Using Canary As Baby Monitor

The ideal Canary Camera to use as a baby monitor is the indoor model. This model is sold as an indoor security camera like other IP and surveillance cameras such as Reolink, Arlo, Arlo Pro, Nest, and Amazon Cloud Cam. However, Canary has a few features that set it apart as a great baby camera that you can rely on at a relatively lower cost and better features compared to its peers. Canary, the company, was founded in 2012 by a team of robotics experts in New York.

Read our rating and ranking of best home security cameras here.

Canary is a great baby monitor and I say this after analysis and comparison with other IP and security cameras such as Reolink, KasaCam, and Nest. First, it wins in design or maybe at par with Nest but Canary baby monitor has a glossy finish that makes it look great, unlike some overbearing cameras that are very noticeable. Like other security cameras, Canary has motion detection and free cloud storage, which are very important considering the cost of storage in some security cameras go as high as $30 per month (Nest). You should, however, note that Canary has premium plans to access certain features such as a two-way intercom.

Canary baby monitor, therefore, presents the best deal to parents who would like to access video recordings of the baby videos without having to pay a hefty price by subscribing to plans such as Nest Aware or Arlo Plus.

Different Brands of Canary Cameras:

There are three main Canary cameras you can choose from. Below are the cameras and a brief description of each:

1. Canary Flex – Canary Flex is relatively more expensive compared to Canary Pro and Canary View and is rated for outdoor use. This is comparable to Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro 2 which are also rated for outdoor use as they are weatherproof. You can check its current price on Amazon here. Important to note that Canary Flex works with Alexa and Google Home Hub and is its best-selling brand.
2. Canary Pro (All in one) – Canary Pro is another Google Home and Alexa-compatible baby monitor that is currently on offer for 120% off (on Amazon), perhaps a late Amazon Prime sale.
3. Canary View – Canary View is their cheapest camera selling for less than $100 and comparable to other low-cost surveillance cameras such as Kasa Cam. You can check its price on Amazon here. Currently on sale also, 50% off and ranked no. #115 in the Cameras and Photos category in Amazon. This indoor camera has 1080p HD images, 24/7 live viewing just like Nest, 147 degrees field of view, person detection (free), excellent night vision. Canary View does better than Arlo, Arlo Pro, Nest, and Amazon Cloud Cam when the field of view is compared. You can check out its user guide here.

Here is a video review of Canary All in One security camera which can be used as a baby monitor:

What’s great about Canary Baby Monitor?

• Canary All in one camera comes pre-assembled so you don’t have to bother looking for tools to mount your security cameras cam, baby monitor. This pre-assembled baby monitor is great for parents that would want to install it in a condo or apartment that may not provide many options for installations. The picture below shows the Canary packaging and the pre-assembled Canary camera. All you need to do is download the Canary App on Appstore or on Playstore. The ratings of the app are however not great as they are less than 3/5.

• Canary streams 1080p HD videos to your Android or iOS device. Depending on the Canary model that you’re purchasing it may also come with an inbuilt siren (90-decibel siren) and inbuilt temperature sensors.
• Compatible with smart homes, Google Home Hub and Alexa Home. You can choose to utilize a smart home ecosystem and let Alexa or Google Assitant assist you to monitor your baby. The voice commands can enable you to instruct your smart home devices to stream or focus/adjust the Canary camera making it the ideal baby monitor you’d want in your baby’s nursery.

A few drawbacks of Canary Baby Monitor:

• Limited field of view – Canary’s field of view is just 147 degrees which are considered very small especially if you want to monitor two babies in one room. Other security cameras such as Reolink have a pan of up to 355 degrees and other wifi baby monitors such as iBaby M7 have a pan of 360 degrees.
• With Canary, you’ll only rely on one band, the 2.4 GHz frequency band and not the 5 GHz frequency band. Unlike Reolink that is a dual-band baby monitor, Canary is limited and if you are having interference on the 2.4 GHz band, you don’t really have an option.
• The two-way talkback requires a subscription to a premium plan which is very expensive. Considering the fact that some of the most inexpensive security cameras such as Wyze Cam baby monitor offer free two-way talkback feature, I find Canary lacking in this front.

The diagram below shows the plans of Canary subscription plans which are expensive and not comparable to Kasa Cam’s $3.

Canary Vs Arlo

The table below shows the difference and similarities between Canary and Arlo as baby monitors.

You can check the price of the award-winning Canary baby monitor on Amazon here.

Canary vs Arlo Pro

While both Canary and Arlo Pro are designed as security cameras, there are some differences including the field of view. Both cameras however relay high quality 1080p HD videos and the table below shows the summary of all the differences and similarities of Canary and Arlo Pro

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Ashley Davis( Chief Editor/Product Testing Specialist )

Hi there! I am Ashley Davis, a mom of three kids and the editor here at Motherhoodhq.com. I have been a parent since 2011 and have been doing full-time consulting as a baby sleep expert since 2019. When I am not researching or testing the next baby gear hitting the market, you’ll find me teaching my toddlers a trick or two – especially over the last few months with the lockdown. I hope you’ll find my guides and reviews helpful as you make your next purchase decision. If you have any questions, you can reach me at ashley.d@motherhoodhq.com.

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