Nanit vs Snuza – which smart modern baby monitor is best?
The abundance of Smart Baby Monitors on the market is wonderful in one way, so many products to choose from! And difficult in another…so many products to choose from! Wading through the options can be overwhelming, but I’m here to help with comparisons between some of the leading smart baby monitors on the market. Read on to see how the Nanit Plus and Snuza Pico compare.
You can also check out our post comparing the Owlet Smart Sock 3 and the Miku Smart Baby Monitor here.
Note: this blog post probably contains affiliate links, which means we may receive small commissions from purchases made through links in this post (at NO extra cost to you). You can read our full disclosure for more information.
TL:DR (too long, didn’t read)
Short on time? Ultimately, we decided that the Snuza Pico was the best buy because of its affordability and portability. You can check it out here on Amazon.
- TL:DR (too long, didn’t read)
- Do I *Really* Need a baby monitor?
- Nanit Plus Review
- Nanit Plus Features
- How it works
- What Is the Difference Between the Nanit and Nanit Plus?
- Nanit Plus Pros and Cons
- Snuza Pico Review
- Why Use a Smart Baby Monitor?
- How to Choose Between the Nanit Plus and the Snuza Pico 2
- Smart Baby Monitor FAQ
- The Final Word
Do I *Really* Need a baby monitor?
We didn’t always have baby monitors – they’ve actually only really been a thing for about the last 100 years. They’ve really come a long way too – from a simple two-way radio, to live video feed, to wearable tech and smart baby monitor technology. Many smart baby monitors include sensors that monitor sleep, breathing, heart rate, room temperature and humidity levels, and the ability to analyze your baby’s sleep patterns.
Baby monitors make life easier. It lets you move around the house freely, knowing that if your baby cries, you’ll hear them and be able to respond fast.
If you ask any parent, they’ll tell you that anything that makes life with a new baby easier is a good thing! Which makes a smart baby monitor number one on your must buy list!
But which baby monitor should you choose? Keep reading to learn more about the Nanit Plus and the Snuza Pico to decide which of these Smart Baby Monitors are the right fit for your family.
Nanit Plus Review
The Nanit Plus is a wall or stand-mounted camera that sends a live view of your baby’s crib to an app on your smartphone. Besides giving sound and motion notifications, it also communicates the room temperature and humidity, has two-way audio and can play white noise and nature sounds.
Nanit also offers a “complete monitoring system” when you purchase specialized clothing. Nanit Breathing Wear is a 100% cotton band, swaddle or sleep sack with a unique pattern that, when worn by your baby, allows the Nanit Plus camera to track breathing motion.
Nanit Plus Features
The Nanit Plus is full of amazing features that make it an excellent choice for new parents:
- Basic Sleep Insights are included for one year for free with any Nanit Plus purchase. After your first year, you can keep access to Basic Insights on a subscription basis which costs $5/month or $50 per year. These sleep insights include sleep tracking (how many minutes until sleep onset, time asleep, number of visits by caretakers and sleep efficiency.)
- Breathing Motion Monitoring (as long as you have purchased Breathing Wear): Notifications if your baby stops breathing and live access to their rate of BPM (breaths per minute)
- Real time sound and motion notifications
- Monitor the temperature and humidity of your baby’s room
- Access to Video History – With the free for one year Basic Insights you have seven days of access to videos that the Nanit Plus Camera records. With a bump up to higher cost plans, you can access 30 days of video history or unlimited video history.
- Automatic morning and evening Highlight Reels so you can see how baby did at night with a fun time lapse video
- 256 Bit Video Encryption to keep your videos safe from hackers
- High definition video and night vision video
- Digital zoom from your smartphone to get a close up of your baby
- Two way audio (so you can talk to your baby)
- Play white noise or soothing sounds from your smartphone
- Included night light that you can adjust from your smartphone
- HSA/FSA Approved
How it works
The Nanit Plus camera is a 4.2” x 3.3” camera with two way audio, high definition video and night vision video with a digital zoom you can operate from your smartphone.
When paired with Nanit’s Breathing Wear, the camera uses the unique pattern to track movement and give breathing information.
The Nanit Plus Camera has a 14 foot power cable (cord) that plugs into the wall. It comes with safe cable management (cable cover units) to keep baby safe.
What Is the Difference Between the Nanit and Nanit Plus?
While the Nanit Plus is identical in appearance to the previous Nanit, it has some new features including nature sounds, two-way audio, advanced user permissions for extra caregivers, and the ability to monitor baby’s breathing with the Nanit Breathing Wear.
