---
title: "Audio vs video baby monitor | BabyNido"
description: "Audio vs video baby monitors in the UK: when a camera helps, when it is extra, and why it is not a safer-sleep device."
url: "https://babynido.co.uk/compare/audio-vs-video-baby-monitor"
---

# Audio vs video baby monitor
 

Links marked  *  are affiliate links. We may earn a commission. Official advice
      stays free.

   
Verdict
 
Audio is enough for most UK homes that room-share and can hear the baby. Video is extra information, not a safer-sleep device. Buy a camera if you cannot hear through the walls or they will sleep in another room later. Skip an app that needs the cloud to work. The Lullaby Trust still wins on sleep.
    
## Do you need a baby monitor from birth in the UK?
 

Not if you room-share and can hear the baby. The Lullaby Trust wants the baby in your room for at least six
      months. A monitor does not replace that. Consider one when they sleep further away, or when the house swallows
      sound. Skip a camera that becomes a reason to stare at a screen at 2 a.m. instead of sleeping.

 
## When is an audio monitor the better buy?
 

When you want a cry, not a livestream. Audio is cheaper, uses less attention, and is enough for most terraces and
      flats. A simple parent unit beats an app you must keep charged. If the only extra a camera adds is anxiety, stay
      audio. Read the [monitors guide](/guides/baby-monitors-uk) for skip-if lines.

 
 [ Compare audio baby monitors on Amazon UK* ](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=audio+baby+monitor&tag=clevermum0c-21) 
 
## When is a video monitor worth it?
 

When you cannot hear them, you need to check without opening the door, or a second adult wants eyes on a room
      downstairs. Video is information. It is not a breathing alarm you should trust as a medical device. Skip listings
      that sell a camera as safer-sleep. Room-share still comes first.

 
 [ Compare baby monitors at John Lewis* ](/go/johnlewis?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnlewis.com%2Fsearch%3FsearchTerm%3Dbaby%2Bmonitor&p=compare) 
 
## Should the monitor use an app and the cloud?
 

Only if you accept that the product now includes Wi-Fi, passwords and a phone that must be awake. A dedicated
      parent unit fails locally. An app fails when the router fails. We will not invent a security league table. If you
      would not put a camera in the adult bedroom, do not put one over a cot without thinking.

 
## What should you skip in both audio and video?
 

Anything sold as a SIDS-proof gadget, a nest with a camera, or a reason not to room-share. Walkers stay a skip.
      Official safer-sleep advice stays free. If a listing’s only proof is a star rating, we still will not reprint
      scores. See the [skip-list](/skip) and [nursery checklist](/guides/nursery-checklist-uk).

    Audio vs video (desk-researched 13 Aug 2026 — not a lab test)       Job   Audio first   Video maybe           Room-sharing, thin walls   Usually enough, or nothing   Extra       Baby in another room later   Yes, if you can hear a cry   Yes, if you cannot hear or need a glance       Safer-sleep   Neither replaces a clear cot   Neither replaces a clear cot