Keep a Close Eye on Them With the Best Baby Monitors

Top 10 Best Baby Monitors 2023

1. Best Overall Baby Monitor: Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: 3.5”
• Range: 700 feet
• Power Source: Battery (12 hours audio, 8 hours video)

Our top-rated baby monitor is the Infant Optics DXR-8. This unit combines a high degree of functionality and performance. The DXR-8 provides the convenience of listening and watching your baby without ever entering the nursery. Its wide-angle lens and its ability to zoom in and out means you can adjust the camera to see what you need to from the monitor itself.

Features

The Infant Optics DXR-8 is the first-ever baby monitor with the ability to change the lens. You’ll have to buy the interchangeable lens separately, but if you do, it gives you the chance to customize the zoom without turning the camera tilt angle.

The included lens provides both regular viewing and a zoom option, while the wide-angle interchangeable lens offers a larger view of the whole room. The panoramic view comes in handy when your baby starts to move and play. It means you can always monitor their playtime as they move around.

Performance

We were impressed by how accurately the temperature sensor reports the temperature of the baby’s room – allowing parents to make adjustments as they see fit. Turning the screen off and switching to audio-only mode with the screen off reduces battery consumption by up to 50%. This is useful for monitoring when you are not able to look at the screen. When the volume is turned down, a row of LEDs will light up, ensuring you’ll be alerted of noises even when the device is muted.

In addition, you can talk into the monitor. This assures the baby that you are around, and you can soothe them back to sleep. Do note that you won’t be able to take snapshots with the camera or even record video—to do all of those things, you’ll need to upgrade to the smart-phone compatible Nanit Plus.

We like that this monitor is not very loud, so it won’t startle you awake in the middle of the night. Overall, the Infant Optics VXR-8 is our top pick for new parents.

2. Best Budget Baby Monitor: Wansview Baby Camera

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: Connects to smartphone
• Range: Connects to WiFi network
• Power Source: Wired

It wasn’t long ago that parents had little more than scratchy audio from a baby monitor to keep tabs on their little one while they sleep or play in their crib. Thanks to this baby monitor from Wansview, today’s parents can feel like they are keeping a closer eye on their baby than ever before. It features crystal clear HD video and an impressive array of features.

Features

The first feature most parents will notice when setting up the Wansview Wireless Security Camera in their baby’s nursery is the impressive tilt and panning range offered. Connecting to your home’s WiFi network, this monitor does not contain a receiver unit. Rather, parents can use their phone, tablet, or another mobile device to check in on their baby’s nursery while at home or out. This is ideal for some, but if you want a device with a decitated screen, you’ll need to look elsewhere—try the Nanit Plus.

This monitor is also compatible with Amazon Alexa, making it a great choice for parents who already have Amazon Fire TV or an Echo Show device. The camera does require the Wansview cloud app, so if you already have a different brand of WIFi camera in your house, the setup could be a bit tricky.

Performance

Unlike several options on our list, this baby monitor features full 1080p HD video. This may not seem like a big deal at first, but this clarity can be very helpful when trying to make out small details in the video feed, like trying to figure out exactly what is in your baby’s hands from a distance. We were also impressed by the clarity of the audio when using the two-way communication feature.

3. Best Premium Baby Monitor: Nanit Plus Smart Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: Connects to smartphone
• Range: Connects to WiFi network
• Power Source: Wired

One of the most advanced baby monitors you can buy, the Nanit Plus is a wall-mounted HD camera meant to give you a bird’s-eye view of your baby as they sleep. Allowing parents to monitor their babies using their smartphone, this high tech monitor offers a ton of advanced features like night vision, sleep tracking, and more.

Features

This is an ideal baby monitor for parents who want to keep track of everything. In addition to offering the perfect vantage point for watching your little one sleep, you will be able to use the included app to gain insight into your baby’s health like never before. You will be able to track their sleep patterns and identify problems in their sleeping behavior as early as possible.

The Nanit Plus has more features than any other baby monitor we reviewed. Not only do you get the perfect angle for watching the crib and standard features like night vision, but you also get features like breathing monitoring and sensors that track temperature and humidity.

Performance

Parents we talked to felt perfectly comfortable relying on their Nanit Plus for their infant’s safety. The Nanit Plus is more expensive than many of the alternatives, but its performance and feature set are unmatched.

4. Best Long-Range Baby Monitor: SereneLife Long Range Video Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: 2”
• Range: 850 feet
• Power Source: Battery (24 hours)

Day and night monitoring of your baby becomes easier as they grow up. But the first few months are hectic, and if you are overly panicky, you may never get anything done around the house. The SereneLife Wireless baby monitor provides both audio and video output, allowing you to go about your chores during the baby’s nap time.

