10 best baby monitors: Tried and tested video and audio models

This monitor is billed as the first baby monitor to apply AI to your baby’s sleep, safety and memories, suitable from newborn up to toddlerhood. Its AI safety detection promises to look out for baby’s face being covered, being stuck rolling over, and for crying. It also generates a sleep analytics report, auto-captures unique movements and more. This claims to offer a lot, but we found it held up to the promises pretty well.

The bundle we tested came with a sleep sensor pad, as well as the CuboAi plus camera, which detects micromovements and will alert parents if movements cease. The beautifully designed baby monitor comes in the shape of a glossy little bird, an attractive addition to any nursery. With a 1,080px high-definition camera, we found the camera quality really clear, whether we were viewing night-time sleep or daytime naps.

Something a little niche that we enjoyed is that the night vision is clear, even without the camera using a visible red light.

The insights, too, were helpful. They may not go to the same level as other smart cameras, but it gave us all of the necessary information we needed, such as the time our baby went to bed, their longest sleep period, time to fall asleep and caregiver visits.

The only thing we think could be improved upon is the addition of a separate parent unit, to avoid having to use your phone. However, although it’s pricey, we think it’s a sound investment from birth to beyond.

When used with the periscope-like floor stand, this smartphone app-controlled camera offers a great visual of your baby in their sleep space. It’s well-designed and comes with handy cable tidies to avoid unsightly wires.

As well as a good visual, day or night, the app offers insights into your child’s sleep, keeping track of how long they spend awake or asleep in the cot, and alerting you to any sound or movement. We appreciated that we could set the sensitivity of this, so we weren’t alerted each time our baby shifted in sleep.

We also liked that you can set a boundary to the edges of your child’s cot, so that even if you’re getting in and out of bed, the camera won’t pick that up as movement. We didn’t notice many technical difficulties, bar a delay of a couple of seconds, depending on the wifi performance. ​

The monitor has two-way sound sleep aids – such as white noise, lullabies and wind sounds – built in. It also has a temperature sensor, and the ability to connect to Alexa smart devices. Another fantastic feature is the nightlight, which is aimed upwards to avoid harsh light – a perfectly gentle way to guide us through a late-night nappy change.

Something to consider, though, even after spending a wad of money on the kit, you’ll need to pay an annual fee to get in-depth insights or a playback of your baby’s activity. But for many an anxious parent, that may be a small price to pay for peace of mind.

We tested the Owlet baby monitor duo smart sock, which is a camera monitor linked to an intuitive smartphone app, which also receives data from the smart sock attached to baby’s foot. For use from birth up to five years old, the sock uses infrared light to measure baby’s pulse in their foot, meaning we could check our baby’s pulse and oxygen level wherever we were.

We appreciated the extra data of the smart sock but, personally, it was difficult not to obsess over it or feel on high alert at all times, especially if the sock slips off – which did happen a couple of times.

This could set you at ease in the early days, but just remember that this smart sock is not intended to be a medical device, but can be nice to have if you just want some extra reassurance.

There’s no camera included with the sock – for this, you’ll need to buy the duo, which is a bundle of the Owlet camera and smart sock, or alternatively buy a different brand of camera altogether.

This Owlet is out of stock at the moment but should be back again soon.

On first glance, this baby monitor and parent unit could be excused for seeming a little simple in design. However, on using the unit, we were pleased to see the visual we got was impressive. It’s possible to tilt, pan and zoom the camera remotely, to adjust what you can see, without disturbing the baby.

Helpfully, as the baby grows and becomes more active, the auto-motion tracking will automatically follow their movements in the cot. It’s perfect for older toddlers that shuffle from one end of the cot to the other.

If you’re not a fan of getting up in the night, the cry sensor listens for the baby’s cries, and responds by playing music to help settle them back to sleep. There’s a selection of lullabies and natural sounds, but you can even add your own music.

The night vision afforded by this camera is clear and it’s easy to see when baby is awake. For extra peace of mind, there’s a movement-sensor pad included (although this is not needed to use the camera unit). It’s sensitive and can detect even small movements, intending to alert you if your baby is still for a prolonged period of time, or if there is a sudden big movement in their sleeping area. It can be adjusted for sensitivity, but it was sometimes hard to remember to hold the alarm lock before picking up our baby, which set it off a couple of times.

