We Reviewed 20 Baby Toy Subscriptions—Here Are the Best Ones To Engage Your Little One

We had four different parents with babies and young kids test out aLoveverysubscription to see if its toys really are as durable, engaging, and attractive as they seem. These testers signed up for boxes that fit their children’s ages and observed how the little ones interacted with the boxes and toys.

At first glance, the Lovevery site looked a little busy to us (lots of different kits for different age groups), but the sign-up process is actually fairly straightforward and cleared up our initial confusion: When you sign up for a subscription, you get a new “play kit” every two or three months, depending on the age of your child (kits for babies under 1 come every two months; all other ages are every three). You can see images of and read about each item included in a box on the website, which is a great plus for parents who prefer to know what’s coming. While each box is themed around a different skill or milestone, you don’t have to worry about picking and choosing which kit is best for your child. Lovevery does the work for you based on their age.

一旦我们签订了一个订阅,我们开始矩形eiving boxes at the cadence that corresponded to our child’s age/developmental level. Each was chock full of wooden and organic cotton toys, puzzles, and manipulatives designed for a child’s “micro-developmental period.” That means each shipment contains items made to foster what Lovevery calls “stage-based play,” or playtime specifically oriented around how yourchild’s brainis growing at that specific moment in time (although we found in our testing that babies and kids usually end up keeping and loving the toys for a long time after that period has ended). Some of the themes for babies are sensing, exploring, and inspecting; the boxes include black and white objects, sensory toys, nesting and stacking objects, dolls, board books, and scarves.

Then after the first year, the toys will start to become more interactive. For example, in testing, 1-year-old babies received simple puzzles, wooden car race tracks, animal matching games, and a buckle barrel, while for 2-year olds, we received a peg and stack puzzle (which kids can even use in some unexpected ways such as sorting the pieces by color and shape) and a tea set that will likely stay part of a regular toy rotation for a long time.

Lovevery boxes grow with your child, accommodating development up to age 5. Baby boxes are $80 and delivered bi-monthly; boxes for toddlers and preschoolers are $120, but only delivered every three months, so the cost breakdown per month remains the same for either plan. While we love what’s included in the boxes, parents should note there is no customization available, so if you’re looking to have more control over what comes in your boxes, this is probably not the service for you.

When it came to budget-friendly baby subscriptions, we didn’t want to suggest one that would include toys that weren't safe or durable. Babies can be tough on toys and it’s important to make sure that the toys will stay safe, even if they get thrown, dropped, or chewed on. That’s why we liked theHoppi Box. Every three months, you’ll receive a box for your baby that contains four or five educational and age-appropriate toys designed to boost creativity, imagination, and exploration. This will be lighter on your wallet ($75 every three months, or $66 per box if you pay for the whole year up front, with free shipping). Subscriptions do auto-renew, though, so be sure to cancel ahead of time if you don’t want to pay for a year of boxes.

Toys can quickly take over your little one’s room and spill over into other parts of the house (we’ve definitely been there), so sometimes having fewer high-quality toys is a good thing. It avoids the toy pile-up and helps keep your child from getting over-stimulated by having too many toys to choose from.

Plus, the toys you’ll receive are pretty great baby toys, in our opinion, and can include rattles,puzzles, colorful stacking toys, baby-friendly books, bath toys, musical toys, and all kinds of wooden foods, shapes, animals, and blocks. They’re also eco-friendly because they’re made from organic, sustainable materials and are BPA-free. And since you input our child’s age when you sign up, each one of your shipments will be curated to appeal to your child based on where they are developmentally. In fact, some are also designed to help them work towards and reach theirnextmilestone, such as finger coordination and improved dexterity.

The quarterly prepaid plan is $75 per box, but if you commit to the annual plan, each box will only cost $66 (which breaks down to $22 per month). However, if you do sign up for the annual plan, you’ll be charged for the year upfront—so even if you cancel your subscription, you’ll still receive boxes you paid for in advance.

If you don’t love the idea of filling your baby’s room with cheap plastic toys that might break quickly, investing in sturdier toys is the way to go. This can get pretty expensive, though, especially if you’re shopping for them piecemeal in boutique stores. ButDidi’s Toy Boxhas found a way to keep your baby happy with heirloom-quality toys on a comparatively affordable budget.

The subscription company was founded by Diana (aka Didi) a former New York City toy shop owner with kids of her own, so she knows exactly what kinds of toys appeal to babies and kids.

We loved how high quality the toys were and that there was a good mix of Montessori-style toys, books, and plush animals. Founder Diana (aka Didi) also helps curate each box withher team, which is dedicated to picking toys that help “educate through exploration, imagination, and discovery.” We also love how easy it is to gift the box, and the fact that we can choose how often our recipients get them: monthly, every three months, or every six months.

You enter your child’s birthdate and choose from one of four age-based plans; the company then curates items your baby is guaranteed to love. You can choose from plans geared toward kids ages birth to 12 months, 12 to 36 months, 3 to 5 years, and 5 to 6 years (so if you’ve got an older child at home struggling with the introduction of a new sibling, there’s a box just for them, too).

You can pay for one month ($50), three months ($135), or six months ($255). You’ll save 10% with a three-month subscription and 15% off a six-month subscription. Shipping is $5 per box. A Baby Shower Gift Box is $65 and a Birthday Gift Box is also $65.

We had two parents try out the brand’s Panda Crate along with their babies (in New York and Indiana, respectively), and overall, we felt the boxes lived up to the hype, and delivered legitimately engaging sensory toys.

