The Best Baby Audio Monitors of 2023

Though it's only slightly more expensive than our best value choice, the VTech DM221 had by far the best combination of design, build and sound quality, features, and a long range. It excels as a traditional monitor, and easily covered over 1,000 square feet in our range tests, with no drop-offs anywhere.

For extra features, the parent unit has a rechargeable battery, a helpful LCD display, and a belt clip, while the baby unit has a nightlight. But our favorite feature was the vibrate function; with this setting, the parent unit will vibrate when the baby starts crying, rather than broadcast the audio. This way one parent can handle the 4 a.m. feeding while the other (hopefully) gets some much-needed shuteye. The DM221 is also available for purchase as the DM221-2 which includes two parent units, which can be helpful if you want to keep one stationary and one portable.

If you just need a no-nonsense baby monitor without all—or any—of the bells and whistles, this entry-level VTech is the way to go. The DM111 did as well as the higher-end DM221 in our range tests, and you can generally find it for around $20.

The biggest knock here is the parent unit does not come with rechargeable batteries, instead relying on either a wall outlet or AAAs for portability. But if you just need something to keep tabs on your baby in the middle of the night and don't mind picking up your own rechargeable AAAs, this is the best, cheapest option.

Motorola’s PIP11 audio baby monitor uses secure DECT technology, the same technology used in cordless telephones, to provide up to 1000-feet of range, and has a black and white LCD screen with backlight on the parent unit. The parent unit includes rechargeable AAA batteries and has a battery life of up to 10 hours.

The baby monitor portion of this setup includes a nightlight, a temperature monitor, a two-way talk function and can even play lullabies. Both units have visual LED lights to show if they’re powered on, or out of range, and the parent unit includes a sound detection alert light to show when the noise sensing microphone picks up sounds (even if the audio is switched off on the parent unit).

Motorola’s MBP163 Connect is a little different from the other baby audio monitors on this list because it syncs to a smartphone or tablet to provide audio monitoring and real-time notifications. The device itself is a small, 5-by-3-by-1.75 inch dome that can also act as a nightlight, with seven colors, or play soothing sounds, lullabies and audiobooks.

It comes preloaded with 10 sounds and 10 audiobooks, and more can be downloaded through the Hubble app or you can create personalized audio recordings. The Hubble app will also track your kiddos' sleeping patterns, and allows multiple Connect devices to sync to one smartphone.

The system also provides two-way talk and is wireless so it can be placed in a variety of locations. It uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery, and is wireless when charged so it can be placed anywhere—at least anywhere the Wi-Fi is good enough to transmit.