The Best Bibs to Keep Babies Mess-Free

So many Babylist parents wrote in to our Best Baby Products survey to rave about this bib—it checks all the boxes for both messy eaters and busy parents, thanks to its wide pocket and wipe-clean material, but it’s the innovative magnetic closure that helps it clinch the top spot in our book. Other parents love the magnetic part, too; one parent said in our survey that “the easy magnetic latch is perfect for impatient babies and lazy dads.”

The Babynetic bib, which one Babylist parent called “seriously genius,” is made with convenience in mind—no buttons or snaps, just wrap the neckband around your baby and to connect the magnets, quick and easy. And the magnets are strong enough that tiny hands can’t undo them (but they’re still easy enough for an adult to remove). You can even hang the bib on your magnetic appliances (like your fridge or dishwasher) for easy storage, a pro tip that one parent called “an actual game changer.”

To double down on the convenience factor, the entire bib is platinum-grade silicone so it’s easy to clean—it’s 100% dishwasher safe—and features an extra wide, stay-open crumb pocket to catch anything your little one throws at it (literally).

The only real downsides are that the closures aren’t adjustable to fit different sizes, and the bib overall is a little too large for babies younger than six months old.

While most bibs on this list work great for older babies who are already eating solids, these bandana bibs from Copper Pearl are perpetual favorites among parents of younger babies because of their absorbency. Drool, milk and other liquids tend to slide right off of silicone and plastic bibs (and right into baby’s lap...or yours), whereas these cotton and polyester fleece bibs soak everything right up. They provide just enough coverage for baby’s neck and chest, but since there’s no crumb-catcher pocket, I wouldn’t suggest using them for solid food meals.

When my youngest wore these bibs, they stayed soft even after dozens of washes. He wore one at all waking hours during his teething stage and when we’d bottle feed, and they caught every bit of drool and dripped milk (for solid food meals, we swapped to a silicone option because he was just so messy). I considered it a bonus that these bandanas could also be matched to his outfits every day, and other parents agree: “They are the first ones we have found that not only work for catching drool but also look amazing! Complete game changer for outfits,” one Babylist parent said.

One drawback to the design of these bibs is that there are only two snap closures. An adjustable neckline makes for a longer-lasting bib, but these Copper Pearl bibs only have three size settings. My son outgrew his right around his first birthday, so while we did get about a year of use out of them, he couldn’t use them into his toddler years like the more adjustable bibs.

If you’re looking to use natural products and materials with your baby, then these 100% organic cotton bibs from Burt’s Bees Baby are the ideal choice. Most bibs, including those with cotton top layers, have plastic, silicone, polyester or harsh chemical layers to help with water resistance, but not these. It’s layers of organic cotton all the way through—just keep in mind that that also means they’re not as water-resistant as the other bibs on this list, so they won’t hold up to heavier messes.

These bibs also have a unique non-closure design, using lap-shoulder flaps instead so that they’re easy to slip on and off baby’s head—they even work for babies with larger heads. “My baby has trouble with getting some shirts and other pull on bibs over his head, but due to the way these are set up it is very friendly to bigger head sizes,” one parent told us. So no messing with buttons or snaps, and even stronger babies won’t be able to pull them off.

One drawback to the lap-shoulder design and soft material is that they can cause the bibs to stretch out. “After about 15 minutes of my baby tugging or playing while wearing the bibs, I notice the neck is sagging,” one parent said. The good news is that, since it’s 100% cotton, you can soak the bibs in hot water to help shrink the fibers back to their original size.

This bib has the most adjustable neckband of any bib we’ve found—with over four inches of adjustability, it’ll keep working for your baby from their first days of eating up through preschool. “My oldest still occasionally likes to wear them for messy meals,” one parent said in their review. It’s also got a wide pocket that actually stays open to catch spills. It’s made from BPA-free, food-safe plastic that’s easy to clean—it’s dishwasher safe!—and dries quickly.

Keep in mind, however, that even though this bib looks just like popular silicone bibs, it’s actually made of sturdy plastic. “It’s more rigid, but this makes it stronger and easier to clean,” one parent said. Another parent noted that “it’s too stiff and we had to wait until our child was long enough to not hit the tray and push into our child’s esophagus.”

And as great as this neckband is for growing with your baby, some parents noted that older toddlers may be able to reach the cord and accidentally over-tighten it.

If you’ve got an extra messy baby like my sons were, I strongly recommend going for a full-coverage bib like this one instead of a traditional one, especially when they start self-feeding. This smock-style bib from Lalo (a parent-favorite for all types of feeding essentials) covers baby’s chest, belly, shoulders, arms and even the tops of their legs, and it even has a front pocket for catching food and crumbs. It’s a great option to keep baby’s outfit as intact as possible or if you’re trying to avoid extra bath times, like the Babylist parent who said in his review: “My little guy is a monster when eating. The smock bib makes it so we don't need to rush to the bath after every meal.”

This bib also does double duty for art and sensory playtime. The 100% polyester material is waterproof and wipes down easily, so I was never afraid to let my kids go wild with the finger paints (which, more often than not, became body paints—but this smock kept the paint off most of their skin).

Keep in mind though, that while the smock can be machine-washed, it’s not dryer-safe. You’ll need to hang it up or lay it flat to air-dry, but in my experience, it dries really fast. And when it comes to the fit, it doesn’t have an adjustable neckline or sleeves, so it works best for older babies age six months and up.

Need something for the restaurant or grandma’s house? These disposable cloth-like paper bibs from Bibsters can be tossed after one use, so you won’t have to worry about washing a bib in a restaurant bathroom sink or stashing a dirty bib in the diaper bag until you get home.

And even though they’re disposable, these bibs are triple layered—a quilted paper top layer that feels like cloth, an absorbent middle layer and a leak-proof bottom layer—so they protect your little one’s clothes as well as the bibs you use at home every day.

But since these bibs are paper-based, they’re not as durable as regular reusable bibs. Older, stronger babies may be able to tear them off, since the neckline is just a hook-and-loop fastener. “This is a decent bib when I'm out at a restaurant with my son,” one parent said in her review, “but they are so easily broken by my 13-month-old. One yank and the neck will immediately tear.” And speaking of the neckline, these bibs aren’t adjustable, so smaller babies may end up with a gap around their neck where food can get caught.

Lastly, if you’re looking for a variety of designs, no dice here. There are other disposable bibs on the market with different designs, but they don’t hold up as well to larger spills or excessive drool (the pocket on Bibsters bibs is much bigger than other brands). So for the best disposable bib on the market, you’ll have to go with their only design: Sesame Street.