We Tested the Best Baby Monitors of 2025

My kids are seven years apart, so a lot changed between when I first registered for a baby monitor and when I did it again for my second. I’d heard great things about the Nanit but was hesitant about relying solely on a WiFi monitor through my phone. I decided to try it—and I’m so glad I did. Almost four years later, the Nanit is one of my favorite baby products and a product I consistently recommend. I’m not alone: almost a quarter of parents in our Best Baby Products survey said it was their favorite monitor.

“I use the Nanit every single day and it makes my life so much easier. It gives me peace of mind and that is priceless as a first-time mama,” one parent told us in our survey. “It helped an anxious mom get some sleep. I recommend it to everyone,” another said.

The Nanit Pro tracks sleep, movement, vital stats and growth with a clear 1080p HD camera, all accessible via your phone. It’s easy to set up and intuitive to use. My two favorite features are sleep tracking through the Nanit Insights app—showing daily sleep stats, something I relied on heavily over the first year to help me establish a nap and nighttime schedule—and the Breathing Wear Band, which monitors breathing motion without sensors or a sock. (It's not a medical device, and not something I used regularly, but it did provide me with peace of mind during sick days or anxious nights.)

“I did not realize how much I would love the sleep data/dashboard,” one mom told us. “We love the ‘I fell asleep x number of hours/min ago’ function and cannot imagine not having it."

While you’ll need your phone to use the Nanit, I love that I’m able to check in on my little one when I’m away from home or on a work trip. (The grandparents have also been known to do their fair share of baby spying.) Other highlights include expert-backed sleep guidance, two-way audio, white noise, temperature and humidity sensors and split-screen viewing for monitoring two kids (with a second camera, sold separately). I also love the app’s background audio and picture-in-picture features; they let me keep tabs on my baby while using other apps and don't drain my phone’s battery.

The Nanit is definitely an investment, especially if you need a second camera for multiple kids. You’ll also have to pay for Nanit Insights, the sleep trends and timelapse highlights reel app, after the first year. The sleep-tracking analytics are brilliant if that’s your thing, but can feel overwhelming if you get anxious from information overload. And if you don’t want a baby monitor that works via your phone, you’ll want to skip the Nanit and look for a video or audio monitor instead.

Additional Specs

• Monitor Type: WiFi video, via smartphone; iOS and Android

• Range: No limit if connected to WiFi

• Power Source: Camera: electrical outlet; Phone acts as parent unit

• Mount: Wall, floor stand or table stand

In the seemingly endless sea of video baby monitors, this one stands out from the crowd. Simply put, it just works. It’s easy to set up and intuitive to use. The battery life, pan, tilt and zoom features and day + night camera quality are all 💯. And you can add up to four cameras, so you won’t have to invest in yet another monitor if or when you decide to add to your family.

“Momcozy is by far my favorite video monitor,” says Rebekah Kimminau, founder of The Baby Gear Consultant, who has tested nearly every video monitor on the market. “It stands out for its simple parent interface. The volume button is one-touch and in a great spot. The menus are super easy to navigate and the connection with the camera is immediate. The camera quality and night vision are some of the best of any non-WiFi monitors I’ve tried. And it has smooth remote rotation of the camera—there’s no delay between when you press the rotation button on the parent unit and when the camera actually moves, something that can be frustrating when using other video monitors.”

Another pro is the width of the parent unit. It’s thin—about the size of an iPhone—and fits easily in a pocket. As you move around the house toting your baby monitor with you as you go, this is a big deal. “Most other baby monitors at the same price point are kind of chunky,” explains Kimminau. 

One thing to note about this Momcozy monitor is the volume. While Kimminau hasn’t found it to be an issue, other parents we heard from mention they wish it would go up a bit higher. There’s also no split-screen option as you add additional cameras; you’ll need to toggle between screens to view multiple children.

If you’re looking for a camera with a slightly bigger screen and better resolution, the Momcozy 5.5'' Full HD Video Baby Monitor is a good upgrade pick. It features full HD resolution and a display screen that’s half an inch larger.

