Owlet vs. Angelcare – which of these two baby monitors is actually better? Is Owlet really splurge-worthy or should you choose more affordable alternative like the Angelcare? Read my detailed comparison to find answers to these and many more questions.
Owlet is one of the most popular smart baby monitors – it allows you to keep na eye on your little one, track their oxygen levels and heart rate and sends you useful information about baby’s sleep patterns. But in order to do all of that, you need a video camera and your baby needs to wear a special Smart Sock. Your phone works as a parent unit device and you get all notifications in your phone app.
The Angelcare baby monitor is a great cheaper alternative and doesn’t require using any wearables (I know that some parents don’t like them).
This affordable baby monitor differs a lot from Owlet. Angelcare monitors baby’s breathing by tracking even the tiniest movements across the entire mattress surface. It does all of that thanks to a small thin sensor pad that you need to place under the crib/bassinet mattress. There’s also a video camera and dedicated parent unit with LCD screen that allows you to check on your baby at anytime.
So which of these two monitors works better: Owlet vs. Angelcare? Let’s dive into detailed comparison and reviews!
This article is not a substitute for medical advice. It contains affiliate links.
Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Owlet Monitor Duo vs. Angelcare Baby Monitor – Key Differences
Let’s start with the most important differences between these 2 baby monitors.
How Do They Work & What Do They Track?
- Owlet tracks baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels, while the Angelcare is more like a breathing monitor – it tracks baby’s breathing motion.
- Owlet can track baby’s vitals thanks to wearable Owlet Smart Sock that you need to put on your child’s foot. On the other hand, Angelcare offers contact-free monitoring thanks to Wireless Movement Sensor Pad that goes under the mattress and detects baby’s movements across the entire surface.
False Alarms
- You can adjust Angelcare sensor pad sensitivity to avoid false alarms. Owlet Smart Sock sensor is non-adjustable and you cannot change preset safety zones for heart rate and oxygen saturation (when baby’s vitals leave these safety zones the alarm goes off).
Wearables
- With Owlet baby needs to wear the Smart Sock the whole night so that the monitor could track their vitals. There’s always a chance that it will shift or loosen up over the night (which can lead to false alarms). With Angelcare you don’t have these issues because it’s a non-contact baby monitor, it sits under the crib mattress, doesn’t touch baby’s skin and cannot be moved by the child during the night.
Installation
- You instal the Angelcare once – by placing the sensor pad under the mattress. On the other hand, you need to put the Owlet Smart Sock on and take it off every time your baby is going to sleep.
Video Monitor
- Owlet Cam offers much better video quality: it streams HD 1080p video and has HD night vision which gives you perfect view of your child even in low light or complete darkness, while the Angelcare camera has only 480 x 272px video resolution.
- Owlet Cam is much easier to mount than the Angelcare camera, plus getting the wide-angle view is never a problem. Wherever you place the Owlet Camera (wall mount or countertop stand) it will give 130 degree view, which means you’ll be able to see the whole crib and your baby without any problems. Angelcare camera doesn’t have that wide-angle lenses and according to some parents it’s quite hard to find the perfect spot for it to have the view of the whole crib.
Smartphone App vs. Parent Unit
- Owlet monitor sends all information and live video to Owlet smartphone app, there is no separate parent unit, in contrast to Angelcare which comes with dedicated parent unit with 5″ video display.
- Owlet app gives you useful information about baby’s sleep patterns, Angelcare lacks this feature.
Detection Range
- With Owlet your phone works as a parent unit, therefore you can keep an eye on your baby wherever you are (even when you’re having a date night and your little one is with nanny). Because the Angelcare has separate parent unit you need to keep it close to the camera and sensor pad (range: up to 820ft./250m).
| My Personal Choice: I prefer this new version of Owlet Baby Monitor because it’s more high-tech device. I like the fact that I can use my phone to watch my baby and receive all alerts in the app, and not having to carry separate parent unit with me everywhere.
I prefer Owlet because it gives me more information about my baby’s sleep quality and health: sleep patterns, heart rate and oxygen levels. Besides, the Sock with sensor sits directly on baby’s foot, not under an 1″ thick mattress therefore I trust these measurement a bit more, but that’s just my personal opinion! PRO TIP: Today is the last day to get $80 OFF the Owlet Sock, $20 OFF Cam 1 and $50 OFF Cam 2! Get your discounts here >> |
Owlet Smart Sock & Camera Review
Let me start by showing you what options you have when you want to purchase Owlet:
- > Owlet Smart Sock 3 – You can choose to get just the Sock to monitor your baby’s heart rate and oxygen level, as well as their sleep patterns. The Owlet Smart Sock works independently from the Owlet Camera.
- > Owlet Cam – This high quality camera will send live video and audio from your baby’s nursery directly to your phone. You’ll get notification when your child wakes up or starts to cry.
