These are the best baby monitors to keep an eye (or ear) on little ones, tested by the GHI
It can be easy to get carried away when shopping for a new arrival, but in actual fact, you only really need a small range of staple items, including the best pushchair, best bedside crib, and best cot mattress you can afford, plenty of nappies and the best baby monitor.
Once bulky walkie-talkie-like contraptions, today’s next-gen devices provide high-quality audio and crystal-clear video so you can keep an eye (and ear) on your little bundle of joy when you’re not in the same room.
Your device will be with you from those precious first few months right through into toddlerhood, until they’re able to get in and out of bed and move around the house safely on their own.
Our parenting expert at the Good Housekeeping Institute has been busy putting a range of designs for all needs and budgets to the test. We also sent them out to a group of mums and dads to get their feedback on design, ease of use and performance. So, whether you’re after a simple battery-powered model or want to splash out on an all-singing, all-dancing smart monitor, we’ve got you covered.
Which is the best baby monitor?
These are the best baby monitors at a glance, with the full reviews and advice on how to choose the right one for you below.
How we test baby monitors
Our parenting expert examines each baby monitor and scores it against key criteria, including design, ease of use, security and variety of features. They check how simple the devices – and any accompanying apps – are to set up and use. They note battery life and charging capabilities and look at the functions on offer, such as temperature sensors, nightlights, built-in music and two-way audio. Crucially, they also examine picture and audio quality. Taking all this detail into account, they award each monitor a final score.
We also send each one out to a panel of parents to use at home for a few weeks. They give feedback on design, ease of use, quality of instructions and performance, some of which we've included in our reviews below.
Pro Camera
Score: 91/100
This app-controlled smart monitor has won a string of parenting awards, but does it live up to the hype? That’s a resounding yes, according to our testers. "I love everything about this monitor," said one panel member, who was impressed by the array of features included.
Unlike many bog-standard designs, The Nanit Pro can be positioned in numerous ways: mounted on a wall, placed on a floor stand behind the crib or on a mobile Flex Stand that’s perfect for travel. If you use it on a wall, you get an excellent bird’s eye view. Testers confirmed the picture quality was good and they appreciated the panoramic view.
It connects to a responsive, easy-to-use app on your phone or tablet, with ultra crisp video quality. If your baby cries, stops moving or stands up in their cot, you’ll receive an alert on your device, and in the app, you can track a host of insights and receive a comprehensive review of their sleep. This can help with scheduling naps and establishing a consistent routine. It certainly proved popular with our panel, who found the tracking features incredibly useful.
In addition to sound and motion tracking, the unit also has a temperature and humidity sensor, a soft nightlight and the ability to talk back to your baby if they need soothing. Then there are the built-in sleep sounds – there’s no need to buy a separate white noise machine – and the ability to take images of your baby and share them with family members. What’s more, it has 256-bit encryption to protect you from hackers.
You will need to pay for the fancier features and in-depth insights, but if you’re a first-time parent and you crave top-level surveillance, it could be worth the extra cost.
RM7766HD Smart Pan & Tilt Baby Monitor
Score: 87/100
A cinch to set up and operate, this WiFi-enabled device includes a baby monitor and a parent unit, with a generous seven-inch, high-definition screen that looks and feels like a tablet. From here, you can control the various settings, including volume, music playback (there are five calming sounds and lullabies) and two-way talkback to soothe your baby from another room.
Other features include pan, tilt and zoom functionality for the best view of your little one and a humidity and temperature sensor, with handy alerts if the nursery becomes too hot or too cold. There’s also an effective nightlight, with seven calming colours – ideal for night feeds and nappy changes.
Our expert thought both the audio and picture quality were fantastic and liked the option to choose light alerts over sound when your baby is crying. They also rated the accompanying app, which allows you to monitor your baby from your phone or tablet and add unlimited family members, without an additional fee. It lost a few points for the lacklustre battery life and lack of touchscreen, but those were our only niggles.
Dreamsense Smart Baby Monitor
Score: 87/100
This smart monitor from the baby experts at Tommee Tippee boasts a HD camera, with the ability to zoom in, pan 190 degrees horizontally, and tilt 90 degrees up and down, giving you a wide-angle view of your baby’s sleep environment. You can then keep tabs on them via the accompanying app on your phone. Our panel rated the image quality, which was crisp enough overnight, too.