Features

A 2-inch wireless screen provides digital video via the 2.4GHz frequency band. The rechargeable monitor offers wireless use as you can take it anywhere around the house, up to 850ft. Better still, you can wear it on your body, making it easy to carry as you go about your day.

Performance

A built-in rechargeable battery comes in handy for long hours of use. You don’t have to keep charging this unit as it provides longer battery life than regular replaceable batteries. A built-in thermometer shows how hot the room is. This ensures your baby sleeps in the ideal conditions.

The SereneLife Wireless Video Monitor is one of the less expensive devices. It provides outstanding performance from the 2.4GHz band connectivity to the built-in rechargeable battery, and wireless operation. It is a top performer in this category.

5. Most Controllable Baby Monitor: HelloBaby HB65 Video Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: 3.2”
• Range: 1000 feet
• Power Source: Battery (8 hours)

This baby monitor is highly adjustable, with its primary advantage being the fact that it can pan, tilt, and zoom to get the best view of your nursery and your baby. This will keep your baby safe, as you’ll be able to see them at all times, but it also makes your life easier, as you won’t have to constantly reposition the camera.

Features

This baby monitor has a fantastic screen, a 3.2-inch LCD display with satisfying, rubberized controls. It feels pretty high tech, and it’s HD-enough to always have a good view of your baby. More important, though, are the remote adjustment features that allow you to reposition the camera from up to 1000 feet away; that’s the range for the video streaming as well.

The pan, tilt, and zoom features provide a wide panorama, with 355 degrees of horizontal rotation, functionally making the camera able to view all angles. 120 up-and-down degrees aren’t as impressive, but it’s typically enough to see floor-to-ceiling. Oddly enough, the things that are close up are hardest to see due to these angles.

Performance

It’s evident that there’s a great deal of engineering and design thinking behind this baby monitor, as controls and tech are seamless. Connection issues are rare, and the device is a good combination of durable and easy-to-use. The night vision function is a bit finicky and sometimes doesn’t properly adjust in the light, and the charging port can be tricky to set up properly.

6. Best Audio-Only Baby Monitor: VTech Audio Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: N/A
• Range: 1,000 feet
• Power Source: Battery (16 hours)

While video monitors are gaining popularity, many parents still prefer to keep tabs on their babies using a traditional audio monitor. The VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor is the clearest sounding baby monitor we tested. It also allows parents to talk back to their babies through the parent monitors.

One major advantage of an audio-only monitor is battery life. The parent monitoring unit in this set can run for up to 18 hours on a single charge. When buying, you can choose to get either one parent monitor or two.

Featuring an impressive 1,000 foot range, another benefit to an audio-only baby monitor is that they are considerably less expensive than a video monitor. We especially like the vibration feature that makes it easy to notice when your baby begins to stir.

Features

The VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor has quite a few innovative features. There is a nightlight on top of the transmitter that emits a pleasant glow at night. There is also an intercom feature that allows parents to talk back and soothe their babies.

Performance

Thanks to DECT 6.0 digital technology, the audio is crystal clear and even the faintest sound can be heard. There is a long, 1,000 foot radius on the signal and it is encrypted and interference-free. For an audio-only monitor, it can’t be beat.

7. Easiest Baby Monitor to Use: Homiee Video Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: 5”
• Range: 1,000 feet
• Power Source: Battery (5 hours video, 8 hours audio)

Our favorite aspect of this baby monitor from Homiee is its user interface, with an actual physical remote control allowing you to adjust everything from the menu and settings to the camera itself. The small, wireless base looks a lot like a webcam, with a small antenna letting users change the angle and zoom of the camera from up to 1000 feet away.

Features

The camera is feature-packed with plenty to play with that’s easy to turn off if you want to keep it simple. A room temperature monitor keeps tabs on things and will ping you if it goes outside of the designated range.

Brightness is adjustable and a wall mount is included with the camera, along with the ability to pair with up to four more cameras. You can set alerts for yourself, the most useful of which is a feeding alarm that’s adjustable and helps you keep your baby well fed. This will make your life much easier: a well-fed baby is a happy baby.

Performance

While the baby monitor has the same features as most expensive models, they’re not as quick or as reliable as other monitors. The monitor has a voice-listening feature that automatically activates when the baby is restless, and some parents find that screen doesn’t turn on every time the baby cries. That’s not a big deal since the monitor is always running, so you’ll always be able to hear your baby, but it’d be nice if that feature worked correctly.

