Nanit Vs Owlet: Which one to get?

Nanit Plus was released to the market on October 11th, 2018 and as of this update, it ranks second of the top 100 best-selling baby monitors on Amazon. Nanit Plus was released as an upgrade of the original Nanit that was launched following Nanit’s successful patent filing in 2015.

Like other baby monitors, Nanit and Owlet are not regulated by the FDA as baby monitors are not considered medical devices to be put under the purview of the government agency.

Nanit’s computer vision technology is leading the pack together with Owlet’s pulse oximetry technology. Both monitors are currently the best-in-class baby monitoring technologies in 2021 and this article presents their comparison (Nanit vs Owlet) along with a comparison of Nanit with other brands such as Miku, Motorola Halo, and Cocoon Cam.

Nanit Plus edged out iBaby M7 and took Motherhood HQ’s crown as the best wifi baby monitor (Link to top 10 best wifi baby monitors that use an app – with smartphone app reviews).

Nanit Vs Owlet (Nanit Plus Vs Owlet’s Tech, Owlet Duo and Owlet Cam)

The difference between Nanit and Owlet requires a critical observation of the two technologies used by both brands.

While Nanit’s computer vision technology was initially put forward and patented in 1992, Owlet’s pulse oximetry technology has been around since 1940s and has been clinically proven with about 2% accuracy variation (2+/- above or below the accurate measurement). Both brands are, however, fronted by small start-ups. Owlet’s history dates back to 2010 while Nanit was just incorporated in 2014.

Nanit Plus is known for its wide array of sleep tracking technologies and breath monitoring (with Nanit wear). On the other hand, Owlet tracks the baby’s oxygen level (oxygen concentration) and heart-beat using pulse-oximetry technology.

Update: The Owlet Smart Sock 3 now gives you sleep trends including the waking hours, hours of sleep amd more. The second-generation Owlet Sock did not have this feature. Read more about Owlet Smart Sock 3 here and comparison with the second generation model.

With Owlet, a baby wears a smart sock to track and relay the baby’s breathing and heartbeat but Nanit Plus uses contact-less technology. You can read our full and detailed review of Owlet Smart Sock 2 here.

If you are wondering whether to get Nanit or Owlet, the comparison table below will guide you on the differences between Nanit and Owlet (Nanit vs Owlet). I have presented the table using the latest brands of both models, Nanit Plus and Owlet Smart Sock 2 instead of the original brands of Nanit and Owlet Smart Sock 1.

Which One Is Better, Nanit Plus or Owlet?

Nanit and Owlet are both great monitors to keep track of your baby’s vitals. Nanit is great for parents that could use some help with sleep training while Owlet is great for parents that are worried about the baby’s health, perhaps a preemie with any health-related challenges that may affect the baby’s breathing.

Nanit is very ideal if you are looking for a sleep-assisting monitor which is invaluable especially if you are a first-time parent. The baby’s sleep cycle can potentially mess up your sleep and tips provided by Nanit’s sleep insights can assist you and your baby to both get better sleep.

Even if you are not following any sleep training guides such as those provided by certified experts, you can count on Nanit to enable you and your baby to get better sleep. Below is a helpful review by a parent who is using Nanit Plus:

We’ve had the Nanit Plus for a little while now and are thrilled with it. The picture quality is high, the app is easy to use and install, and the insights have helped us be better sleep trainers. We finally realized it took our little one only 7 minutes to fall asleep if we let him fuss a little – getting us all more sleep. As an added bonus, I travel for work, so getting to check in on them without being a bother has been great. We have already recommended this to several friends who are having trouble getting their little ones to sleep through the night.

Randy

Regarding the cost of Nanit insights, several parents have claimed that the data is worth every $. One parent wrote, “I didn’t think I would care much for the “insights” but I’ve actually found them to be very helpful. I love the data ….(Tiffany)

While the cost of Nanit insights is almost prohibitive, you can choose the plan for $50/year and give access to 3 users who can download the Nanit app individually. You should also note that Nanit insights are free for the first year. See the sleep insight features below to get an idea of what you get with the $50/year plan:

If by the end of the first year you think your baby does not need vital-organs tracking, you can opt to use Nanit camera without subscribing to the insights. With this, you’ll be getting camera feeds to your phone but will not get to store it.