Additional Specs:

• Monitor Type: Video

• Range: 960 ft

• Power Source: Camera: electrical outlet; Parent unit: electrical outlet or rechargeable battery

• Mount: Wall or table

Leave it to enterprising parents to find a hack for everything. The Wyze, originally designed as a home surveillance camera, is used by tons of parents as a baby monitor. And with its easy setup, live HD streaming and incredibly affordable price tag, it’s a great choice if you’re looking for a WiFi option at a fraction of the cost of the Nanit. “Why buy an expensive camera when a cheap Wyze camera does it all?” asked one Babylist parent.

The Wyze is controlled remotely via an app and can be shared by multiple family members. When used as a baby monitor, you can view the live stream in real-time or set up push notifications to alert you to motion and sound. (You can also adjust the sensitivities on these so you’re not being bombarded with a message every time your little one makes a move.) The camera has color night vision, simultaneous two-way audio and can pan, tilt and zoom. “I am able to peek at my boy from out of the house with both a visual and sound,” another parent told us. “It has excellent night vision since it is technically a security camera.”

You'll get free live streaming, motion detection and short cloud-stored video clips right out of the box with the Wyze; however, to access advanced features like continuous cloud recording and storage, a subscription to Wyze Cam Plus is required for $2.99/month or $19.99 per year.

If you’re comparing the Wyze with its higher-priced, baby-specific WiFi counterparts, there are a few downsides. You’ll need your phone around, unlocked (there’s no background audio feed option like with the Nanit) and always charged to use the Wyze cam. If you want a caregiver to use the monitor, you’ll need to have them download the app and give them permission to access your camera. Some parents also don’t love the cloud-based storage—but there is an option to insert a micro SD card instead and store the files locally.

It’s also worth noting that in September 2023, The Verge reported an incident where a small number of users (the company has estimated roughly 10) who used a web browser to log into their Wyze cameras may have seen camera feeds of other users who were logged in during that time frame. We recommend reaching out to Wyze directly if you have any concerns about your monitor’s security.

Additional Specs

• Monitor Type: WiFi video, via smart phone; iOS and Android

• Range: No limit if connected to WiFi

• Power Source: Camera: electrical outlet; Phone acts as parent unit

• Mount: Wall or table

Finding a reliable video monitor at a reasonable price can be challenging. This easy-to-use video monitor from Hello Baby is an affordable pick loved by thousands of parents for its price, features, and functionality.

The two standout features of this baby monitor are ease of use and camera quality, both extra impressive considering the monitor’s price point. The user interface is straightforward and intuitive. (Many parents specifically call out that it’s especially grandparent-friendly.) The five-inch display offers a clear view of baby both during the day and at night, and the camera features a wide pan and tilt range and 2x zoom.

“I ended up liking this simple Hello Baby monitor more than the Eufy or other fancy WiFi monitors,” one parent said in our survey. “It’s easy to set up, use and even pack for travel,” added another. 

Perks like two-way audio, room temperature monitoring, built-in lullabies and an audio-only power-saving mode add great value at this price. And while some parents report battery issues over time (a common complaint of many video baby monitors, even more expensive ones), most don’t find battery life to be an issue. Some users do mention that they wish the volume would go up higher, another common video monitor complaint.

Additional Specs:

• Monitor Type: Video

• Range: 1,000 ft

• Power Source: Camera: electrical outlet; Parent unit: electrical outlet or rechargeable battery

• Mount: Wall or table

Owlet was one of the first brands to offer a wearable tracking component for babies. This FDA-cleared monitor uses a wearable called a Dream Sock that slips over your baby’s foot to track their pulse rate and oxygen in real-time and alert you if something looks off. (If you’re curious what “FDA-cleared” actually means, this FDA-approved vs. FDA-cleared explainer breaks it down.) The sock can also track sleep trends like wakings, quality of sleep and total hours slept. It has a 16-hour battery life and charges on a separate base in about eight hours.