You can change the noise sensitivity to make it more likely to pick up a crying baby, and you can adjust the volume on your own side to amplify noises and wake up even the heaviest sleeper. A charge lasts a whole night and the unit is phenomenally durable, with all parts backed up by a 12-month warranty.

8. Best Large-Screen Baby Monitor: Vava VA-IH006 Video Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: 5”
• Range: 900 feet
• Power Source: Battery (24 hours audio, 12 hours video)

For parents looking for a video monitor that allows them to tilt and pan to look around a room, the VAVA 720P HD Video Baby monitor delivers crisp, real-time images with an impressive level of detail. At 5”, the screen is much larger than most other video baby monitors. When operating in video mode, the handheld display can last for up to 12 hours at a time using the rechargeable battery, with twice the battery life in audio-only mode.

Features

The VAVA Baby Monitor has an impressive array of video features that allow you to pan, tilt, and zoom the camera wirelessly using the handheld display. You can also turn off the video feature and listen in on your baby using audio-only mode. This extends the battery life considerably.

There are also 7 volume level indicators on the handheld monitor, so there is a visual cue when your baby starts making noise.

The VAVA 720p helps you monitor your baby effortlessly with a screen much larger than most other video baby monitors. The camera can be totally controlled remotely by the handheld monitoring unit. You can’t mount this camera to a wall, though, so it’ll have to be placed on a surface—for a large-screen mountable camera, we recommend the Vava Split View Baby Monitor.

Performance

The VAVA 720p HD Video display monitor transmits crystal-clear video up to 900 feet in your house. We found the notification functions to be reliable and loud enough to wake up even heavy sleepers.

9. Best Baby Monitor for Multiple Children: Vava Split View Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: 5”
• Range: 900 feet
• Power Source: Battery (18 hours audio, 10 hours video)

Adding another camera to the conventional single-lens set up changes the game for larger families and opens up a world of possibilities. Multiple rooms? Set up one camera in each. Multiple kids? You can use one camera for each. It’s even nice to be double-covered in a single room, as sometimes pets or kids can get up to no good—it’s good to keep your bases covered.

Features

For a price this high you expect the best, and Vava delivers with a slick interface and easy operation. Controls are simple and don’t freeze, while the camera zooms 2x and 4x while simultaneously delivering a panoramic scan feature that lets you see the whole room.

The Vava cameras are impressive and futuristic in terms of both looks and use. Among other features, they can be adjusted remotely, use a large lens to capture more of the room, and they’re practically unbreakable: a huge pro if you live in a chaotic household.

While they’re wireless, which is somewhat nice, we think most users would simply prefer the option to plug it in, just in case. For this reason, we wish that each camera came with its own charger.

Performance

Performance is about average for the camera, and Vava either beats or matches industry averages for benchmarks such as range (900 feet), battery life (all night long), and screen size (5 inches.) Other than that, there’s surprisingly little to report, which is maybe a good thing: you don’t need a baby monitor to blow your mind, you just need it to work.

If you’ve got twins but there’s something you don’t like about this camera, be sure to check out our extensive list of the best 2-camera baby monitors on the market.

10. Best Medical Baby Monitor: Owlet Duo Smart Baby Monitor

Quick Facts:

• Screen Size: Connects to smartphone
• Range: Connects to WiFi network
• Power Source: Battery (16 hours)

The most unique monitor on our list, the Owlet Smart Sock is a wearable monitor that tracks your baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels. If the Smart Sock detects something is wrong, it will immediately notify you via a notification on your phone as well as lights and sounds that come from the base station in your baby’s room.

Parents love feeling like they can be confident that their baby is okay because their vital signs are being constantly monitored. Knowing that the system is actively monitoring them while they sleep is comforting, but the lack of video or audio monitoring does make it difficult to use the smart sock as your only baby monitor—thankfully, this kit also includes a baby monitor that connects to your smartphone!

Features

The Owlet Smart Sock is designed to be worn around a baby’s ankle and foot. It uses proven technology to track heart rate or oxygen levels and relay that information to the base unit. The most important feature is that it instantly notifies you if there is a problem.

Performance

Most parents report that the Owlet Smart Sock works as intended, though thankfully many of them have not experienced the alarm saying their baby’s heart rate or oxygen levels are getting dangerously low. One performance issue experienced by a few parents was the sock disconnecting from the base, triggering the notifications and alarm – which can be frightening.