Nanit Plus Pros and Cons
The Nanit Plus is a great baby monitor and it does a LOT, so you’ll notice our list of pros are quite long!
Pros
- You can see your baby’s sleep trends and how your baby’s sleep improves over time.
- Includes a digital zoom not found in most other smart baby monitors
- Sound and motion notifications
- Room temperature and humidity notifications
- Has non-touch monitoring (breathing wear doesn’t use sensors or other electronics)
- Generates fun digital scrapbook videos highlighting age milestones and sleeping accomplishments.
- Makes recommendations for better sleeping after comparing your baby’s data to other healthy babies that are the same age.
- The option of playing white noise or soothing sounds through Nanit Plus camera’s speakers using your smartphone app.
- You can add additional “parenting team” members so family and friends can access videos and data (at your discretion)
- The Nanit App continues to work even if wi-fi is down. As long as you are on the same local Wi-Fi network as the camera, you should still be able to see the monitoring status, get alerts on your phone and start or stop a monitoring session.
- Records data including when baby was put down and every time they were taken out of bed (especially helpful if you have a nanny or a babysitter)
- Tells you how long it has been since your baby’s last sleep (one less thing to keep track of in your sleep deprived brain!)
Cons
- Breathing monitoring requires the purchase of special sleepwear.
- You will need to purchase more sleepwear as baby grows
- Sleep Insights require a subscription after one year, or immediately if you want access to more features and longer video history
- Not very portable for travel
- You should not use the swaddle or breathing band on a baby who is ill as it could make their temperature rise.
- Sleep comparisons and recommendations could be frustrating if you and your baby are struggling with sleep.
Snuza Pico Review
The Snuza Pico 2 is marketed as a “baby movement monitor.” It is a small wireless monitor that clips to your baby’s diaper on their tummy.
The Snuza devices work by monitoring your baby’s abdominal motion and therefore their breathing. It also monitors your baby’s body temperature and sleeping position and gives information on your baby’s sleeping patterns.
The Snuza Pico 2 has a vibration setting that is triggered when your baby stops breathing for 15 seconds. If baby breathes again you aren’t notified. But after three vibration/rouse events, the Rouse Warning will alert you that your baby’s breathing movements have stopped for 15 seconds three separate times.
If breathing stops for more than 20 seconds it sets off an alarm on the device and alerts you on an app on your smartphone.
There are two other Snuza devices:
- Snuza Go: The most affordable model with less capabilities. It does not connect to a smartphone. It only has an audio alarm on the device and does not vibrate to rouse the baby. Many parents prefer this as the Go alarms immediately if it detects a pause in breathing.
- Snuza Hero: This is in between the Go and Pico 2 both price wise and capability wise. The Hero only monitors breathing movement and has no smartphone connectivity. It vibrates after 15 second of no breathing motion to rouse the baby and will alarm if no further breathing motion is detected.
Snuza Pico 2 Features
- 1.89” x 1.57” Lightweight monitor that attaches to a diaper and lies on baby’s tummy
- Using bluetooth connectivity, the Snuza Pico 2 sends information and notifications to your smartphone
- Built-in alarm that sounds after 20 seconds of no breathing
- Will gently vibrate to rouse your baby when no breathing motion is detected for 15 seconds
- Monitors baby’s body temperature
- Indicates baby’s sleeping position (front, back etc)
- BPA, Phthalate, Lead and Latex free
How the Snuza Pico 2 Works
The Snuza Pico 2 works by sensing the up and down motion of baby’s breathing. If the motion stops for longer than 15 seconds, it triggers a vibration to rouse the baby. If more than 3 sessions of vibration occur or if the motion stops for 20 seconds an alarm sounds on the device and through the smartphone app.
The Snuza Pico 2 is a cordless monitoring device. It comes with a charging case that plugs into the wall. One charge should last approximately 2 weeks.
Snuza Pico 2 Pros and Cons
Pros
- No wires, no pads, no smartphone required for use
- Portable and great for travel
- It can be used for children up to the age of six
- You can monitor up to four children on your smartphone
- Receive notifications for changes in breathing, temperature, sleeping position and sleep state.
- Track your child’s temperature when they are ill
- HSA/FSA Approved
Cons
- Older/more active babies might try to take the sleep monitor off
- It is not suitable for co-sleeping or bed sharing
- Too much clothing can muffle the device’s alarm (this doesn’t affect the phone notifications)
- Some users report bluetooth connectivity problems with the app in larger homes
- Bluetooth Technology only allows one smart device to connect to the Snuza Pico 2 at a time.
