looks after you too, tracking your sleep, steps, and activity.
We also love the compact hub, which doubles as a nightlight and plays lullabies and white noise. Use the app to play lullabies, turn on the nightlight, set reminders, track nappy changes, feeds and sleep patterns. There is also an easy-to-view analytics graph that provides the detailed data.
Being able to track night wake ups and night feeds will also help get you and baby into a routine.
What we don't like
While the monitor tells you everything you would possibly need to know, there's no video or audio.
A lot can happen while your baby sleeps, but a traditional baby monitor can only tell you so much. This award-winning baby monitor will track your baby's heart rate and oxygen levels using the Owlet Smart Sock, a smart device that wraps around your baby's foot. The sock uses an infrared light to measure their pulse. This is then connected to a base which sends information over Wi-Fi to a connected smartphone, meaning you can check your baby’s pulse (and oxygen level) wherever you are.
The Owlet comes with a base station that glows green when heart rate and oxygen levels are OK, but uses lights and sounds if levels leave preset zones.
There is of course also a video camera, allowing you to see and hear your baby clearly through a secure, encrypted connection directly on your smartphone from anywhere. Plus, there's also a sleep history feature which shows you how long and how well your baby slept.
What we like
If you're worried about your newborn or they need a bit of extra care, perhaps coming home from NICU for example, the Owlet will give you peace of mind to know that baby is well, as it will alert you when they need attention.
The sock can fit babies from just 2 kilos to 13 kilos, allowing parents to track tiny infants as soon as they come home from the hospital.
We also like that you can review a summary of how baby slept, and how often they were up in the night, which can come in handy with sleep training.
What we don't like
The sock is designed to last until 18 months, and while it is truly perfect for vulnerable newborns and premature babies, realistically it will only last until baby is 6 months or old enough to pull the sock off themselves.
If you're frequently wishing for ‘eyes in the back of your head’, this is as close as you can get, with a 360 degree camera which allows you to pan, tilt and zoom via the parent unit / video display.
The YOO Moov by Babymoov prides itself on its wide range of view, with a 360 degree rotating camera head that can be controlled remotely, allowing you to swipe around the room and zoom in as and when you like.
While it doesn’t come with an app to connect to your smartphone, it does have a 4.3-inch video display that can be used within a 300-metre range.
There's also a talkback function so you can soothe your baby from another room, plus the video monitor has a soothing night light in 7 colours, 5 different lullabies, night vision and built-in temperature sensor.
What we like
This video monitor offers great picture quality along with sound. It swivels 360 degrees, moving almost silently so as not to wake the baby. This swivel feature is particularly useful in shared bedrooms, where two or more children are sharing a room. You can even add four additional monitors and connect them together, meaning you'll only need one parent unit / video display.
The baby monitor also features a temperature indicator and a 'Vox mode', which is activated by your baby's voice and means you won’t be disturbed unnecessarily by their every move.
What we don't like
The monitor has five lullabies to choose from, but if you want to play them, you’ll have to listen along to them on the parent unit.
There's also no battery on the camera, so needs to be plugged in at all times. It also only works with the parent display – it can't be used through a smartphone.
The Dreamee is the latest baby monitor from Tommee Tippee, and includes a 360-degree night-vision camera and a movement sensor mat that you position underneath the mattress. This means that as well as being able to see a clear picture of your baby via the parent unit, you can monitor your child’s movement while they sleep. This is a particularly useful feature for those with newborns so you can be reassured when you step out of the nursery.
The smart 360°camera lets you watch and listen to your baby comfortably from another room via a high definition monitor. The camera moves through 330 degree horizontal pan, with a 110 degree vertical tilt and 60 degree field of view, which makes it easy to get a clear picture of your child in focus. It also uses infra red LEDs to give you a clear night view without the need to turn on the lights.
The baby monitor also comes with a built-in CrySensor that listens out for baby’s cries during the night and can play lullabies or your choice of music to help soothe them. The movement sensor pad detects small movements and will alert you if baby is still for a prolonged period of time or if there’s a sudden big movement in their sleeping area.
Use the high definition 4.3 inch screen on the parent unit to control the camera view, and even talk back to your baby should they stir during the night.
What we like
The best feature is the wall-mountable 360° infrared camera which gives you a wide-angle view of your baby and allows you to tilt, pan and zoom in for a closer look, even in the darkest room. Amazingly, the camera automatically follows your baby’s movements in the cot, automatically repositioning as they wriggle about in their cot.