- > Owlet Monitor Duo – This bundle includes the Sock and Cam. It’s the most cost-effective option.
- > Owlet Smart Sock Plus – This set includes 3 sizes of the Smart Sock, which fit babies from 0 to 5 years!
Owlet Smart Sock 3 Features
This innovative baby monitor is designed to track baby’s oxygen saturation and heart rate. The sock fabric wraps around baby’s foot and the built-in sensor with Pulse Oximetry constantly monitors their vitals.
When readings leave pre-set safe zones (heart rate above 220 BPM or below 60 BPM, oxygen saturation below 80%), it sends an alert to the base station which changes its color from green to red and the alarm goes off. You’ll get a notification in the smartphone app to, if Owlet app is open, even if it’s in the background.
The sock is designed to fit newborns and babies from 5 to 30 lbs/18 months, but I think it works best for the first 6-9 months when the baby is not able to take it off.
I really like the fact that you can use the Sock separately from the camera. It makes Owlet perfect monitor for travel. You don’t have to bring the camera with you because the Smart Sock works independently.
Another function that I like is the sleep quality tracking. In the Owlet app you’ll get detailed information about your child’s sleep patterns and quality.
There’s one more advantage: easy wireless charing. The Sock connects to the base station and in 90 minutes it’s fully recharged (which is enough for 16 hours of monitoring).
Red Marks On Foot From Owlet Smart Sock
I know that some parents have experienced problems with this baby monitor and complained about Owlet Sock leaving red marks on baby’s foot.
It’s noteworthy that according to Owlet it’s not a burn mark, and in many cases baby was wearing the Sock for too long. Keep in mind that child should wear it during the sleep, not the whole day and night!
It’s also important to frequently wash the sock fabric to remove any buildup of dirt, oils and bacteria. Moist or unclean fabric are the most common reasons for these red marks from Owlet Smart Sock.
Owlet Smart Sock False Alarms
Before I got my Owlet Baby Monitor I was quite concerned about all those false alarms I’d read about.
There are a few things that you should know if you’re stressed that Owlet Smart Sock will give you many false alerts:
- Owlet Smart Sock 2 had lots of issues with false positive alerts. The Smart Sock 3 has improved design and gives less false alarms.
- It’s crucial to put the Sock on properly, otherwise the reading may not be accurate. The Sock should not be too tight or too loose. Sizing is important too. Other factors that can affect readings accuracy are: baby’s foot temperature and sickness.
- The Sock is designed to be used when baby is sleeping on flat and firm surface. Owlet Smart Sock doesn’t work accurately in baby swing, rocker, elevated seat or vibrating bassinet (no, it’s not compatible with the Snoo or Halo).
Owlet Cam Features
Even though Owlet camera is not the best one on the market right now, it offers awesome video and audio quality – way better than Angelcare has.
It streams HD 1080p video and has great night vision which means you can see your baby even in low light conditions or complete darkness. The camera has wide-angle lens (130 degree) which ensures that you can see EVERYTHING.
And you won’t have to struggle to mount the camera in the right spot to get the good view. It’s really simple to mount, it rotates, and even if you place it on a countertop, you’ll get a good view. It’s extremely convenient.
There’s two-way audio which allows you to hear your child and talk to your child – the latter option may be useful with older kids during sleep training.
Since there is no separate parent unit, you receive live video and audio stream to your phone in Owlet app. There 4x zoom and background audio which is my favorite feature. Thanks to this function you can use other apps in your phone and still hear your baby and receive notifications from the baby monitor.
I like how portable this camera is – it’s small and detaches from the wall mount easily so you can bring it with you when you go on vacation. After testing a few baby monitors, I have to admit that Owlet is one of my favorites for travel with babies.
There’s one extra feature – Owlet monitor has a room temperature sensor.
Detection Range
This is one of the things that encourage me to choose Owlet instead of other monitors.
Even if your home WiFi goes down, you will still receive notification in the base station because it connects with the Smart Sock via Bluetooth.
And when you don’t have access to your home WiFi (when you’re on a date night or visiting a friend), you can still watch your child and receive live alerts, using your phone mobile data or by connecting to a different safe WiFi.
The monitor sends information to the base and to the Cloud and you can access them in your phone app, even if you’re not connected to your home WiFi.
Angelcare Baby Movement Monitor Review
Angelcare monitor comes with a wireless movement monitor (the sensor pad), video and sound monitor with room temperature sensor and parent unit device. What’s noteworthy, you can also get the baby breathing monitor without parent unit or video camera – this may be a good option if you’re on really tight budget.
How Does The Baby Breathing Monitor Work?
The sensor pad sits under the crib/ bassinet mattress and detects even the tiniest movements across the entire surface of the mattress – this way it tracks if your baby is breathing. If no movement is detected for 20 seconds, you get an alert in the parent unit.
