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Monitor cost calculator

What does a monitor subscription really cost?

A monitor with a monthly plan can cost more over two years than the camera itself. Enter the prices you see on each maker's site, pick how long you'll use it, and see the real total next to a monitor with no plan.

Monitor with a plan
Monitor with no plan

A non-Wi-Fi monitor, or a Wi-Fi one you'll use on its free features.

You'll use it for

$0with the plan

$0with no plan

Camera plus plan payments over 2 years, against the monitor with no plan.

Enter the prices from each maker's site. We never show prices: they change, and plans differ by country.

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What a plan usually adds

Many Wi-Fi monitors work without a plan for live video. A paid plan typically adds things like saved video history, sleep reports, or extra alerts. What's free and what's paid differs by brand and changes over time, so read the maker's plan page before you buy, and check two things:

  • What the camera does with no plan at all, in case you cancel.
  • Whether the plan is per camera or per account, if you might add a second camera later.

How long you'll really use it

Think about how long you'll keep the monitor running, including the toddler years if you expect to use it then. A small monthly fee becomes a large number over 36 months, so the calculator lets you pick 1, 2 or 3 years. If you're unsure, run it for 2 years and 3 years and compare.

Ways to keep the cost down

  • Start on the free tier and add a plan only if you miss a feature.
  • Compare monthly and yearly billing if the maker offers both. Enter each with the per-month and per-year options above.
  • Consider whether you need Wi-Fi at all. In the early months the AAP advises room-sharing, so a simple non-Wi-Fi monitor may be enough. See our baby monitor facts.

How we calculate

  1. With the plan: the camera price, plus the monthly price times the months, or the yearly price for each year or part of a year.
  2. With no plan: the monitor price.
  3. Break-even: the month the plan option's running total passes the no-plan monitor.

Whatever you choose, keep every monitor cord at least 3 feet from the crib, as the CPSC advises, and remember that no monitor replaces safe sleep. Details in the monitor guide and the nursery safe sleep checklist.