We also like the discreet movement pad. As your baby grows you can choose to use the baby monitor without the movement pad, or you can adjust the sensitivity settings.
The baby monitor also doubles up as a digital nursery thermometer so you can keep an eye on the temperature of the room at all times.
The icing on the cake is the CrySensor that will listen out for cries and automatically play your choice of lullaby or music to soothe your baby back to sleep.
What we don't like
The camera only works with the paren unit / video display, and can't be used though a smartphone. This means you'll have to carry the parent unit around everywhere.
It's also worth noting that the camera needs to be plugged in while being used.
The BT Smart Baby Monitor features a video camera and a 5 inch parent unit video display, but is also compatible with mobile phones so you can keep an eye on your baby from your phone wherever you are. If you can’t get a clear view, remotely pan, tilt or zoom the camera to the perfect position from the app or parent unit.
The parent unit features an impressive 5 inch colour display to view the videos much more bigger and clearer. This video display has a range of around 50m indoors or 250m outdoors, or you can connect via the app on your phone if you are leaving your little one with a child minder. The camera records HD quality images and video in real time, and allows you to save video and snapshots too, to help document milestones and precious moments.
What we like
The camera has night vision, so you can even keep an eye on them when their room is pitch black. There's also a talk back function: when you can’t be there, listen and talk to your baby anywhere inside or outside of the home.
When your hands are full, command your Amazon Echo or Google Home device to play lullabies or read the temperature in baby’s room.
Trying to enjoy dinner? Put on the sound level lights option for when you don’t want to hear every snuffle, but you still want to be alerted.
The monitor also helps read the temperature in baby's room, offers two-way communication and has 5 built in lullabies it can play... But our favourite aspect? It can record and save HD quality pictures and videos straight to your phone.
What we don't like
We couldn't think of anything.
Suzy Snooze is a new breed of baby monitor that actively helps your child get to sleep. It was developed by one of the world's leading sleep authorities at the University of Oxford, Professor Colin Espie, to teach children healthy sleeping habits.
Suzy Snooze is an audio baby monitor (there's no video) that has a soft warm glow and plays soothing music to help get your baby or toddler to sleep.
It's a baby monitor too – connect it to your smartphone to listen in live to your child using high definition, secure audio.
What we like
This baby monitor doubles as a friendly kids night light that reassures your child in the night. Her low energy LED night lamp stays cool to the touch and the soft, orange LED night light can also play sleep sounds (like a white noise machine baby shusher) with running music all night.
It's suitable from birth but particularly useful for older kids, as Suzy helps children learn to settle themselves and teaches them to stay in bed.
It encourages babies and toddlers to self-soothe without the need for their parents. If your child does wake, Suzy’s cry detection and auto-soothe sends them back to sleep automatically.
Suzy will also tell you baby or toddler when it’s time to get up - a bit like a kids alarm clock.
What we don't like
While it's great for toddlers and children, parents of newborns may prefer a baby monitor with a video display.
Suzy Snooze also needs to stay plugged in to work – it's not wireless.
The YI Home camera is our wild card option, as it's not advertised as a baby monitor per se. I was originally recommended this audio and video monitor for home security, and ended up using it as a baby monitor as it worked so great.
The video is high definition, has good quality night vision, plus you can move the camera around from your phone. You can use it to take photos and record videos of your baby (cute when they start to babble and think no-ones watching), and you can save them to the cloud or to your phone. It's also compatible with Alexa.
It's often used as a security camera, as the low cost means you can easily set up a discreet camera in every room in the house and connect them all to your smartphone. The cameras have AI Human detection and will send an alert if there is any movement – useful if you're using it as a security camera while you're away.
What we like
I've personally been using this monitor on a daily (and nightly) basis for two years now and I can't recommend it highly enough. We also have them dotted around the house for security.
In a nutshell, you plug in the camera, connect it to an app on your phone, then you can log in any time, anywhere, to spy on the rooms. You can move the video around, pinch to zoom, and there's two-way communication too so you can talk back through the camera (great for shushing baby from the comfort of your sofa). I use it at home, with the app open while cooking or watching TV (so I can keep an ear open for baby), but I also often open the app on my phone when I'm in the office or out of town, just to check in on the house.
In two years I've not had any issues or problems with it, so it's safe to say that it's an absolute steal at less than £22.
What we don't like
The only criticism I can think of is that you need to keep the app open to see and hear baby – it doesn't alert or notify you about little whines, whimpers or cries in the same way that specialist baby monitors do.
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