A huge advantage of this baby monitor is that you install it just once, not like with the Smart Sock which you have to “install” on your baby’s foot every time you put them to bed. Another good thing is that you can adjust the sensitivity of the sensor pad to decrease the risk of false alarm.
Lots of parents like the Angelcare monitor because there are no wearables and nothing touches the baby. This means that no electronics or batteries come in direct contact with your baby’s skin.
Video Monitor
The quality of the video is not as good as with Owlet Cam, the resolution is only 480 x 272px. The biggest difference can be seen in night vision which has much poorer quality.
Another issue with this camera is that is doesn’t have wide lenses and the pivoting part doesn’t move that well either. It’s quite hard to mount it to get a good, full view of the baby in the crib.
But if you mainly care about the breathing monitoring function, and the camera is just an addition, it should be sufficient.
There’s two-way audio feature, and room temperature sensor too.
Parent Unit
With Angelcare baby monitor you get a separate parent unit – there’s no app for your smartphone.
There’s a 5″ LCD screen which allows you to watch and hear your baby and receive notifications in case your child stops moving.
So is it better to have a separate parent unit device or have all information in dedicated smartphone app? Some parents actually prefer to have a parent unit as it may seem “safer”.
I prefer to use my phone as a parent unit and receive all notifications in the app. It’s much more convenient, because I don’t have to carry another device everywhere with me, I don’t have to remember to charge the battery in another device, plus the quality of the video in my phone is WAY BETTER than in Angelcare parent screen.
There’s one more huge disadvantage of having separate screen – it has lower detection range. Angelcare has range of up to 820 ft/ 250m in open field. This means that you need to stay close to your child to receive the information from the breathing monitor and video camera in the parent screen.
Angelcare vs. Owlet Baby Monitor – FAQ & Safety Tips
Here’s additional information that you should know, before you decide between Angelcare vs. Owlet.
Do Angelcare Monitors Prevent SIDS? Does The Owlet Smart Sock Prevent SIDS?
Angelcare baby monitor and Owlet Smart Sock do not prevent SIDS. They are designed to provide parents with useful information about their child well-being and health to give them peace of mind and more sleep at night, but they are not approved as medical devices and cannot guarantee protection from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
What’s noteworthy, SIDS cannot be fully prevented, but there are some things that parents can do to reduce the risk as much as possible. The most effective way to protect your baby from SIDS is proving them with healthy sleep environment and following AAP recommendations for safe sleeping practices:
- Baby should have their own safe sleeping area – bassinet, crib, bedside sleeper.
- No bed-sharing or co-sleeping.
- The sleep surfaces should be flat and firm (about 1″ thick mattress, no incline).
- Baby should sleep in supine position, not on their stomach (“back to sleep, tummy to play”)
- No additional loose bedding, blankets or toys in the sleep area.
Do Pediatricians Recommend Owlet?
Owlet (and Angelcare) are not medical devices, only commercial products, that’s why pediatricians haven’t ever officially recommended or approved the Owlet or other baby monitors.
On the positive note, Owlet works properly in healthy sleep environment as recommended by the AAP: when the child is sleeping on a flat and firm surface, in a crib or bassinet without vibration or incline (Owlet is not compatible with Snoo).
Is There A Cheaper Alternative To Owlet?
If you like Owlet baby monitor but can’t afford it, getting a cheaper alternative may be a good idea. There are 2 wearable baby monitors that are comparable to Owlet baby monitor.
In my opinion the best cheaper alternatives to Owlet are Snuza Hero and Sense-U.
They are a bit different than Owlet, because they don’t have the pulse oximetry technology. Instead these two baby monitors track baby’s breathing by detecting breathing motion.
Both Snuza Hero and Sense-U breathing monitors clip to baby diaper and alert you when breathing movements are not detected.
It’s noteworthy that Snuza Hero is probably the cheapest alternative to Owlet. On the other hand, Sense-U works with WiFi and sends all information to smartphone app. Snuza doesn’t have an app.
>> Read my detailed comparison: Owlet vs. Snuza
You may also want to check my ranking of the best baby monitors under $100. Even if you’re on tight budget, you can find a good-quality baby monitor.
The purpose of this article is informative. It’s not a substitute for medical consultation or medical care. Remember: safety first! Consult your doctor/pediatrician in case of any doubts, and before you introduce tummy time. The author of this article does not accept any responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, from any information or advice contained here. The article contains affiliate links – your support helps us run this blog!
Source of pictures:
Pictures of Angelcare movement monitor belong to Angelcare brand. Source: https://angelcarebaby.com/
Pictures of Owlet monitors belong to Owlet brand. Source: https://owletcare.com/
Hello Moms! I am Zooey. I am a wife and a mother of three amazing kids: almost 5-year-old Haley and 2-year-old twins Jesse and Matthew. I am a jogger, cooker and blogger.If you have a question or a comment, do not hesitate to write to me! 🙂