Cradlewise vs. SNOO: Which One Is the Best Smart Bassinet?

Ease of Setup

Winner:The SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet was a breeze to assemble

Both bassinets were pretty easy to assemble. With the SNOO, all you have to do is attach the legs, plug it in, download the app, and slip on the sleep sack, and the Cradlewise is similarly straightforward. However, when the Cradlewise arrived in the box, it was so heavy—a whopping 144 pounds—that one pregnant editor had to hire someone to help her carry it up the stairs to the bedroom.

Additionally, the Apple-compatible SNOO app was easy to download and connect to the bassinet (there’s a Happiest Baby app for Android, too), while we struggled to get the Cradlewise app to pair with the crib.

Features

Winner:The SNOO Smart Sleeper

The SNOO’s handy features are some of its biggest selling points. It comes with a breathable, custom-size crib sheet and three sizes of soft sleep sacks with wings that attach to the bassinet’s built-in safety clips, keeping the baby safely swaddled on their back. (This impressive featurerecently earned De Novo approvalfrom the FDA.) The bassinet’s top-notch sensors immediately detect a baby’s cry—they can distinguish crying from other ambient noise—and recalibrate the rocking speed before our editors could even react.

The SNOO also has a built-in white noise machine, which can be turned on or adjusted with an easy click of the mobile app. The app also lets caregivers adjust the rocking speed—there are five levels, and you can tell it to avoid the highest level if desired—from the comfort of their bed without risking waking up the baby. Plus, the app tracks the baby’s sleeping patterns, so you can see how they’re doing over time.

One of the Cradlewise crib’s main features is its bouncing motion, which editors aren’t convinced helped put their babies to sleep: One noted that it seems to have helped her newborn fall asleep sometimes but may have woken him up other times. We do like the Cradlewise’s built-in camera, which gives you an overhead view of your baby’s whole crib, unlike a traditional baby monitor. However, the app must be open—no checking your email or texts—in order to monitor your baby. Still, it’s a unique and helpful feature. The crib’s audio technology lets you play white noise or calming music to soothe your baby, but we didn’t like how the sound came out distorted, especially through the app.

Ease of Use

Winner:SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet

让宝宝在SNOO智能卧铺Bassinet is simple. All you need to do is put them in the sleep sack, secure the velcro, and press a button. From there, everything else is controlled by the app. Adjusting the sound and motion from the app is a cinch, though you don’t even need to—the crib automatically adjusts its settings to soothe a fussy baby. One editor liked that the bassinet can play white noise when the baby’s not even in the crib, which made nursing her newborn a bit easier. And if your baby has an accident, no worries: The bassinet sheet and sleep sacks are removable and can be thrown in the washer and dryer. Our only complaint is that taller caregivers may have trouble bending all the way down to pick up their baby since the bassinet is relatively low to the ground. However, Happiest Baby sellsseparate leg extenders, which taller adults will appreciate.

Cradlewise不是特别友好crib. We found the app glitchy—so much so that the brand has admitted its flaws—and we sometimes couldn’t even get it to open. Additionally, the sleep tracking feature often wouldn’t update, so our editors were unable to check how much their baby had slept or whether the bouncing feature had turned on. It is easy to activate the sound options and the bounce time and intensity, though we found that the bouncing may be too rough for some babies. One editor’s newborn spit up quite a few times in the bassinet, and we were dubious about the safety of the higher bouncing levels.

Durability

Winner:Tie

The sleek, mid-century modern SNOO is sturdy and stable. It’s made from breathable mesh and wood paneling, and we didn’t notice it making any concerning noises or wobbles. The feet have foot pads to prevent slippage, and since it’s low to the ground, it feels remarkably stable.

Made from polyester mesh and molded plywood with veneer cladding, the Cradlewise also feels sturdy. The mattress is made from biodegradable coconut coir that’s free of VOCs and polyurethane foam, which we appreciate for the health of the baby and the environment.

Value

Winner:The SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet gives you more for your money

While $1695 is pricey, the SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet is a worthwhile investment. In every category, it provides far more for your money than the Cradlewise—and it’s less expensive, anyway. The SNOO’s features are high-tech, easy to use, and mostly lived up to our expectations—the only partial letdown is that it helped one editor’s baby fall asleep 70% of the time, while we’d hope for closer to 100% given the price. We also like its durable construction, chic look, and that the app performs well for a long-lasting, easy user experience.

The SNOO also recently received FDA De Novo authorization, meaning that it’s the first device of its kind that keeps babies sleeping on their backs, which helps reduce therisk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS). Even though it can only be used until your baby is 6 months old (or until they can roll over onto their stomach, whichever comes first), it’s well worth it for the improved sleep quality—for both the baby and caregiver—for those tough first few months.

Priced at $1999, the Cradlewise simply isn’t worth the money yet. Its bouncing feature is one of its main claims to fame, but given the results of our test, we aren’t convinced that it really helps babies sleep better, and we were concerned about the speed of the higher bouncing levels. We also were unimpressed by the sound’s functionality and the camera’s user-friendliness. Plus, there are numerous problems with the app, including frequent glitches. We do appreciate the Cradlewise’s longer shelf life: When your baby hits 6 months old, you can convert the Cradlewise from bassinet mode to crib mode, which kiddos can sleep in until they’re 2 years old or weigh 33 pounds. However, the glitchy app could make it difficult to use for long, at least to the full extent of its features.

Is the SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet Worth the Price?

While $1695 sounds like a lot for a piece of gear you'll only use for a few months, you can't put a price on peace of mind as a new parent. One editor in particular, a mom of a newborn and a toddler, expressed that it truly did make her life easier. While dealing with postpartum complications and multiple hospitalizations, the SNOO's thoughtful, practical design gave her reassurance that the caregivers helping her family wouldn't struggle to figure out how to use it and would keep her newborn safe and sound. "I can't speak enough about how the SNOO gave me confidence," she said. "It really gave me joy amongst all the medical issues I faced." We particularly like that it keeps babies flat on their backs, a crucial part of safe sleep, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Plus, parents of newborns don't want to spend their precious time fighting with a tricky interface and features. The SNOO app is user-friendly and intuitive, so it's easy for caregivers to adjust the sound and rocking or monitor their baby's sleeping habits. If you have the room in your budget, the SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet is worth it. Happiest Baby also provides a rental option for $159 a month, which totals up to $954 for six months.

Why Trust Verywell Family

Phoebe Sklanskyis Verywell Family’s Associate Commerce Editor. As a commerce writer and avid shopper herself, she enjoys helping readers find the best products for their unique needs. She’s researched hundreds of baby products and has tested dozens in our lab, from strollers to pack and plays to diaper bags. Prior to joining the Verywell Family team, Phoebe was a freelance writer for multiple home and entertainment outlets, and she holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University. To write this story, she used insights from 650 hours of product testing by our editors (and their babies). A firm believer in the importance of sleep, she recommends the SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet to give caregivers some well-deserved rest and peace of mind.