SNOO Review: Pros and Cons of the $1700 Smart Bassinet Tested by Verywell Family

When you have a newborn, you want to focus on soaking up those baby snuggles and taking good care of yourself and your baby, including fitting in sleep where you can. However, we know it can be a struggle to establish sleeping patterns for newborns and parents alike, which is why we recommend the SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet, a well-designed, high-quality smart bassinet that automatically soothes fussy babies back to sleep, among other helpful features.

Designed by Harvey Karp, MD, the SNOO Smart Sleeper was the first smart baby bed on the market. Plus, it recently received De Novo approval from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), meaning it’s the first baby bed designed to keep babies flat on their backs for safe sleep. It’s also one of our favorite baby bassinets, smart or not: Our editors have been impressed by its responsive technology, convenient app, and sleek design for a while, naming it one of our top nine bassinet picks. 

To find out if the SNOO lives up to the hype, we sent it home with our parenting editors to use with their own newborns, who slept in the bassinet for over 650 hours. We evaluated it for ease of setup, features, ease of use, durability, and value to see if it’s truly worth the price tag. 

Who It’s For

This smart bassinet is for parents who want to help their newborns—and themselves—get good, safe sleep. Its cry detection technology is truly impressive, and the bassinet soothes your baby accordingly—maybe even before you’re able to get out of bed. Plus, the compatible app and other features are all easy to use to make life easier for new parents.

Setup: Easy, Peasy

There’s almost no setup required for the SNOO Smart Sleeper—what new parent has time to put together a complicated piece of furniture, anyway? Assembly only takes one person, and all you have to do is pop on the legs, plug the bassinet in, download the app, and attach the compatible sleep sack, and it’s ready for your baby to sleep in. But if you do have any hiccups, the written and video instructions are clear and helpful.

Features: Top-of-the-Line

The SNOO’s features make it stand out from the pack. As soon as a baby starts crying or fussing, its high-quality sensors pick up on the noise—they can distinguish it from other household noise—and start soothing the baby, increasing the white noise volume and rocking motion accordingly. The bassinet sways from side to side, compared to other options that bounce up and down. There are five speeds to choose from, and you can opt out of the highest speed if you think it will bother your baby. Additionally, a built-in white noise machine blocks out ambient noise and creates a soothing sleep environment for your little one.

Both the sound and motion can be controlled from the handy app—there are options for Apple and Android devices—so parents don’t need to get out of bed or walk to a different floor of the house, and the baby isn’t disturbed. The app is also very intuitive and tracks your baby’s sleeping habits over time, though you also get 24/7 access to the brand’s sleep consultants if you want even more information.

Another standout feature of the SNOO Smart Sleeper is its compatible sleep sacks, which slide onto the bassinet’s safety clips, keeping your baby securely on their back, per the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) safe sleep guidelines. This feature recently received De Novo approval from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), meaning that it’s the first baby bed that keeps babies on their backs while they’re sleeping. The SNOO comes with three sleep sacks, each a different size so your baby will always have one that fits as they grow. And speaking of extras, the bassinet comes with a custom-size crib sheet made out of GOTS-certified organic cotton, a mattress, a water-resistant mattress cover, and a 1-year limited warranty.

Ease of Use: Intuitive and User-Friendly

Much like its assembly, using this smart bassinet is a breeze. Whether you’re putting your baby down for a nap or for the night, the steps are simple: Put them in the sleep sack, secure the velcro swaddle, then press a button on the bassinet. Anything else you need to do can be done using the convenient app, though you can leave it to the SNOO’s sensors to adjust the ideal speed and sound if your baby is fussy. If desired, though, you can use the app to change the volume level or rocking speed, and you can even use the white noise function when the baby isn’t in the bassinet, which one of our editors liked when she was breastfeeding her baby. When there’s an accident or spit-up, it’s a cinch to clean up: Just toss the sleep sack and bassinet sheet in the washer and dryer. 