A quick scan of parent reviews on the Owlet yields mixed opinions. Some parents swear by it. “The peace of mind the Owlet gave me while sleeping was incomparable,” one parent told us. “It just really puts our minds at ease knowing we can check on baby’s vitals at any time,” said another. But on the flip side, you’ll hear things like “it malfunctioned a lot and caused unnecessary stress,” and “it’s too pricey and it was so glitchy.” So who should you believe?

If you’re the type of parent who is comforted by more information rather than less, we think the Owlet is a great choice. It does have its connectivity glitches, although they've improved over time and are very dependent on who you ask—some parents report false alarms while others use the sock for over a year with zero malfunctions. But many parents value the peace of mind it provides and especially lean on the vitals data when their little one is a newborn or when they’re sick. For other parents, though, the Owlet can actually cause added anxiety rather than relieve it. It often depends on your disposition and personal preferences.

The most important thing to remember about the Owlet is it’s not a medical device, and it shouldn’t be used or relied on as one. If you ever have any concerns about your baby’s health, your pediatrician should always be your first source of information. You should also never use it to monitor your baby if they fall asleep in an unsafe sleep situation like a lounger or with loose blankets nearby; instead, move them to a firm, flat surface free of soft objects and loose bedding.

This bundle includes the sock sensor, base and two pairs of socks in size one and two. If you're looking to also add a monitor, you'll want to upgrade to the Dream Duo 2 Smart Baby Monitor bundle, which includes a camera that turns the system into a WiFi baby monitor.

Additional Specs

• Monitor Type: WiFi video, via smartphone

• Range: Sock: about 100 feet; Monitor: no limit if connected to WiFi

• Power Source: Camera: electrical outlet; Sock: rechargeable base; phone acts as parent unit

• Mount: Wall or table

There are plenty of video monitors that allow you to view two separate rooms simultaneously, but the Babysense Full HD makes it even easier with its split-screen technology. Instead of toggling between two separate screens, this monitor splits the screen in half, giving you a view of both spaces at once. It’s a great feature to have if you have twins or multiple kids close in age, but is just as useful if you want to keep an eye on two separate spaces (a nursery and a playroom, for example). “When we had our third baby and our kids were in separate rooms, we got the Babysense dual monitor and I loved the big screen display,” Rachael Shephard-Ohta, a sleep consultant, Certified Lactation Counselor and founder of Hey Sleepy Baby, told us.

The camera quality on the Babysense is the other feature parents rave about consistently. The picture is crisp and clear, even in night mode, and the 5.5” LCD display makes it easy to take it all in. There’s a 360-degree pan along with a tilt and zoom feature. And unlike with some monitors where you’ll experience a scrolling lag, you won’t find that here—the buttons are really responsive and it’s easy to pan a room quickly.

There’s also a night light, two-way audio, built-in lullabies and white noise and a 12-hour battery life on the Babysense. This version includes two cameras, but if you only need one (or plan to add a second camera later on), there’s a single-camera version, too. You can also add two more cameras to this unit if you need to keep an eye on more children. (The screen will toggle between each pair of cameras.)

Additional Specs

• Monitor Type: Video

• Range: 1,000 feet

• Power Source: Audio base: electrical outlet; Parent unit: electrical outlet or battery

• Mount: Wall or table

Don’t discount the value and usefulness of an audio-only monitor. Audio monitors are affordable, functional and portable. They can also be a lifesaver for anxious parents who are overwhelmed by the thought of being glued to a video monitor screen trying to keep an eye on their baby 24/7.

This VTech monitor has all the features you need in an audio-only monitor. It picks up the quietest of sounds very well, but won’t emit the constant (and annoying) white noise you often hear from other audio monitors. It features a two-way intercom, a feature that’s especially useful during the toddler years, and a visual five-level sound indicator on the parent unit so you can visually monitor the noise level even when the unit is muted. (The baby unit also features a dimmable light.) It’s small and portable, and the price tag is really easy on your wallet. Many parents use it for travel, but if you do prefer an audio-only monitor, it’s a great option for everyday use at home, too.

Additional Specs:

• Monitor Type: Audio

• Range: 1,000 ft

• Power Source: Audio base: electrical outlet or battery; Parent unit: electrical outlet or battery

• Mount: Table or hook