We're expecting our first child soon and live in a two-story home so we need a monitor that can cover the distance without losing signal. Our nursery is upstairs, and we often hang out in the living room downstairs. We tried a basic audio one before, but it cut out frequently when we went to the kitchen. Budget is around $100, and we prefer video capability for peace of mind. It should have night vision too and since the baby will sleep in a dark room. We've looked at a few on Amazon, but reviews are mixed on reliability. Something with good battery life would be ideal, as we don't want to plug it in all the time.
I would go with HelloBaby baby monitor for a two-story home. Its dedicated non WiFi link is typically reliable through floors and kitchen walls, the 1000 ft rated range gives you plenty of cushion, and the battery can last up to 30 hours so you are not tethered to a plug and plus the night vision is solid.
Go for a dedicated that model monitor that uses a direct 2.4 GHz link rather than WiFi.
Those tend to handle floors and kitchen walls better because they are point to point, and you are not relying on the home network so yeah look for something rated for very long range outdoors since that usually translates to dependable coverage across two floors indoors but then...
place the camera a few feet up and away from the router or microwave to cut interference.
Night vision on these is plenty for a dark nursery.
Battery life depends on screen time so use the voice activation setting so the display sleeps and wakes on sound and you can make it through an evening off the charger.
Range matters most.
Co-sign on a dedicated 2.4 GHz FHSS unit; kitchens are range killers so keep the camera a few feet from metal/appliances and keep the parent unit’s antenna upright. If your router supports it, move as many devices as possible to 5 GHz to clear the 2.4 band, and pick a model with an external antenna, VOX/screen-off mode, and a larger (3000 mAh+) parent-unit battery. In your budget, the VTech VM819 or the HelloBaby models are solid bets for two floors and will comfortably last an evening on battery with VOX.
Agree on non WiFi but then... in your budget the VTech VM923 or HelloBaby HB65 are solid picks: 2.4 GHz FHSS for range through walls, reliable night vision, and good battery life if you turn on VOX or eco mode so the screen sleeps. Mount the camera higher and keep the parent unit away from the router or microwave to cut 2.4 GHz interference and and you should be fine across two floors.
We've got a similar setup in our two-story place, and finding a monitor that holds the signal through walls and floors was key for us but then look for ones rated for at least 1000 feet of range, that way you've got room to spare even if you're in the kitchen or basement. that model is a must for that extra reassurance, especially with night vision so you can check on the little one without turning on lights. We aimed for something under $100 too, and battery life around 12-18 hr keeps it portable without constant charging. Works great. Reliability comes down to non-WiFi connections sometimes and they seem steadier in bigger homes.
Just test it out in your space if you can, return policies are helpful for that.
For a two-story home like yours, range is everything, I've learned that the hard way after a couple of duds that fizzled out in the kitchen. Aim for monitors boasting 900-1000 foot ranges to cover the distance reliably, and that model with night vision will let you see clearly even in pitch black. Battery life is crucial, look for at least 20 hours to avoid being stuck near outlets all day. We actually kept it under $100 and focused on models with solid and non-WiFi connections for fewer interruptions. Yeah and it's worth reading through reviews from folks in similar houses to gauge true performance.
One tip, position the base unit centrally if possible, that can boost the signal sometimes.
Good call on prioritizing range but remember those 900–1000 ft specs are line-of-sight; in a two-story with floors and appliances you’ll often get a third of that. For reliability under $100, look for a 2.4 GHz FHSS video monitor with VOX/screen-off mode and a replaceable battery pack, since the screen is the battery hog (expect 6–8 hours with the screen on & much longer with VOX). Keep both units away from your Wi‑Fi router and microwave, mount the camera a bit higher with the antenna vertical, and test during your return window from the exact kitchen spot that used to drop signal.
Think placement first. Put the camera high in a corner aimed diagonally across the room and keep it a few feet from big metal appliances or the router and that helps range more than most people expect. Dedicated that model links tend to be the most dependable through floors and they fit your budget, plan on voice activation if you want all evening battery from the handheld screen. Real world range through one floor and a kitchen is usually strong with those. Do a quick microwave on test while you walk around to check worst case, then you will know if it holds steady when you are cooking. Simple test.
Great tips and i’d also stick with a non‑Wi‑Fi 2.4 GHz FHSS video monitor in your budget; they usually punch through floors better and with VOX on plus medium screen brightness (and not keeping the parent unit in your pocket), the battery lasts much longer. For night vision, angle the camera slightly down and away from windows or shiny furniture to avoid IR glare, and if your router uses 2.4 GHz, changing its channel or steering devices to 5 GHz can cut interference.
From experience - Co-sign on placement and I’d look for a non‑Wi‑Fi 2.4 GHz (FHSS) video monitor with a visible antenna - those usually hold a steadier signal through a floor than Wi‑Fi cams in your price range and for battery life, use VOX/voice activation and lower the screen brightness, and choose a unit with a replaceable parent‑unit battery so it doesn’t become useless after a year. To reduce dropouts, keep both units a few feet from the router and microwave, switch other home devices to 5 GHz where possible & and keep the antennas vertical.
We are in a two story with the nursery above the garage and the living room behind the kitchen which, tbh yeah our first cheap audio unit died every time we walked near the fridge. Swapped to a non WiFi that model setup with a long range rating and it held a connection everywhere downstairs and even on the patio. The parent screen battery handled an evening fine if I left it on voice activation and kept the screen timeout short, though with the display on nonstop it drained fast. Night vision was clear enough to see breathing and movement. I also changed my WiFi router to a less crowded channel which cut random dropouts from interference. Lesson learned.
For reliability on a budget pick a camera and handheld that link directly over 2.4 GHz FHSS, not WiFi, since phone apps add delay and glitches. Expect indoor range to be a quarter of outdoor claims and look for sound activated screen, adjustable sensitivity, out of range alerts, and invisible IR, then walk test day one and return if you hit dead zones.
I remember when we were in your shoes, expecting our first and stressing about the monitor cutting out downstairs... In a two-story house, you want something with strong signal strength that doesn't rely on spotty WiFi, maybe a dedicated frequency to punch through those floors. that model capability gives peace of mind, and night vision is essential for dark nurseries, no question. We stuck to a $100 budget and prioritized long battery life so we could carry it around without plugging in every hour. made a huge difference and and we haven't had dropouts since switching to one with better range. Oh, and check user reviews for real-world reliability in multi-level homes, that helped us narrow it down.