On the other hand, if your baby is a preemie (born prematurely) and worried about any risk of low oxygen saturation or low heartbeat rate (because of weak and developing organs), you should definitely get Owlet. Owlet’s technology is clinically-proven and when it came under criticism in 2015, it proved that it was accurate in about 94% of the time.

While Nanit’s pulse oximeter is inserted in the sock of your baby and comes in contact with your baby’s feet, Nanit’s technology is contactless and basically uses advanced technology to read the baby’s conditions – specifically, sleep and micro-movements. However, in 2019, Owlet released Owlet camera called Owlet Cam which can be purchased as a unit with the smart sock 2. This essentially makes Owlet a video baby monitor, similar to most other baby monitors such as Nanit.

Nanit uses computer vision technology which essentially processes pixels of the images of your baby while Owlet uses pulse oximetry. It is important to note that while both Nanit and Owlet track vital signs, they are not regulated by the FDA and Owlet actually gives specific warnings to parents that they should not rely on it to prevent SIDs.

Nanit Plus is ideal for you and your baby if you really want the sleep insights and some vital signs data which you can obtain using Nanit breathing wear. On the other hand, Owlet is great most ideal for parents with infants that are at risk of respiratory failure and may need constant check. Like several parents, if your main reason for buying the baby monitor is to monitor the heart rate and oxygen levels, then you should go for Owlet Smart Sock.

Is Owlet too expensive? Company-refurbished is equally good!

Many parents are taking advantage of the company-refurbished Owlet that sells for $199 instead of the new $299 Owlet. We looked through the reviews of the $199-renewed/refurbished Owlet and it actually has a rating of 4.1/5 while the new is rated 3.8/5.

It is important to note that the renewed Owlet above is refurbished by the company and usually has the sock replaced but maintaining the original pulse oximeter/LED reader.

Below is a table showing more details of Nanit Vs Owlet.

Nanit Plus vs Owlet Cam

Nanit Plus’ camera is a lot more advanced compared to Owlet’s cam which is a regular 1080p HD camera. Nanit Plus’ camera has in-built computer vision that enables it measure breathing by recording the baby’s breathing motions. Below are more comparions:

As of September 2019, Nanit Plus twin pack is available at almost double the price of a single unit. The twin pack lets you and your twins enjoy the Nanit Plus’ technology and invaluable sleep insights on one app. You can get Nanit Plus Camera & Wall Mount Twin Pack on Nanit’s website or by choosing two pairable cameras on Amazon here.

Both Nanit and Owlet are great baby monitors as attested by over 10,000 parents who have rated the brands and their respective smartphone apps. Nanit Plus App is currently rated 4.6/5 by 1, 404 iOS users and 4.1/5 by 403 Android users. Amazon buyers have given Nanit a rating of 4.4/5, the same rating as Infant Optics DXR 8’s 4.4/5. Owlet’s iOS app is rated 4.2/5 by over 5,286 users and 3.7/5 by 1,427 Android users (As of Sept. 2019). It is clear from the app reviews that both brands have fairly good user-ratings.

You can now get the breathing wear to enhance Nanit’s Plus movement and image processing capabilities. It currently has great reviews on Amazon, which is incredible considering that Nanit is not a household name like Philips, which has been around for over 120 years. Nanit is part of the Amazon Launchpad program (Amazon’s program to support innovative start-ups) and is currently ranked number 8 among the top 100 Launchpad baby products. To clarify, Nanit Plus is totally worth it and we’ve recommended it for several parents here at 10BabyGear

Nanit has offices in New York, US and in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Below is a video review of Nanit Wear by Dad Verb:

And below is another review of the app, the Nanit app by Babylist:

About the New Nanit Plus

Nanit Plus is an incredibly sleek baby monitor designed by Nanit, a New York-based start-up. Nanit Plus is an upgrade of Nanit baby monitor shown alongside.

