Cradlewise vs. SNOO: Parents Review Both Iconic Smart Cribs

In a nutshell:
We tested the Cradlewise and the SNOO, compared the features and found that they both offer unique benefits. The Cradlewise, which is slightly cheaper, adjusts from bassinet to crib mode and has a built-in video monitor. Whereas the SNOO is the first and only bassinet to be authorized by the FDA as a medical device for safe sleeping. The SNOO also stood out for its much easier assembly process.

Since its launch in 2016 the SNOO has dominated the world of smart bassinets—but some people say that Cradlewise is coming for the crown. Both bassinets use technology to sense when an infant starts to fuss and respond with gentle movements to soothe baby back to sleep. However, each device has some key differences and unique benefits. To help settle the debate, we put both devices to the test with the parents of young infants. Keep reading for an honest Cradlewise vs SNOO review.

How We Tested the Cradlewise and SNOO

Here are the steps we took to test the SNOO and the Cradlewise:

• In 2025 we asked two testers to each try out one of these products in their home. Shawna C. and her 6-week-old baby tested the SNOO, while Sammy J. and her 15-week-old tested the Cradlewise.
• Both testers assembled the smart bassinets, downloaded and set up the complimentary apps and had their child use the bassinet for daytime naps and overnight sleep over the course of one week.
• Shawna and Sammy assessed the products using the following criteria: ease of use, smart features, cry detection, range of motion, app and sleep analytics, general features, effectiveness, style and design and value for money. Once the testing stage was complete, they rated the products on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst possible score and 10 being the best.
• We surveyed over 300 members of The Bump community and asked them to tell us what they did and didn’t like about their favorite bassinets.
• We read user reviews and researched what was being said about these bassinets in our forums to better understand how they worked for a variety of young families.

Editorial integrity is at the heart of everything we publish. Read about how The Bump develops and reviews all articles, including product reviews.

Cradlewise vs. SNOO

Ease of use

Despite all the bells and whistles, at its core a smart bassinet is a piece of furniture that requires assembly. With this in mind we asked our testers to walk us through the assembly and app set-up process for the SNOO and Cradlewise.

“This bassinet was super easy to assemble,” says Shawna, who tested the SNOO. “The bassinet needed to be upside down for you to assemble the legs [but] they clicked on super-easy and my 5- and 3-year-old actually helped me put them on,” she continues. As this is a smart device, Shawna notes that you had to plug in the SNOO but the instructions provided a clear explanation of what to do. “The lead was a great length and the bassinet comes with a cover that slides on one of the bassinet legs for you to run the power cord through, so you don’t even see the cord,” explains Shawna. Once the bassinet was assembled, our tester synced the SNOO with her WiFi and turned her attention to the app. “I found the app fast on my app store and once it was downloaded it walked me through how to set it all up,” shares Shawna. All in all, it took Shawna 15 minutes to set up the SNOO.

In contrast to this, it took product tester Sammy 45 minutes to assemble the Cradlewise. Although Sammy said that “the bassinet was easy to assemble,” she did have some issues with the tools provided. “The only problem I had when assembling was that the allen wrench included in the box was too large to fit in the screws,” explains Sammy. Luckily, she had a spare allen wrench to hand: “Otherwise, I’m not sure how I would have assembled it.” She also struggled to attach the bottom board. “The rubber on the edges kept coming off because it has to be such a tight fit,” explains Sammy. Like the SNOO, the Cradlewise needs to be plugged into a mains outlet. This wasn’t an issue for Sammy as “the lead was long enough for it to be plugged in where I wanted it.” Sammy also had a positive experience with the app set-up and didn’t experience any issues connecting to the bassinet via Bluetooth. “It was easy to get set up to the WiFi through the app,” she says. “The app was super user-friendly and made that part of the process seamless,” concludes Sammy. While she found it easy to set-up and use the bassinet, Sammy’s main issue was the problems she encountered during assembly.

Smart features

The Cradlewise and the SNOO are equipped with a range of smart features designed to soothe babies and ultimately help parents get a little extra sleep.

“This bassinet is definitely a smart bassinet,” says Shawna. “It knew when my baby was fussy and automatically responded,” she explained. The SNOO has five levels of sound and motion that are triggered when baby starts to fuss and help limit sleep disruptions. “My baby seemed to enjoy the white noise over any of the music provided,” says Shawna, who liked the fact that the sound and motion timed out once her baby fell back to sleep. “The bassinet responded to my baby anytime it was needed, not too little or too much—just right,” concludes Shawna.