The only downside is that since the SNOO is really close to the ground (a plus when it comes to stability), it may not be too comfortable for taller caregivers to bend down and pick up the baby. On the bright side, the brand sells separate leg lifters, which, like the legs themselves, are slip-resistant. With the leg lifters on, the bassinet is positioned at a slight, safe angle, which can help if your baby spits up frequently or has a stuffy nose. And if the regular bassinet height (15.5 inches) is too tall for you or your space, Happiest Baby also sells compatible low legs, which lower the bottom of the bassinet to 10 inches high.

Durability: Built to Last

Babies should always sleep on a safe and sturdy surface, so we appreciate how well-built the SNOO Smart Sleeper is. Made out of wood paneling breathable mesh, its attractive mid-century modern look fits in with most home decor styles. During our tests, the bassinet always felt stable—we never noticed any wobbling or creaky noises—and it’s held up beautifully over the months we’ve been using it. Plus, since the app really is a cinch to use, the bassinet and all its features and functions are long-lasting, too.

How We Tested the SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet

To evaluate the SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet, we sent it home with some of our editors who are parents to newborns so they could test how well it works. We tested it for 650 hours, assessing it based on ease of setup, features, ease of use, durability, and value. Our editors assembled the bassinet, took close note of how well-written the instructions are, if the setup was intuitive, and whether a second pair of hands was needed. Next, our editors paired the SNOO with the compatible app to see how easy the process is and if the app is user-friendly. Before putting a baby in the crib, we tested out the movement and sound settings using the app to see how well it performed and how easy the settings were to adjust, in addition to noting if the highest speed seemed safe for a baby. 

Then, it was time to test it out with our editors’ babies: We placed them in the SNOO’s sleep sack, turned on the crib, and let them sleep. While they snoozed, we observed how well the smart bassinet responded to crying, how accurately the app tracked the baby’s sleeping habits, and if the controls on the app were easy to use. Our editors also assessed how effectively the SNOO soothed their babies overall and how well the automatic soothing mode kicked in. Over time, we regularly inspected the smart bassinet for any signs of wear and tear and cleaned the crib per the manufacturer’s instructions in the inevitable cases of spit-up. 

Price

The SNOO Smart Sleeper retails for $1695, which may seem steep for a bassinet that your little one will only use until they're 6 months old (or can roll over by themselves, whichever comes first). Conveniently, you can also rent the Snoo for $159 per month plus a $100 cleaning fee and a $99 security deposit. 

Ultimately, though, it's a small price to pay for improved sleep quality (for both the newborn and parent), which can be hard to come by during those first few months. Everything about it is intuitive and functional, including the app. One of our editors, who experienced postpartum complications and a few hospitalizations, can't rave enough about it: "The ability to have one less thing to worry about and maximize my sleep, giving my body the recuperation it needed, was priceless," she said. "The SNOO not only helped my baby sleep more soundly, it helped me heal."

The Competition

Cradlewise Smart Crib: We also tested the Cradlewise, and we like its overhead camera and that it converts from a bassinet to a crib that can be used for up to 2 years. Much like the SNOO, it has an appealing mid-century modern look and meets high safety standards. However, we weren’t won over by any of the features: The sound is distorted, and you can only keep an eye on your little one when the app is open. We were iffy as to whether the bouncing function actually helped one editor’s son fall asleep, and the app frequently glitched, so we ultimately don’t think it’s worth the $2,000 price tag. For more details, read our in-depth comparison of the Cradlewise and the SNOO. 

4Moms Mamaroo Sleep Bassinet: This bassinet is another one of our favorites. It has soothing motions and sounds, and we really like its timer feature. It also has two height settings, as well as the option to add a storage bag underneath, though that’s sold separately. However, it doesn’t have the cry detection technology and automatic soothing response that the SNOO has, and its app isn’t as seamless to use. But if you’re looking for a more affordable choice than the SNOO and automatic soothing isn’t a priority, then the Mamaroo could be a good fit for your family.

Why Trust Verywell Family

Phoebe Sklansky is 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 baby swings 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.