Nanit is revolutionary and has been referred by Time Magazine as the best innovation of 2018 because of its effective sleep coaching feature and quality HD videos.

Nanit Plus has the following features:

1. Two-way talk,
2. Temperature sensor with smart alerts and suggestions on adjusting the temperature,
3. Humidity sensor,
4. Nanit Plus resolution is 960p HD which is a bit lower quality compared to other 1080p HD video baby monitors such as Arlo baby monitor,
5. Nanit Plus has 10 infrared LEDs bulbs that illuminate on the baby and enable the Nanit camera to capture crystal 1080p HD images of your baby,
6. Sleep tracker and Nanit sleep insight free for one year,
7. Remote viewing, possible with the smartphone App and,
8. HD live streaming,
9. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256 bit symmetric-key encryption) making Nanit one of the most secure wifi baby monitor of 2019,

Nanit and Nanit Plus are very well known for their patented sleep algorithm, tracking app and personalized sleep guidance tips that are available in the smartphone app.

Video Review of Nanit Plus

Below is a video review of Nanit Plus by Fathercraft

Nanit And Sleep Tracking Patent

Nanit was granted a 15-year patent on a sleep tracking camera in 2016 and in 2017, they also got a patent for a portable mount. Unlike several other baby monitor manufacturers, Nanit’s team worked to develop and patent their technology. The CEO, Assaf Glazer has been instrumental and is credited as part of the team at Nanit that developed the sleep tracking app.

Tracking sleep is nothing new and several companies such as Apple (Apple Watch) and Fitbit, among others, have developed products for adults but Nanit’s focus was on sleep tracking for babies.

The technology to track sleep was invented in 1992 by a Canadian Professor named Alistair W. MacLean at Queens University.

The patent was granted the following year (1993) but Nanit went further and developed an algorithm and advanced camera that uses computer vision to track sleep without coming in contact with the baby. This is one of the principal differentiating features of Nanit Plus from Owlet Smart Sock.

The picture shown alongside is from the patent drawings they submitted (snapshot – hope I won’t get in trouble).

So why exactly is sleep tracking important?

Wondering if there are benefits of better sleep?

Better sleep has been credited for improving cognitive abilities and healthier physical development in babies and yes, you should take sleep metrics seriously. This is very key for you and your baby as well.

Being a parent you may find very limited time to sleep as the baby’s sleep schedules may not usually match with the parents’. Their lack of timing (day and night) can really mess up your sleep and Nanit’s founders who faced the problem (of less sleep as a parent) designed the solution for you to get better sleep.

Awards Nanit Plus Received In 2018

Nanit Plus received the following awards in recognition of its sleep tracking app that pioneered how baby and parent’s sleep should be done. JPMA, The Wired, The Bump and Babylist all crowned Nanit Plus as the best baby monitor of 2018. The Time Magazine also named Nanit Plus as 2018’s Best Innovation.

Nanit did a survey with parents who had used Nanit and 94% of them agreed that Nanit has given them a better sleep. Nanit’s revolutionary invention is only comparable to Owlet’s pulse oximetry technology.

Nanit Plus Pros:

• Good image and video quality
• Excellent, high-rated app
• Very helpful sleep tracking and analytics
• Two-way audio
• Can share the video access to more people in the family
• Excellent for sleep training
• You can keep the sound going in the background while using your phone for other things
• Accurate temperature reading
• Installation is very straightforward and comes with lengthy cords

Nanit Plus Cons:

• Sleep data requires a subscription after the first year.
• No web access
• Weak speaker
• Relatively more expensive compared to other baby monitors
• Your baby has to wear the Nanit breathing wear for breathing metrics to be accurate
• Breathing system only works on wall mount mode
• You can’t remotely adjust the camera

Differences Between Nanit and Nanit Plus (Nanit vs Nanit Plus)

While Nanit was launched in Dec 2017, Nanit Plus was launched in October 2018, almost a year after. Nanit Plus has improved hardware and unlike the original Nanit, it has two-way audio and has been rated very positively by users. Below are some of the key differences between Nanit and Nanit Plus:

What Makes Nanit Plus A Great Baby Monitor?