This mid-range baby monitor arrived in a sleek box, and looks like something out of War of the Worlds. You can choose between three colourways for a pop of fun in your nursery, and put the unit pretty much anywhere.

The base of the baby monitor is a moveable, malleable silicone structure to twist around cot bars or fit into a steady base. The camera is no-frills and has no extra features. That said, with a downloadable app and easy placement of the unit, we think this one is great for travel and new or awkward spaces.

We couldn’t tilt or pan the camera remotely, so perhaps not one for active babies, but the night vision is clear and the sound quality is decent.

Camera data is stored for a week in the free version of the Lollipop app, or you can upgrade (for a fee) to have longer data storage. For everyday video monitoring, we felt that the free version was enough.

Not the most striking or flash of baby monitors but useful and worthwhile nonetheless, the Vtech DM1212 is a budget buy that works well without breaking the bank.

We found the audio was clear and sensitive enough to alert us over the sound of the TV in the evenings. We also liked that we were able to set a temperature alert, in case the room got too warm or cold for our baby.

The two-way audio set (just like a walkie-talkie) is mains powered, so we didn’t need to worry about batteries running out, but you’ll need to be able to place the baby unit close enough to the child to pick up sound. The parent unit can use two AAA batteries to move around the house, but we found these were used up quite quickly.

We liked the extra features of lullabies and a projecting night light, both of which can be turned on or off via the parent unit.

Our baby has just begun to shift around in her sleep, and we often find she isn’t quite where we left her come morning. This Babymoov monitor gives a clue in the name – it’ll give you a 360-view of your child at all times.

With a camera and separate parent unit, there aren’t any insights to be found, but we found the picture was crystal clear. We were also able to move the camera easily, should our baby wriggle around in her sleep space.

We liked that we had a separate parent unit, although we had to keep an eye on how much charge it had, especially when moving around the house with it.

The vox feature was handy, as it meant we didn’t need to keep an eye on the camera at all times – it alerted us to any noise or movement. We also enjoyed that this camera has a night light of varying colours, and can play music, if desired.

This camera is another that streams live to your smartphone or tablet through a downloadable app, but we enjoyed the 5in parent unit, so we could view our baby’s room at all times.

The parent unit itself is attractive and it’s clear that some effort has gone into making it look a little more aesthetically pleasing. We liked that the unit could be battery or mains powered, allowing us to take it with us around the house, if needed.

As for the camera itself, its pan, tilt and zoom function meant we could adjust the view of our baby’s room at any time, and we found the picture to be clear enough to spot any movement.

It’s not the best image nor sound, though, and, for the price, you could perhaps be left wanting. That said, this monitor will definitely do the job.

One of the biggest pros of this baby monitor is how aesthetically pleasing the minimal design is to complement a modern nursery. It’s the most attractive, practical device we’ve found for style-conscious parents.

Whether in day or night-vision mode, you can easily adjust the camera view around the room and zoom in closer from your mobile phone when baby starts wriggling. You can also record video snippets or photos in real-time and instantly share them with family via WhatsApp and other social platforms.

We were impressed at how fast the camera reacted to new noises, as it instantly panned the room to where the sound was. The app helpfully sends notification alerts of movement, sound recognition, temperature and humidity changes, too.

The two-way microphone and video-call features are a lovely addition for extra reassurance between parents and babysitters. You can also program lullabies, such as Hush Little Baby, and white noise sounds for hands-free soothing.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, this device covers all the essentials you need from a baby monitor at a fair price. Although basic in functionality, it provides everything you ultimately need at a fraction of the cost of other monitors.

We were pleased we didn’t have to spend any time connecting to wifi or setting up smartphone apps before being able to see baby on camera – a great option for those who aren’t very tech-savvy.

Although it may depend on your area, the signal remained high-quality on the device when trialled in three different locations, plus throughout every room of our house and garden during testing.

We loved that the parent unit is wireless when charged and you can helpfully prop it up on its stand while doing errands around the house. The two-way microphone is really clear for communicating with your partner or child, too.

You also have an option of five basic sounds, including lullabies, the sound of birds, white noise and a heartbeat for comforting little one when you’re out of the room.