At sign-up, you’re asked for your baby’s birthday (or due date) and this, the company says, helps the KiwiCo in-house team of child development experts curate each box to your baby’s needs as they grow—and we were pleased to find the curators did indeed do a great job at this. Every other month, we received a set of four to five age-appropriate toys, puzzles, and activities, such as a round wooden shaker, xylophone, and play scarves.

Each shipment catered to thedevelopmental skillsour baby was working on at that point; the wooden shaker encouraged shape recognition and motor skills while the xylophone encourages dexterity and sound recognition, for example.

We also appreciated the grown-up guide (which outlines how each toy supports various developmental milestones) that was included in the box, but it didn’t feel like it explained anything that wasn’t already obvious. For example, it seemed clear to us that the play scarves were meant to encourage motor skills and dexterity.

One especially great perk about KiwiCo crates is that once our baby ages out of Panda Crate, we can transition them seamlessly to Koala Crate, a hands-on learning subscription perfect for kids ages 2 to 4. The toys and activities in those crates are designed to build the foundation your child will need to move through their preschool years. That said, they’re much more craft-oriented, and we felt they weren’t designed to stand the test of time the way the Panda Crates toys could.

KiwiCo Panda Crates start at $34, ship monthly (with free shipping), and correspond with the following age ranges: 0 to 2 months, 3 to 6 months, 7 to 12 months, 13 to 18 months, and 19 to 24 months. They include four to six developmentally appropriate toys.

The Panda Plus Crate starts at $68 a month and comes with almost double the number of items as the regular Panda Crate.

For sustainably minded parents, buying toys can feel like you’re upping your carbon footprint considerably, especially with how quickly kids can cycle through them as they age. And, if you hold onto everything, your kids’ playroom can start to feel like it may burst at the seams. That’s why we loveTiny Earth Toys—a rental toy subscription company that sends you toys that you keep for a while and then return for a new batch.

We got to choose if we wanted five, eight, or 10 gently used toys to come in each box (which comes every two months), and then the company recommended toys depending on the age of our kid. We appreciated that, unlike a lot of other toy subscription services, we can swap out the recommended toys for others we can peruse on the website. Many of the toys are Montessori-inspired (meaning wooden and built to last), but there are also books and even bigger-ticket items like play gyms.

After your kid spends two months playing with the toys, and after you send the previous toys back, you get a new batch (well, gently used, but new to you at least). We love this for babies since they grow so quickly, and need new toys to inspire those newly developing skills. And rest assured, the toys are disinfected and checked to make sure they’re still safe before they arrive at your doorstep

One truly great perk: You’re never charged for lost pieces or minor damage to toys (which, let’s face it, is bound to happen with curious babies). And shipping is free regardless of where you are in the country.

There are three plans to choose from:

• Five toys every two months for $35/month
• Eight toys every two months for $48/month
• 10 toys every two months for $65/month

Shipping is always free both ways.

Babies may not be able to read to themselves yet, but reading to them can helpbuild their language skillsand may even encourage them to speak sooner.It also may help spark an interest in reading as they grow up, which, let’s face it, couldn’t hurt. That said, it can be difficult to know what books will be the most fun for your baby or toddler.Literatihas a plan for that—several, in fact. We tested the subscription with our toddler and really loved the personalized curation and customer service the company provides.

It has monthly subscriptions for various age groups from infant all the way to age 14. We love that Literati has a subscription entirely dedicated to our baby’s first year of life, which is not common with book subscriptions.

We can’t get over how cute the books are that come in theDreamer Level Boxwhich is for babies 0 to 6 months and 7 to 12 months. The books are sensory-stimulating board books designed to help babies interact during reading time. The club focuses on high-contrast images and textures since babies can’t see very well early on in life, and respond more to bright colors and touch.

You get five books per box that typically play to a theme, plus extras like magnets, stickers, and bookplates—but to be honest, we thought those were kind of lame. Our favorite part is you can send back any of the books your kid doesn’t love and get a whole new batch the next month. You have a week to pick the books you want to keep (if any) and ship the rest back (you’re charged for what you keep).

The Literati subscription for kids is $10 a month, plus the cost of any books you choose to keep. Literati estimates it costs $35 a month to keep all the books in the Dreamer Level Box, but we found it’s actually more like $56 to $60 to keep them all.

If you’re new to caring for a baby, you may suddenly realize you need a super-sensible item for them—such as a baby-sized hair brush—but never bought one (or received it as a gift). Thankfully,Nido Boxthought of that, which is why its subscription boxes don’t just come with toys for your baby, but useful items like a tiny bath towel and baby-friendly body oil. We love the practicality of these boxes, and the gorgeous, heirloom-quality toys don’t hurt, either. But what stood out to us most is that this subscription offers the most variety of all the baby toy subscriptions we reviewed.

You get one box every two months on the annual subscription that’s meant to cover each developmental stage for your baby. The annual plan takes you through the first year of your baby’s life, so that’s six boxes filled with five to seven items that are sure to delight both you and your little one. The items are also sourced from merchants around the world, which feels extra special to us. Even the packaging inside each box, which is a muslin swaddle, is a combination of beauty and usefulness.

One thing to note: you can opt to pay as you go, which is $150 per box. It seemed strange to us that the annual plan isn’t less expensive than the pay-as-you-go plan, even though you’re committing to a year upfront. And, either scenario is almost double the monthly cost of a Lovevery box during the first year of life. That said, you do get a $40 gift certificate toYumi, an organic baby-food delivery service, with the annual plan, which we think certainly adds value.

The annual plan consists of six boxes over 12 months and costs $900 upfront. You can also pay as you go, in which case each box costs $150.