1. Nanit Insights – Advanced Sleep Analysis

For parents looking for help to get some sleep while taking care of a newborn, Nanit is the solution. The patented technology has been packaged with a sleek camera design and a stand to enable you to get sleep insights in a smartphone app like no other baby monitor in the market. Unlike other video baby monitors that only give you a live stream of videos, Nanit’s camera also gives you a detailed analysis of the baby’s sleep using it movement and imaging sensors that work with a built-in machine learning algorithm that is responsible for understanding your baby’s sleep behavior. Nanit Plus without insights has fewer features and no cloud storage. The sleep insights are called Nanit insights and you get a sleep dashboard which has:

1. Sleep Trends – The app is able to detect and record periods of the baby when asleep or awake. These trends and other observations by the app are used to offer customized sleep tips.
2. Night Time-lapse: A time-lapse of the baby’s sleep throughout the night is available for view in the morning. This is basically a summary of your baby’s sleep.
3. Sleep Tips – As a parent, there is nothing more than a technology that can guide you to do something right for you and your baby. Nanit sleep tips give you some suggestions on how you can help your baby get some better sleep. The Nanit uses its own algorithm it obtains by monitoring your baby and gives customized tips. The sleep coaching tips could be simple to-do tasks such as ‘teach your baby to go to sleep on her own’ or ‘develop consistent bedtime’

2. Bird-eye view design of the camera

The Nanit uses a high definition camera (960p HD) that is designed to capture a birds-eye view of the baby and the crib and stream to you live HD videos to your phone. Nanit holds the patents for both the camera (May 2016) and portable stand (2017). The portable stand holds the camera and the cords which transfer signals captured by a smart sensor positioned in the stand.

3. Incredibly clear night vision

Nanit emits infrared light from 10 LEDs located in the camera. It comes as a diffused and almost invisible to the baby. The low-glow ensures that the baby is not disturbed by some bright light at night. The top of the Nanit plus also has a very soft glow which helps to improve the quality of images from the pictures and videos.

Nanit Plus Subscription Plans

So how much is Nanit subscription? For the first year, you can use Nanit Insight subscription for free but after the first year, you’d have to pay $5 per month to access 7 days of view footage. Nanit and Nanit Plus without subscription reduces Nanit and Nanit Plus to regular video baby monitors without the sleep insights and analytics that Nanit is known for.

Nanit Plus records and saves videos on the cloud which you can access at a later time. When you make the purchase, you can access the videos for free for the first year. After the first year, Nanit gives you three subscription options ranging from $50 per year to $300 per year.

The table below compares the three subscription plans you can opt for:

Nanit Plus Camera Set-Up

There are two options for you to mount your Nanit Plus Camera. When you purchase Nanit Plus, you get a free wall mount and a free multi-stand. If you want to mount your Nanit Plus camera in the wall instead, you can purchase a floor stand for $80. The Floor stand also comes with a free multi-stand. You can learn more about how to install your Nanit Plus camera by reading this installation manual.

Nanit Plus Breathing Wear Vs Owlet

In February 2018, Nanit released the much-anticipated Nanit breathing wear for babies as an addition to their sleep-assisting tools. The Nanit Plus breathing wear was designed to specifically track breathing making Nanit Plus an equal with other breathing monitors such as Cocoon Cam, Motorola Halo, and Miku.

The biggest difference between Nanit breathing wear and Owlet Smart Sock 2 is that Nanit’s breathing wear tracks breathing of your baby while Owlet tracks the oxygen concentration in your baby’s blood and your baby’s heart rate.

Nanit breathing wear is made of white cotton with a spaced-out square black pattern. The pattern is supposed to make it easy for Nanit Plus’ computer vision/image-processing technology to read the baby’s breathing motions. Below is a picture of a baby wearing Nanit Breathing wear, wear recommended for infants of 0 to 3 months.