Why Use a Smart Baby Monitor?
Audio or visual monitors are much cheaper – why use a smart baby monitor? Simpler audio or video baby monitors might be sufficient for your family depending on the layout of your home and your personal level of worry.
You might want a smart baby monitor if:
- Your baby is sleeping in the nursery away from your sleep area or where you do your daily activities
- Worrying about your baby’s health while sleeping is causing you to miss sleep and/or feel anxious
- You love tracking and analyzing your baby’s sleep patterns
You might not need a smart baby monitor if:
- Baby sleeps in your room (and you aren’t worried)
- Baby naps within easy hearing distance during the day
- You think extra information about baby’s sleep habits will stress you out
Audio or Video baby monitors are a great tool for monitoring your baby. Smart Baby Monitors like the Nanit Plus and Snuza Pico 2 provide a much broader range of information and can give you comfort knowing that your baby is being constantly monitored while they sleep.
How to Choose Between the Nanit Plus and the Snuza Pico 2
The Nanit Plus and the Snuza Pico 2 will give you helpful data and real time information about your baby while they sleep. If you are trying to choose between these two smart baby monitors you may want to consider:
- Do I need a lower cost option? (Choose Snuza Pico 2)
- Do I want to be able to use the monitor with my child as they get older? (Choose Snuza Pico 2)
- Do I want a baby monitor that includes live video feed? (Choose Nanit Plus)
- Would I use white noise/lullaby music? (Choose Nanit Plus)
- Do I travel and need a more portable monitor? (Choose Snuza Pico 2)
- Do I want/need more than one person to be able to monitor the baby at the same time? (Choose Nanit Plus)
Smart Baby Monitor FAQ
Do pediatricians recommend the Nanit / Snuza?
The American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement regarding Smart Baby Monitors. It says, “There is no evidence that the use of infant home apnea monitors decreases the incidence of SIDS and should not be used routinely for this purpose; however, they might be of value for selected infants at risk for apnea or cardiovascular events after discharge.”
The AAP also says that a home apnea monitor may be needed and prescribed by a doctor if: “Your baby needs home oxygen or your baby has serious breathing problems.”
Can these baby monitors prevent SIDS?
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) cannot be prevented with a monitor. Both the Nanit and Snuza websites state that their products are not medical devices but can be valuable in assisting parents in monitoring their baby and learning from collected data.
From the Nanit website, “[Nanit] is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease or other condition, including but not limited to, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). False positive or false negative readings about your baby’s breathing patterns are a potential risk of Nanit. Nanit should not substitute for the care and oversight of an adult or consultation with medical professionals.”
From the Snuza website, “ It isn’t a medical device. It is designed to assist parents in monitoring their baby, by detecting even the smallest of abdominal movements. Its vibrate and alarm functions are designed to provide an early warning system for parents. They aren’t intended to diagnose or treat any diseases.”
Will these monitors tell you if baby stops breathing?
Both the Nanit Plus (with purchased Breathing Wear) and the Snuza Pico 2 will notify you if your baby stops breathing.
If you purchase the Nanit Breathing Wear, the Nanit Plus camera tracks the unique pattern on clothing and alerts you if no breathing motion is detected.
The Snuza Pico 2 is specially designed to monitor baby’s abdominal motion and breathing. If there is no motion/breathing for 20 seconds, an alarm will sound to notify parents. From their website, “We’re confident that, if used correctly, the Snuza Pico is reliable in detecting any cessation of breathing movement.”
Do these monitors give false alarms?
The risk of false positives or false negative readings are a possible for both the Nanit Plus and the Snuza Pico 2.
Whether that means a the sensors of the Snuza Pico 2 aren’t properly flush on your baby’s body or the Nanit Breathing Wear isn’t being seen and read by the Nanit Plus camera, any technological device has the possibility of false alarms.
Customer reviews of the Nanit Plus and Snuza Pico 2 do not show an overabundance of false negative reports.
The Final Word
The Nanit Plus and Snuza Pico 2 smart baby monitors have different capabilities and very different costs. Although the Nanit Plus offers live video and fun video montages, the cost of the camera, breathing wear and subscription upgrades make it very expensive. If your main concern is monitoring your baby’s breathing, the Snuza Pico 2 will take care of all of your needs in a portable and less expensive device. For me, the Snuza Pico 2 is the clear winner.