Best baby monitors, tried and tested by parents

As a parent, you’ve probably heard of baby tech giant VTech, but may not be quite so familiar with its premium sister, LeapFrog. Launching baby monitors less than two years ago, the brand is has been making waves, and, after testing its 5.5in touch screen monitor, it's clear to see why.  

This baby monitor is slick – the only model on test with a touchscreen, using it felt super intuitive. While the parent unit itself isn’t much bigger than an iPhone (similar in size to the other monitors with parent units we tested), the 5.5in-wide angle combined with the 1,080px definition provides a great display, even in night mode. For best use, you’ll need to set up the monitor through your wifi (although “direct mode” is also available), which takes a few minutes, but the steps are easy to follow. We also appreciated the no-subscription LeapFrog Baby Care app, which enables you to stream live video while you’re away from home, it also lets you watch back any motion detected overnight, with 30 event-triggered local video recordings, which we found useful. 

The slimline parent unit not only offers a clear picture and superlative audio, is it also lightweight, making it easy to carry around the house. There’s a clear three-level coloured VOX noise detector at the top right of the unit, and we appreciated the built-in temperature and humidity sensor.

In terms of extra features, the camera can play lullabies and natural sounds, which we used while playing in the nursery, but some parents may also welcome the white noise function for their bedtime routine. The nightlight is also a handy feature, for which there are 10 colours to choose from, and you can use these and the lullabies on timers and create your own sound and light profile. You can expect around 10-12 hours of battery life, depending on how frequently the screen is lighting up, but the battery would easily last us from putting our little one down to waking up in the morning.

Momcozy is best known for its wearable breast pumps. The American brand only manufactures one baby monitor, the BM01, but there’s a lot to love about it. Because this monitor doesn’t use wifi, there are no privacy concerns, but it also ensures a super smooth set-up process, meaning it soon became our go-to for use at the grandparents. 

The parent unit benefits from a 5in 1,080px high-definition screen, which offers a clear picture, even in night mode. The audio is also clear, and there is a small VOX noise indicator on the bottom left of the parent unit, this isn’t as noticeable as some of the others we tested, because the lights are rather dinky, but the screen automatically lights up when the VOX function is turned on. There are six lullabies built-in, plus the screen shows the temperature of your nursery, the time and the date (which we actually found surprisingly helpful). 

We liked having separate volume buttons at the top of the unit and we were impressed with the battery life – we would usually get a full night and a short cot nap in, without having to charge the unit. This camera also rotates 360 degrees, so, finding a suitable spot to view the cot is a doddle.

VTech is the bestselling brand for baby monitors, so, naturally, it found a place in our round-up. This camera is another that streams live to your smartphone or tablet, through a downloadable app, but, given the whopping 7in parent unit, we found ourselves using this more. Having said that, you will find a crisper 1,080px picture via the app, but we were quite content with the 720px definition of the parent unit. 

The no-subscription VTech Baby Pro app is brilliant, much like that of the LeapFrog, it enables you to stream live video while you’re away from home and lets you watch back up to 30 event-triggered local video recordings.

For us, though, something that holds this monitor back is the sound and motion detection overnight – we found it to be accurately prompted by our baby but you have to enable the alerts for it to light up the screen, which brings with it a rather irritating alert bleep. To avoid this, you can turn them off, but we were often scrabbling around for the ‘on’ button in the dark. The three-level sound indicator will light up and is a good way to preserve battery but, for those middle-of-the-night wake-ups, an instantly lit screen would be appreciated. 

This camera has the largest zoom capabilities (24x on the unit, 30x on the app), which is useful if you’re short on plug sockets and the baby’s cot is further away – albeit, the more you zoom, the lesser the picture quality. Plus, there’s plenty to enjoy in terms of techy features – the camera can play five lullabies and five natural sounds, including white noise. There’s also a built-in nightlight, which can be turned on by touching the camera base, with 10 colours to choose from.

From the size of the box, you instantly know this camera means business – the technology packed into this premium piece of kit largely justifies the cost. There’s the option of three different mount styles – floor stand, flex stand, and wall mount – which vary in price. We opted for the floor stand, which is a game-changer, always offering an overhead bird’s-eye view of the cot. Before you get to this stage, though, you’ll have to go through quite a lengthy set-up process, albeit following clearly prompted instructions via the Nanit app.

Once you’re ready to go, everything you need (and more) is loaded onto the incredibly slick app. Not only is the picture crystal clear, you’ll get a notification on your phone if sound or motion is detected. It also provides information such as humidity and temperature but, more intelligently, it tracks naps and overnight sleeps in a detailed manner, thanks to the Nanit Insights Sleep Plan. It’s worth flagging that this is a paid-for subscription – you get six months as part of the purchase but, thereafter, the subscription packages start from £60 per year. But what does the Nanit Insights Sleep Plan do? After each overnight sleep, you’re provided with a one-minute time-lapse video of the night, a sleep efficiency score and details on any overnight visits, how long it took baby to settle, as well as sleep and wake-up times. For those bleary nights, we found this tool beneficial, giving us all the information we needed without having to use what brainpower we had left. You’re also then provided with helpful tips to improve sleep and nap times.