Similarly, Sammy said the Cradlewise “automatically responded with noise and motion when my son would stir.” Using the “start recipe” feature you can customize how the Cradlewise crib responds when you initially place the baby inside, for a set period of time ranging from 10 to 30 minutes. “The ‘start recipe’ took less than a minute to quickly set up to my liking. It’s just as easy to change as well,” explains Sammy. This smart feature allows you to select your baby’s preferred soundtrack as well as the motion speed. The sound options include rain, deep sleeper, noisy room and sensitive sleeper. “The deep sleeper was a windy sound, noisy room was also similar to white noise and sensitive sleeper sounded similar to the rain and noisy room,” explains Sammy. “I liked the default calming rain the best,” continues Sammy, noting that this track seemed to soothe her son the best. “I think the bounce levels perfectly coincide with the baby’s fussiness. When he’s really crying, the more intense bouncing helps soothe him and when he just moves a little in his sleep, the crib offers a nice gentle movement to lull him back to a deep sleep,” explains Sammy. “As far as I could tell, it stopped when he went back to sleep,” adds Sammy.

Along with the built-in sound machine and room thermometer the Cradlewise is equipped with a video baby monitor. “The camera on the bassinet is fantastic during both the day and night,” gushes Sammy, noting that she can see her baby in detail even when the room is pitch black. “The quality of the baby monitor’s sound was also very good. I was able to clearly hear the noises my baby was making even when he was just stirring, not crying,” continues Sammy.

Another unique feature of the Cradlewise is that you can sync it with your Spotify account and stream music—like baby’s favorite lullaby—directly to the crib. The crib is also equipped with two-way audio, allowing you to speak to baby via the phone app. These features may be a welcome addition for some parents, but Sammy found them to be an unnecessary add-on. “I did not attempt to stream music or speak to the baby via that app or sync it to any smart home devices,” she says. “I like the features that I used and found them helpful [but] I don’t see much use for the features I did not test out,” continues Sammy.

Cry detection

Both the SNOO and the Cradlewise are equipped with cry-detection technology designed to reduce the need for parental intervention. The SNOO uses sensors and microphones to detect when baby starts to fuss and cry. “When it detected restlessness or crying it would start to slowly move and shush the baby back to sleep,” explains Shawna. “There were different sounds to pick from such as lullabies and white noise,” says Shawna, noting that her baby seemed to like the white noise. “You were also able to pick what motion and there was a motion limiter for smaller newborn babies,” adds Shawna. “I would say 75 percent of the time it soothed him before he started crying worse, the other 25 percent he was too worked up and wasn’t able to stop,” says Shawna, speaking about the cry detection feature.

The Cradlewise uses a built-in baby monitor in combination with contactless sensors to detect subtle signs of awakening, such as stirring, eye fluttering and changes in body movement and responds before baby starts to cry. “When my son would start to cry, the bassinet would try to soothe him with sounds and bouncing motions,” explains Sammy.

“You can adjust the sound and motion in the app or prevent it from doing one of the actions,” Sammy continues. While you can adjust the soothing pattern manually via the app, Sammy noted that the “smart selection” feature also automatically adjusts the sensitivity based on baby’s sleep patterns. She said the cry detection technology seems “pretty sensitive” and responded to her baby quickly. “If my son adjusted positions or whined a little, it would respond,” confirmed Sammy. “My son never got to full blown crying at night, so the soothing worked well,” says Sammy, although she notes that her son is a good sleeper so she didn’t notice a major difference in his sleep-wake cycle.

Range of motion

The SNOO and Cradlewise move automatically, but the range of motion differs significantly. The SNOO has five movement modes. The blue baseline mode offers a gentle, swaying movement and is the default setting. The yellow and green modes offer the same movement at an increased intensity. The highest level is red, which is a fast, jiggly motion. “This bassinet rocked side to side and also had a vibration, my baby seemed to enjoy both of these options,” says Shawna. “The motion was super smooth and definitely helped my baby as if I was rocking him back to sleep,” she continues, noting that you can change almost any setting in the app. According to Shawna, the app also has a pause button right on the homepage, which is functional and easy to use. She also notes that the bassinet didn’t make any squeaky or mechanical noises, while it moved.

In contrast to the SNOO, which has five set motion modes, the Cradlewise offers customizable movement levels. “The bassinet bounced when my son started to stir,” says Sammy. “He likes a bouncing motion in general to soothe him, so this was great,” continues Sammy, noting that the movements helped soothe her son back to sleep. While the movement is inspired by a caregiver’s touch, Sammy notes that “the bounces are ‘bigger’ than when I bounce him in my arms.” While the movement style remains the same, you can adjust the sensitivity level that ranges from “very low” to “very high.” “You can adjust the bouncing intensity in the app,” confirms Sammy, who adds that you can also stop the movement at the touch of a button. Worried that a bouncing bassinet will disrupt your sleep? Don’t be, the rocking motion is virtually silent. “The bouncing was very smooth and also silent, which surprised me,” says Sammy. “The bassinet is right next to me and I couldn’t tell when it was bouncing unless I looked at it,” she continues.

