New parents, this is a tip: You may not even demand a baby monitor. A healthy, hungry baby can scream with enough timbre to bend metal, let alone your poor eardrums. However, baby monitors can provide high-quality audio and crystal-clear video streams from the camera directly to the separate parent device, your smartphone, tablet, or all three. This means you can move freely around the house while keeping a close eye on your baby as they sleep or play in the crib. Here, we take a look at the most intuitive baby monitors available online and rate them on design, features, picture and sound quality to highlight how effective they are in keeping a close eye on your happiness.
For more of our favorite kids gear picks, check out ours best stroller And The best baby carrier our and our buying guide A gift guide for new parents.
Update April 2023: We’ve overhauled our kids monitor selections for 2023 with entries from Hubble, Kodak, Cubo, Angelcare, VTech, and Owlet.
Gear Readers Special Offer: Get One 1 year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you will). Sign up to help fund the work we do every day.