Nanit Plus Breathing Wear puts Nanit Plus at the same level as Owlet Smart Sock 2 although with some minor, but important, differences. Nanit Plus breathing wear was designed as an add-on to Nanit Plus’ camera and cannot be used independently to track the baby’s vitals. Similar to Owlet Smart Sock, Nanit breathing wear is actually worn by the baby.

You can listen to the review of Nanit Breathing Wear below:

Nanit Plus Alexa

Nanit Plus is compatible with Alexa and all other associated apps such as Echo Spot, Echo Show and more. You can ask Alexa how the baby slept and get insights without having to use your hands. You can ask how long the baby slept, time the baby woke up, or how many times the baby was attended to at night. The Nanit Amazon Echo or the Alexa Skill is available on Android and iOS devices. To set up the Alexa skill, you need to download the Alexa skill from the app menu.

Nanit Plus Vs. Cocoon Cam

Both Nanit Plus and Cocoon Cam are video baby monitors but Nanit Plus is specialized in tracking and analyzing sleep while Cocoon Cam monitors your baby’s sleep and breathing rate per minute (bpm).

They both use smart sensors and machine learning algorithms to gain insights from the baby’s body behaviors and images. It is important to note that if you are looking for a baby monitor with superior sleep tracking and analysis features, Nanit plus takes an undisputed lead. Their algorithm has shown incredible accuracy and has seen great improvement from the original Nanit released a year earlier.

Below is a table with a comparison of Nanit Plus and Cocoon Cam

Nanit Plus Vs. Motorola Halo

There are minor but significant differences between Nanit Plus and Motorola Halo. Nanit Plus does not have a parent unit but Motorola Halo+, the over-the-crib baby monitor has a handheld/parent unit. This is their biggest difference. Another significant difference is that Nanit Plus App users have given it a very high rating (4.5/5 by iOS users and 4.6/5 by Android users). On the other hand, Motorola Halo has poor app ratings.

Motorola Halo is a highly rated wifi video monitor but its great rating and reviews do not surpass Nanit Plus’ reviews on Amazon. It is, however, worth noting that Motorola Halo has only been in the market since January 29th, 2019, about 4 months after Nanit Plus was released to the market in October 2019.

The table below shows the difference between Nanit Plus and Motorola Halo +:

Nanit Plus Vs. Miku Baby Monitor (Nanit Vs. Miku)

Nanit Plus uses machine learning and advanced algorithm to track the baby’s sleep and relay tips to parents on how they can improve the baby’s sleep. On the other hand, Miku uses sensor fusion technology, a technology that combines computer vision and AI.

The biggest difference between Nanit Plus and Miku is that Miku uses a multi-sensor approach (sensor fusion). Nanit uses pixel movements sensors to track your baby’s breathing while Miku uses breathing and movement sensors to give you the vital signs. Miku’s technology is superior but streams at a lower resolution of 720p HD while Nanit Plus delivers more quality images at 960p HD. I’d personally like Miku more because of no cloud subscription fees.

The table below presents mode details of how Nanit and Miku fairs when compared side by side.

The video below by FatherCraft has more details on Miku vs Nanit Plus:

In Summary:

• Nanit Plus has better night vision and video resolution than Miku
• Design-wise and aesthetics, Miku baby monitor wins over Nanit Plus
• Miku has better audio compared to Nanit Plus
• Security-wise, the encryption keys of Miku are stored locally on a crypto chip and personally think this makes it safer than Nanit Plus
• Nanit Plus App has more functionalities compared to Miku baby monitor such as security settings, zoom, adjustments of the camera, among others

Nanit Plus Vs. Nest

Both Nanit Plus and Nest Security Camera use smartphone apps as their display unit. They do not have a dedicated display unit.

Nanit Plus Vs. Arlo Baby

Arlo baby is a wifi baby monitor, similar to Nanit Plus but with a few exceptions. Arlo baby does not have the advanced sleep analysis feature or the machine learning algorithm to give customized sleep tips and guidance. It merely does what most baby monitors do; monitor the baby’s voice and visual; monitor the temperature and monitor the humidity in the crib. On the other hand, Nanit Plus monitors temperature, humidity and has advanced sleep analytics, a technology patented in 2017 giving it an edge over Arlo baby. Arlo baby also works with Google Home, Alexa Home and Apple Homekit making Arlo baby easy to integrate and operate if you have smart home devices.