General features

Shawna logged a few minor issues with the everyday, practical features of the SNOO. For starters, you can’t adjust the height. “It seems to be one height and that’s all,” says Shawna. The side-walls are made from a breathable mesh material that allows air to circulate freely. However, Shawna says the mesh material is “thick and too hard to see much through it,” so she couldn’t see her baby in the bassinet when laying beside him in bed. “It also doesn’t have any storage, but the fact it has so many amazing smart options makes up for that,” continues Shawna, who wasn’t too perturbed by the issues outlined above. On a positive note Shawna appreciated that the “mattress was firm, yet still soft enough for my baby.”

The real standout feature of the SNOO is the swaddle system. Designed to work in conjunction with the bassinet, the SNOO Sacks have patented loops that slide onto safety clips on either side, keeping baby safely sleeping on their back. “This bassinet came with the SNOO swaddles for all different sizes and that is one of my favorite add ons for this one,” attests Shawna.

Sammy had similar feedback to share about the Cradlewise. “The walls of the bassinet are white mesh [but] you are completely unable to see the baby through them,” says Sammy. This was a major downside for Sammy who said “I don’t think I will use it as a full crib, because I won’t be able to see him through the walls and he won’t be able to see out of them.” While she wouldn’t be comfortable using it in crib mode, she told us that she could see her son from the top of the bassinet when she was in bed next to him. On the bright side the mattress height is adjustable and Sammy says “it would be very easy to convert to a crib.” She also notes that “the mattress is good quality and firm like it should be,” adding that it seems comfortable. Sammy also appreciated the fact that the Cradlewise came with one crib sheet. “It’s good quality and waterproof, which was a nice surprise. I washed it before assembling the crib and it washed well,” says Sammy.

Bassinet app and sleep analytics

The Cradlewise and SNOO both feature an on/off button on the bassinet itself, but are primarily operated via an app. With a verified purchase of the SNOO, you’ll gain access to a 9-month premium subscription to the Happiest Baby app for free. Parents that don’t have access to the free subscription can pay for the app on a monthly basis. “When you download the app it makes you create an account and enter your baby’s information such as age and sex,” says Shauna. “I used the app on my Apple iPhone, and it seemed a little complicated at first but once I got the hang of it it seemed pretty straight forward,” continues Shauna. “It shows a bunch of insights such as the total hours slept and the longest hours slept,” explains Shauna, who loved having that information handy. “Right now he is waking up every few hours to eat, but it’s reassuring to know he is still sleeping during these hours and I can tell from the app,” she continues. Overall, Shauna said the app was “amazing.”.

The basic Cradlewise app is free to download and use, but there’s also a premium version called Cradlewise Plus that operates under a paid subscription model. Our product tester used the basic version and told us, “I created an account in the app, through Apple, and it was very easy and quick to set up.” She continues, “The app isn’t too involved, so it’s easy to see the offerings right away without getting overwhelmed.” Sammy was also a fan of the sleep insights feature. “The images of the sleep tracker are very visually appealing and easy to analyze,” she notes. “I can see when my son was awake, stirring, or sleeping and when the bassinet was triggered to soothe him,” explains Sammy, adding that, as far as she could tell, the data was accurate. “I also enjoyed the data about his age and what to expect. It was helpful to see that he is right on target with his sleep,” she continued. Fortunately, Sammy’s son is a great sleeper, but if he did have trouble in this area “the app’s insights would be extremely helpful to recognize patterns.” She also found it very easy to adjust the bassinet settings via the app and concluded her review by saying: “I’m very happy with the app experience.”

Style and design

It may not be your number one priority, but style and design are also something to consider when buying a bassinet or crib. Here’s what our product testers had to say about the design of the SNOO and Cradlewise.

“I love the aesthetic of this bassinet,” says Shawna. “The white mesh and the wood bottom are perfect together,” she continues, noting that it would fit into any nursery and look amazing. “The height of this bassinet was perfect and easy for me to bend over and pick him up,” continues Shawna. In terms of size, she felt it was a great fit for her 6-week-old baby. “It may be a little smaller for a 5- to 6-month-old, but I assume it all depends how big your baby gets,” she adds. “The bassinet itself felt sturdy and I didn’t have any worries about that,” says Shauna, noting that although it was heavy she was still able to move it by herself. Shauna loved the style overall but said that if she could change anything “it would be to not have a cord and to use batteries so it didn’t need to be plugged in.”