Prefer screen-free surveillance? There’s also the ‘parent pod’, a circular unit that lights up and sends alerts. A green light means there’s no action needed, flashing amber signals a change in light, temperature or humidity and a flashing red light lets you know the baby is making noise. "I found this especially useful when I like to have my phone on silent," one parent told us.
The clever device has a double microphone, so it can distinguish between your baby crying and random background noise. This means there’s less risk of false alarms and will save you from running around the house unnecessarily.
Audio and video monitoring aside, the app offers genuinely useful sleep insights, including sleep time and wake-up incidents, noting any factors that might have caused them, like a change in room temperature, light or a rogue sound in the middle of the night. You can use this data to make changes to their sleep environment and help them rest easier.
The Dreamsense feels well made, and the parent pod is lightweight and portable, so you can easily carry it around the house. The range is 80 metres so this one is best suited to smaller homes.
Note that you can also purchase this monitor as part of a 'sleep monitoring' bundle for just over £180, which includes the Dreammaker Light and Sound Baby Sleep Aid. We tested this separately as part of our best baby sleep aids review and it scored an impressive 94/100.
LF920HD 7-Inch Baby Monitor
Score: 85/100
This LeapFrog offering scored top marks for its mega seven-inch HD colour touchscreen, which delivers super sharp vision and a good range of angles. As well as 8x zoom functionality, you can swivel the baby monitor 360 degrees from the parent unit or your phone, so you can easily check what’s going on in their nursery – particularly helpful if you have two children sharing a room. "The screen is excellent and the image is really clear," said one satisfied tester.
We were impressed with the infrared ‘colour night vision’ technology, which provides a crisp picture in low light and total darkness, and appreciated the nightlight, with a selection of gentle colours to choose from, including red light to support the production of the sleep hormone melatonin and blue light to help them wake up in the morning. You can control the nightlight remotely, giving you the option to switch it on before you head to their room for a nappy change and turn it off once you’re done.
It will alert you when your baby moves or makes a noise, but you can tinker with the sensitivity so that as you get used to how your baby moves and makes noises through the night, you can scale back on the alerts. There’s two-way talk, a built-in temperature and humidity sensor and a selection of lullabies and soothing sounds to coax them back to sleep.
It’s intuitive to set up and a pleasure to use thanks to the responsive touchscreen and solid battery life.
Dreamview
Score: 84/100
The second option from Tommee Tippee in this round-up, the Dreamview is a great-value, fuss-free audio and video monitor. It was a big hit with our at-home testers, with one saying: "I've enjoyed using this product and I would recommend it to other parents."
It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of a smartphone app, but it’s simple to use and ideal for those who aren’t fans of super high-tech gadgets. Panellist loved how simple it was to set up and said it was extremely intuitive to use.
According to our expert, the image quality was super clear, and the night vision capability was impressive, too. The camera can pan 255 degrees side to side and 120 degrees up and has 3x zoom, so you can keep a watchful eye on your little one via the parent screen.
The unit includes a talk-back button, three lullaby options and a couple of natural sounds in case your baby needs soothing. There’s a thermometer function to alert you if the nursery becomes too hot or cold, and the option to set a timer for when your baby’s due a feed.
We liked that you could opt for visual alerts only, with flashing lights instead of noisy notifications when your baby is crying. There’s a 250-metre range, which should do the job nicely for most small- to medium-sized homes. Our panel found the battery life impressive, so you don’t have to worry about constantly charging it up. "It lasted for seven whole days," said one tester. What’s more, as it doesn’t rely on WiFi, dodgy connections and hacking won’t be an issue.
AC25-1 Baby Monitor
Score: 83/100
It may be pricey, but this new Angelcare design is brimming with features that will reassure even the most anxious parent. The movement monitor, complete with video and sound, will ping you an alert if movement isn’t detected for 20 seconds, and there are four sensitivity levels you can choose from.
It’s made up of a baby unit (which you can place on a table or shelf, or mount on a wall), a wireless pad that sits beneath your baby’s mattress and a parent unit that has a 4.3-inch LED screen. From here, you can access and play around with all the monitor’s functions, which include two-way talk back, a nightlight, lullabies and a thermometer to keep track of the temperature in the room. We rated the image quality and found it a doddle to set up and use. "You can see your baby so clearly on the monitor," said one panellist who also thought the built-in lullabies were a nice touch. As a bonus, it doesn’t rely on WiFi connection and is travel friendly.