With this package, you’re also provided with a small sensor-free “breathing band”, which cleverly detects baby’s motion breathing, which would be very reassuring, particularly during those early days. However, our little tester was already too big for the band.

There isn’t much to dislike about this camera. Much like any app, we did, on occasion, find it slow to load, and we missed having a physical separate device, but we worked around this by recruiting our iPad.

Looking at this Owlet device feels a little like looking into the future of parenting. Firstly, there’s no camera. This monitoring device is all powered through a teeny tiny soft sock that wraps around baby’s foot. The sock is connected to the Owlet Dream app and delivers live health readings directly to your phone and the included base station, which itself is smaller than a coaster, and is also used for charging the sock. Initially, we had a few Bluetooth connection issues but, with a bit of trial and error, we got the balance right. If you’re not technically minded, you may also find the initial set-up process rather taxing, too.  

However, this is a sock (you’re provided with four, which will keep you going until baby is 18 months old) like no other – parents are notified immediately if baby has a low or high pulse rate or low oxygen levels. The sock also provides plenty of info on your child’s sleep state, letting you know if they are in a deep or light sleep, or confirming if they are, indeed, still awake.  

We were dubious at first at how our baby would react to having something strapped to his foot – he’s not the biggest fan of socks at the best of times – but we needn’t have worried, as the sock is so soft and lightweight, he barely acknowledged its presence.  

Initially, it felt unfamiliar not having any view of our sleeping baby, but that feeling soon subsided, as we were being provided with all the information we needed on the app, which is a doddle to navigate. If your baby needs you, the sock will send a base station prompt with a beeping sound and lavender colour flash, you’ll also receive push notifications and will be shown an in-app prompt. Parents can also feel confident in the product, as it provides medical-grade accuracy. Peace of mind is key, particularly with your first child, and we felt a lot of reassurance from this nifty piece of kit. There is also the option to purchase the Owlet camera but that, obviously, adds to the already considerable cost.

Maxi-Cosi has become a brand parents trust, predominantly thanks to its selection of award-winning car seats. While it’s a brand known for travel products, you’ll also find a selection of in-home kits, and we love the stylish wood effect detailing of this baby monitor. With form comes function, by the bucket load, as there’s plenty packed into the see pro. 

Firstly, we like that this camera can be used via the parent unit or the app. The unit is connected via a closed FHSS-secure connection, while you use your own wifi when connecting via the Maxi-Cosi app. The app does require a little more legwork to set up, but the picture quality is fabulous and means you can check in on your baby when you’re away from home – you can pan, zoom and tilt the camera remotely.

Within the app, you’ll also find CryAssist technology powered by Zoundream. This essentially analyses your baby’s cries, so you can understand whether your little one is sleepy, hungry, gassy, fussy or agitated (you’ll also be offered relevant advice). We can’t say this feature was right every time, and a few cries went unnoticed, but this could be useful with a younger baby when you’re still getting to know each other. Be warned, though, you’ll only get a six-month free subscription to this service. 

There’s a lot to love about the parent unit, too. It’s a great size, with a 5in screen, although, we found it a little grainy in night mode. We found battery life waivered, mainly down to the sensitive noise detection, as, unlike the other video monitors in our line-up, there are no sound VOX lights. This means the screen illuminates a lot, so, it’s worth adjusting the settings before use, to avoid unnecessary detection. We found we’d usually get around 10 to 12 hours of use before having to charge the unit again. 

Other highlights include the handy wedge mount included, offering a 30-degree tilt-down angle, which helps with positioning, plus the temperature and humidity sensors. You’ll also find five pre-loaded lullabies and two versions of white noise.

The standout feature of this monitor from Angelcare is the clever sensor pad, which is designed to detect micro movements in the cot, providing anxious parents with extra reassurance. This feature isn’t new to the market but what attracted us to this one in particular is that the pad is wire-free, as it’s operated by a button battery. But how does it work? When setting up the monitor, you place the pad under the mattress and set the detection area by pressing down on all four corners of the mattress. It was a doddle to set up, as there’s no wifi connection needed, which also makes it great for travelling. 

During use, an alarm will sound on the parent unit after 20 seconds, if movements are not detected by the pad. Fortunately, we never experienced this while our mini tester was present. You’ll soon hear the alarm, though, once you remove your baby from the cot, which sometimes caught us by surprise during early morning wake-ups. This can be avoided if you turn the camera off as you enter the nursery.   

In comparison to some other parent units, this one isn’t quite as slick and took a little getting used to. The screen is quite small, at only 4.3in wide, but this is sufficient for checking in on your baby and makes it easy to move around the house. There are many handy features included, too, such as a temperature sensor, VOX light-up indicator, two-way audio, and a night light. There are even four preloaded lullabies. The battery life outperformed its guidance of eight hours, easily lasting around 10 hours, with intermittent use.