“The style of the bassinet is beautiful,” says Sammy, noting that the Cradlewise is almost too beautiful for her home aesthetic. “The colors are great and would match any color scheme,” she says, although she would have preferred it if the side panels were more transparent. Sammy’s old beside bassinet had a fold-down side that made it easy to access baby while sitting in bed and this is a feature that she felt the Cradlewise lacked. “It’s more difficult to put the baby into the bassinet from my bed, especially with the monitor bar over the top,” she explains. On the plus side, Sammy said the size of the bassinet was great. “It didn’t overpower the room, but my son had plenty of space,” she says. “There are no tripping hazards with this bassinet and everything is very compact with it, which is nice,” continues Sammy. The crib has smooth gliders and our tester said it was easy to slide across her carpeted floor. “It’s sturdy, but not too heavy to push on the carpet by myself. I set up the bassinet in the living room and then slid it on the carpet into the bedroom with no problem,” she says. “It’s definitely not a mobile bassinet due to its size, but having to move it isn’t the end of the world,” concludes Sammy.

Value for money

The Cradlewise and SNOO are high-end bassinets with price tags that reflect the premium features. The SNOO costs $1,695, while the Cradlewise is ever-so-slightly cheaper at $1,599. But are they worth the investment?

“I think this is an amazing bassinet! That being said, I do think it’s a little expensive,” says Shawna. She loved the features and said: “I would definitely purchase this if it was on sale though.” But she notes that the bassinet requires certain sheets and swaddles. It does come with three sleep sacks, but she figures you may need to buy different sizes or designs if you use the SNOO longterm. The brand’s crib sheets cost $20, while SNOO sleep sacks start at $35.

Sammy was a little more positive on the Cradlewise’s value for money. “I think the price is high, but comparable to other similar bassinets,” reasons Sammy. “The quality is fantastic for the price,” she adds, noting that “there were no extra costs with the app, which I appreciated.” In terms of add-ons, the Cradlewise comes with one fitted sheet, and spare sheets cost $35. “I think the ability to go from bassinet to crib also justifies the price because you can use it for much longer than if it were just a bassinet,” says Sammy. While her son sleeps through the night, Sammy said: “If your child isn’t sleeping through the night, this could absolutely be worth the investment if it worked for your child.”

Effectiveness

When asked to rate the bassinets for effectiveness as a soothing sleep device, both testers gave their respective products rave reviews. “He definitely slept better with this bassinet,” said Shawna, noting that her 6-week-old son slept for longer periods of time while using the SNOO. “Once I put him in the swaddle attached to the bassinet and turned it on with the white noise, swaying and vibration he looked around a little and slowly fell asleep,” she shares. In addition, she said that “the app was great at logging and showing me how long he was sleeping and how often he was waking up, it definitely showed me a few sleep patterns I was unaware of.” Based on how effective it was, Shawna said she will keep her child in this bassinet for as long as he fits in it.

“As mentioned, my son slept through the night prior to this bassinet, so I did not notice a change in his sleeping patterns,” says Sammy. “However, it was nice knowing if he woke up at all or when we put him to bed, that he would be soothed to sleep rather than just putting himself back to sleep,” she shares. Sammy added that she didn’t feel the need to pick up and soothe her son every time he started to fuss, as she knew the bassinet would do it for her. “I had no issues with the app and all the features worked very well,” says Sammy, who liked the fact that she could track her son’s sleep patterns and check how well he slept each night. “This will be especially helpful when we move the bassinet into the nursery in the coming weeks. I will have peace of mind knowing if he stirs, he will be soothed back to sleep in a comfortable way,” concludes Sammy.

Final verdict

Both the Cradlewise and SNOO performed exceptionally well in testing, but the SNOO was received more positively by our tester. The Cradlewise took three times longer to assemble and our tester experienced some issues with the tools provided; whereas, the SNOO was easy to assemble in 15 minutes flat. The SNOO is also the first—and only—medical device to receive De Novo authorization from the FDA for its ability to keep sleeping babies safely on their backs. However, it’s worth noting that the Cradlewise is the only convertible smart crib and bassinet on the market making it the best choice for parents looking for longevity.

About the writer:
Martina Garvey is an editor at The Bump, where she writes and edits e-commerce content for pregnancy, postpartum and parenting. Over a nine plus year career in educational publishing and digital media, Martina has developed a keen eye for detail and robust reporting skills. As a staff member on The Bump for over four years, she leverages an in-depth knowledge of must-have baby gear that parents can trust.