The MamaRoo, the Snoo, and other bassinets stood out in our tests for ease of assembly, convenience, and smart features
A bassinet, with its smaller space, can be a safe and convenient first bed for a newborn.
By Angela Lashbrook
While a crib is the best choice for your baby in the long run, a bassinet makes for a safer sleep environment during the early months.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends sharing a room with your newborn for at least the first 6 months to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and bassinets can help you do that. Being in the same room as your newborn also makes nighttime feedings and diaper changes a bit easier.
“A bassinet is a lot easier to fit in a parent’s bedroom than a crib,” says Joan Muratore, who oversees testing for bassinets and cribs at CR. “It can be parked next to the parents’ bed, so parents can access the baby easily, sometimes without even having to get out of their own bed.”
Bassinets are small and have a shorter shelf life than cribs. They should be used only until your baby starts pushing up onto their hands and knees or until they reach the weight and height limit of your bassinet, whichever comes first, says Jennifer Shu, MD, a pediatrician in Atlanta and spokesperson for the AAP. Still, many families may want to invest in a bassinet for convenience and safety.
You’ll find our top picks below, divided into best bassinets and the best portable models. We also cover some questions parents often ask about bassinets, including features to look for, and offer some safety guidelines when using a bassinet. For a more complete look at different types of bassinets, check our bassinet buying guide.
Best Bassinets
The best bassinets in our tests have smart features, including sounds or movements intended to soothe a baby.
Happiest Baby SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet
• Pros: It’s easy to assemble and use, and has movement and sound features.
• Cons: It’s pricey and heavier than most bassinets we reviewed.
This pricey Snoo bassinet from Happiest Baby won over our testers, who found it easy to assemble—with few parts and steps to frustrate the excited (and potentially anxious) parent-to-be—and it’s pretty convenient to use. It’s a smart bassinet, which means it’s capable of moving and making sounds designed to soothe a baby. The Snoo received a high score in our tests because of its features, including multiple movement and noise levels that respond to a baby’s cries, which you can limit if you don’t want it rocking and shushing your baby at the top of its range.
Most of these features are controlled via the Snoo app. It also has a “preemie mode” that limits movement up until the baby’s official due date. It can also be used when disconnected from WiFi, if your power goes out, or if you prefer to keep your smart devices off your home network, although you’ll lose access to some features. On the downside, at 37 pounds, the Snoo isn’t very portable, so you might want to keep it in one spot rather than move it from room to room.
Some experts have expressed concerns about the noise levels on the Snoo, as well as the fact that it requires a baby’s movement to be restricted in swaddling longer than is developmentally ideal. When we tested the Snoo noise levels, we found that the white noise ranged from 57 to 72 decibels, and although the volume can be adjusted, the white noise can’t be turned off unless the entire unit is also turned off. Parents can work around some of these worries by turning down the noise and making sure their baby gets lots of time outside the bassinet. And they should move their child to a crib the minute the baby is ready.
Weight: 37 lb.
Dimensions: 36 in. long, 19 in. wide, 31 in. high
4moms MamaRoo sleep bassinet
• Pros: The sounds are customizable, control by an app isn’t necessary, and the frame height is adjustable.
• Cons: The app limits motion and sound to 4 hours.
The 4moms MamaRoo sleep bassinet received high marks in nearly every category. Like the Snoo it has tons of features, including movement and sound options to calm a baby. Unlike the Snoo, which has one type of movement (rocking back and forth) and sound (a generic white noise) with adjustable levels, the MamaRoo has customizable sounds and movements. If you or your baby aren’t a fan of the plain white noise “fan” sound, for example, there’s rain, ocean, and “shush” (like a parent saying “shh, shh”) sounds. In our tests, we found that these sounds range from 27 to 58 decibels.
Movement options include car ride, kangaroo, wave, tree swing, and rock-a-bye. You can also control the speed of these movements separately, so you can have a softer kangaroo movement, for example, or a more intense car ride. Our testers found the MamaRoo easier to control than the Snoo because many of the features can be controlled via buttons on the side of the bassinet—helpful if your phone dies or you have a caregiver who is perhaps less tech-savvy.
The MamaRoo has an adjustable frame height, so if you choose to place it directly beside your bed, you can make sure it comfortably matches your mattress height.
Weight: 29 lb.
Dimensions: 34 in. long, 24 in. wide, 39 in. high
Fisher-Price Soothing Motions Bassinet
• Pros: Has movement, sound, and light features, and it’s easy to assemble.
• Cons: The motion feature is limited to vibration and a very slight swaying.
This Fisher-Price bassinet is a budget-friendly smart bassinet with movement, light features, and sound and music that range from 42 to 65 decibels, according to our tests. Movement is limited to vibration as well as a “sway” feature that’s so gentle it’s barely noticeable. It also has a unique feature: a light show that projects stars on the ceiling. It has a night-light, which allows easier nighttime feedings. Below the bassinet, there’s a shelf for storing diapers, pacifiers, and other baby essentials.
Weight: 23 lb.
Dimensions: 37 in. long, 27 in. wide, 29 in. high
Best Portable Bassinets
In our tests, we found that these portable bassinets folded or disassembled easily, making them good for frequent travelers. Families who don’t travel as often may value them just as well. Caregivers who want to move the bassinet from one room to another will appreciate a bassinet’s lightweight nature and ability to fold into a more manageable shape for carrying.