The range of 150 metres isn’t the best, so check it will work for your home before you buy. Movement monitors aren’t for everyone, but for first-time or nervous parents, they provide support and peace of mind.
Yoo Go+
Score: 73/100
If you’ll be travelling with your tot in tow, this wireless video monitor from Babymoov is worth considering. It’s battery powered – simply charge it using a USB cable as you would with your phone – so you can easily move around the house and take it on trips, without having to set up near a plug socket.
Our expert praised the variety of attachments that come with the device to help you find the best position for monitoring your baby. There’s a low, rubbery stand it can sit on, a suction cup you can stick to the table or a chest of drawers, a wall kit and a pincer clip for hanging on the cot, so rest assured you’ll get the best view possible.
It comes with eight built-in lullabies to get them ready for sleep, the ability to talk to and soothe your baby, a visual and audio alarm and a useful voice activated screen for preserving battery life.
The screen on the parent monitor is well-sized; however, the sound and picture quality weren’t quite as sharp as some of the others we tested. The battery life was also a touch disappointing, but still an impressive, nicely designed device overall.
"It's perfect all the way," said one particularly enthusiastic tester, who couldn't find fault with the product. They praised the zoom functionality, rated the sound quality and appreciated the long-lasting battery life.
What are the different types of baby monitors?
While there are countless baby monitors on the market these days, they fall into four main camps: audio, video, movement sensors and smart monitors. Here's a breakdown of each.
Audio baby monitors: These allow you to listen in on your little one when you’re not in the same room. There usually come in two parts – one that sits in your baby’s room and one that moves around the house with you. Audio monitors tend to be on the more affordable end of the spectrum.
Video baby monitors: These capture both sound and visuals for greater peace of mind. They also tend to be in two parts – one for the nursery and one with a screen so you can keep an eye on what’s going on in their room.
Smart baby monitors: Smart monitors are pricier, but they provide you with audio and visual updates on your phone. They often boast fancy features such as on-demand recording, talk-back and even sleep and temperature tracking.
Movement baby monitors: Providing extra peace of mind when you have a newborn, these devices track your baby to make sure they’re breathing and will alert you if it senses there are any issues.
What to consider when choosing a baby monitor
It’s worth considering the following before choosing the best baby monitor for you.
Ease of use: You don’t want to be fiddling around with camera angles, trailing wires and confusing apps while you’re trying to keep an eye on your baby. So, you want a model that’s simple to set up, use and adjust. Look out for helpful features including room temperature displays and sensors, which will turn the monitor on if your baby cries.
Power source: If you opt for a mains-powered monitor, battery life won’t be an issue but keep in mind that your device won’t be the most travel-friendly. Battery-operated monitors, on the other hand, are portable but you do have to make sure they’re fully charged before your baby's nap or bedtime.
Range: If you have a large home or dodgy WiFi, make sure to check for long distance transmission before buying, or consider going for a monitor that can function without it. Also keep in mind that thick walls and floors can reduce signal and you won’t want to lose connectivity when you’re finally winding down on the sofa.
Camera and audio quality: Look out for models with good sound and picture quality. For crystal-clear video, opt for 1080 pixels or above. You may also want to invest in a device with a wide-angle lens or zoom functionality.
Portability: If you’re going to be moving around the house or have holiday plans, a lightweight, wire-free unit is your best bet.
What are the safety guidelines for baby monitors?
As with all gadgets and equipment for babies, it’s crucial to follow safety guidelines when setting up your baby monitor. You want to make sure there aren’t any loose, trailing wires near your baby or on the floor that you could trip on. If your monitor is wall mounted, check that the wires are fixed securely as they can be a strangulation risk.
You also need to be sure your monitor can’t be accessed by hackers. There are plenty of measures you can put in place to prevent this, such as ensuring your router is password protected, selecting a strong password and using two-factor authentication. It’s also advisable to update your monitor’s app regularly and take advantage of security updates.
For more tried and tested parenting products, check out our other tried and tested roundups: the best pushchairs, best cots, best cot mattresses, best nappies, best baby wet wipes, best baby bottle sterilisers, best breast pumps and more.
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