Nanit Plus vs Infant Optics DXR 8

Nanit Plus is a wifi baby monitor that streams videos to a smartphone App while Infant Optics DXR 8 is a FHSS non-wifi baby monitor that relays video to a dedicated parent unit. Infant Optics DXR 8 is not a connected monitor and does not have an app. While Nanit is a connected monitor that makes it vulnerable to hacking, Nanit Plus has the highest encryption standard, AES-256. Infant Optics DXR 8 is a hack-proof monitor and there haven’t been any cases of any of the monitoring getting hacked.

The table below illustrates more differences between Nanit Plus and Infant Optics DXR 8.

Nanit Plus vs iBaby M7

Nanit Plus and iBaby M7 are both wifi baby monitors that appeared on out top 10 list of best wifi monitors of 2019. Nanit Plus has received a number of awards for its sleep-tracking technology and insights while iBaby M7 is known for its widest 360 pan view and air sensors. Both Nanit and iBaby M7 use dual bands; 2.4 GHz and 5GHz making them among the few interference-free monitors.

Nanit Plus is significantly more expensive compared to iBaby M7, almost double that of iBaby M7

The table below has more similarities and differences between Nanit Plus and iBaby M7

Nanit Plus vs Lollipop

Nanit Plus and Lollipop are wifi monitors that have superior detection features. Nanit tracks breathing of your baby (per minute) and relays video on 960p HD resolution while Lollipop detects your baby’s crying and notifies you.

The table below has more similarities and differences between Nanit Plus and Lollipop

Nanit and Google Home Hub and Alexa Home

Nanit and Nanit Plus are currently not compatible with Google Home Hub like other smart baby monitors such as Arlo baby, Nest, Zmodo, Logitech Circle 2 and Smart baby monitor by Project Nursery. Nanit and Nanit Plus, however, integrates with Alexa home and you can follow the guidelines on how to set it up with your Alexa home by following the steps Nanit has laid down on their website. As of August 2019, Nanit Plus Google Assistant is not a possibility.

If you are disappointed and really want a Google Home compatible camera, you can choose from our list of 10 cameras and baby monitors compatible with Google Home Hub.

Nanit is however compatible with Alexa Home. On October 2019, Nanit announced the launch of Nanit Show which will essentially allow you to stream videos of Nanit to Echo Show 5 or on Echo Show 8

Where to buy Nanit Plus

Nanit Plus is available in various local stores and online stores. You can purchase Nanit Plus on stores such as Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart, Target, and Macys. You can purchase using different country-specific sites such as Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany. There are other Amazon sites that you can get Nanit Plus including Amazon Australia and Amazon Europe.

Nanit Plus FSA & HSA

Nanit Plus qualifies for a flexible spending account (FSA) and health savings account(HSA) and you can get reimbursement for any amount you spend on Nanit Plus and Nanit Wear. A few other baby monitors such as Miku Baby Monitor are FSA and HSA eligible.

Nanit Plus Alternatives:

The different alternatives to Nanit Plus are Miku baby monitor, Cocoon Cam and Motorola Halo Plus. All these competitors use computer vision, AI or some advanced image processing technology to get vital data about your baby. We have a detailed comparison of Nanit Plus and all the alternatives above.

Nanit Plus Warranty

Nanit Plus has a one year warranty but you can try the product and return it within 45 days without any hassle. If you purchase Nanit outside the US, you may not qualify for a warranty as they do not ship Nanit Plus or its replacements to other countries other than the US.

Nanit Support and Phone Number

If you need to reach Nanit support team you can email them or call them using these contact details:

• Nanit Support Phone Number: 1-866-MYNANIT
• Nanit Support Email Address: help@nanit.com or support@nanit.com

You can reach Nanit support during their weekday office hours from 11 am to 9 pm EST. During weekends, you can reach them from 12 PM to 9 PM EST. You can read more about Nanit’s support and steps to submits a ticket here.

Nanit Plus FAQs

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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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