Maxi-Cosi Iora Bedside Bassinet
• Pros: It’s easy to assemble and disassemble, and fits into a carrying bag easily.
• Cons: It’s the heaviest of the portable models we tested.
The Iora Bedside bassinet would do very well in many new parents’ homes. It’s easy to set up and can be broken down without tools and fitted into a carrying bag for easy transport. This outstanding bassinet is also roomy and feature-rich. It has a large storage basket, where a pack of diapers, several changes of clothes, or a short stack of burp cloths will easily fit. Five height positions allow the bassinet to be the ideal position for caregivers, and it can be moved closer to the mattress via sliders. Five neutral-toned colorways ensure seamless integration into your decor.
Weight: 23 lb.
Dimensions: 38 in. long, 26 in. wide, 36 in. high
Baby Delight Beside Me Doze Deluxe Bassinet
• Pros: It has sound and vibration features, and it folds up flat for easy transport.
• Cons: The frame height isn’t adjustable.
This model, the Baby Delight Beside Me Doze Deluxe Bassinet, is considerably easier to use than its convoluted name might suggest. It’s a rarity to find a bassinet that offers sounds, vibrations, and portability. (Note, though, that its soothing feature is manual, not automated.) This bassinet folds up nearly flat but doesn’t come with a carrying bag. A large basket provides plenty of space for storage, and a canopy keeps the interior dim.
This bassinet has two vibration levels—low and high—and plays either white noise or the Brahms lullaby. Its two volume levels range from 51 to 56 decibels.
Weight: 13 lb.
Dimensions: 34 in. long, 20 in. wide, 33 in. high
Chicco LullaGo Anywhere Bassinet
• Pros: It’s lightweight and comes with a carrying bag.
• Cons: The frame height isn’t adjustable.
The Chicco LullaGo Anywhere is one of the most lightweight bassinets we’ve tested. A highly adjustable bassinet, it offers eight height options and the ability to be converted into a bedside sleeper. It’s also larger than many bassinets, so it may work for your baby longer than others, but you’ll still want to transition your baby out of it when they’re showing signs of sitting up or rolling. A tool is required to disassemble it, and—as evidenced by its size—it’s not especially portable.
Weight: 12 lb.
Dimensions: 30 in. long, 18 in. wide, 28 in. high
How CR Tests Bassinets
Our testers looked at a few different factors when assessing bassinets:
Ease of assembly: How many pieces and steps does it take to assemble the bassinet?
Convenience: Is it easy to access your baby? Is the height adjustable? We also looked at how well each bassinet can be folded or disassembled and placed in a bag for travel.
Features: Does it have motion, sound, or automated soothing features? A shelf for diaper storage? With the bassinets that play noise, we looked at how loud the music or sounds get, because loud noise can be harmful to a baby’s ears. We didn’t test how well any of the features worked with any actual babies.
Safety: We made sure that each bassinet met federal safety guidelines. We used an inclinometer to ensure that they never reached an incline of 10 percent or greater, which can be dangerous to a baby’s airflow.
FAQs About Bassinets
What Features Should You Keep in Mind When Buying a Bassinet?
According to CR’s Muratore, you’ll want to consider the stability of a bassinet before you purchase one. If it’s set up at a store, she says, push down on the sides, as if you were a toddler attempting to reach into it, and see if it begins to tip. This is obviously a particular concern if you have other children or rowdy pets in the home.
You’ll also want to think about where you’ll be parking your bassinet, and whether there are any design features that may conflict with your desired placement. “With the Halo, the base is enormous, and if I’m a sleep-deprived parent and I have to get out of bed, I might well trip because the legs are splayed out,” Muratore says. “To me, it would be a tripping hazard.”
Consider the adjustability of the bassinet height, especially if you intend to keep the bassinet right beside your bed. Some platform beds, for example, are quite low, so you’ll want to compare how high your mattress is against the base height of the bassinet.
Are Bassinets Safe?
The AAP recommends using a bassinet, crib, or portable play yard to provide a safe sleeping environment for your baby. Make sure to also follow the following guidelines:
- Babies should sleep on a flat—not inclined—surface. Inclines of 10 degrees or greater can restrict your baby’s airflow.
- Babies should sleep alone in their sleep space. This means they shouldn’t be taking naps with your new puppy or other kids in their bassinet.
- Keep toys, blankets, bumpers, and other items out of the bassinet. These items can potentially suffocate your baby. (Bumpers, in fact, are now banned under the Safe Sleep for Babies Act).
- If you decide to use the white noise or sound features available on some of the bassinets we reviewed, use the lowest possible setting for a brief time, and if possible, position your baby’s head on the opposite side of the bassinet from where the speaker is placed.
Are In-Bed Sleepers Safe for Babies?
In-bed sleepers are like an infant lounger or a Moses basket that you place on an adult bed. Consumer Reports has found that they have been linked to infant deaths. The AAP also doesn’t recommend sharing your bed with your baby because doing so is associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
At What Age Do Babies Outgrow a Bassinet?
Babies should be moved out of their bassinet and into a crib by the time they’ve reached the product’s weight or height limit or they’re pushing up on their hands and knees.
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2025, Consumer Reports, Inc.
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