Best cot mobiles for babies – tried and tested

Although cot mobiles can be very beneficial for your baby's development and sleep, it's important that they're used safely and correctly, see our safety advice at the end of this article for guidance.

To help you find the best cot mobile for your baby we've researched the market and asked our trusted parent testers to try out the mobiles in our list so you get honest feedback about the best cot mobiles on the market.

If your baby is struggling to sleep at night, you can also take a look at our best sleep aids and white noise machines and best nightlights to help them drift off. Also, take a look at the best cots and cot beds or travel cots to attach the mobile to.

Best cot mobiles at a glance

• Best sensory cot mobile: Pebble The Penguin Nuby Musical Cot Mobile, £25
• Best cot mobile for multi-functional use: Fisher-Price Butterfly Dreams 3-in-1 Projection Mobile, £38
• Best cot mobile for portability: Tiny Love Meadow Days Take-Along Mobile, £24.95
• Best cot mobile for a gift: Rainbow Designs Hundred Acre Wood Winnie The Pooh Cot Mobile, £39.95
• Best cot mobile with a built-in cry sensor: Fisher-Price Rainbow Showers 2-in-1 Bassinet to Bedside Mobile, £20.49
• Best value cot mobile: Nuby Musical Cot Mobile, £19.99
• Best cot mobile for a variety of melodies: VTech Lullaby Lambs Mobile, £36.99
• Best cot mobile for neutral tones: Mamas & Papas Musical Cloud Mobile, £35
• Best premium cot mobile: Scandiborn Little Dutch Wooden Music Mobile, £58
• Best cot mobile for decoration: GAMCHA Mobile - Air balloons, £37.50

Jump to:

• What to consider when choosing a cot mobile
• What to look for in a cot mobile
• Best cot mobiles for 2024

What to consider when choosing a cot mobile

Age suitability – As you can see from the list below, all cot mobiles are only suitable until a certain age, therefore, if you want one that can last for years make sure you double-check the age range.

Type of cot mobile – There are a few different types of cot mobiles to choose from, you can get ones that hang from the ceiling (bear in mind if you have very high ceilings that your baby will struggle to see it) Or cot mobiles that attach to the side of the cot. There are also some mobiles that are portable and can be attached to pushchairs, car seats and more.

Does it rotate? – Some cot mobiles are mechanical and rotate whilst others just hang and gently blow in the wind.

Type of crib/cot you have – Not all mobiles are compatible with every cot. It's important to check this before purchasing to make sure it will fit securely onto your baby's cot.

Music feature – The music feature is a lovely addition to cot mobiles. They tend to play soft lullabies to soothe your baby to sleep. However, not all have music so depending on how you want to use the mobile this is something to consider.

Projection feature – Much like the music feature, some offer projection or a light too.

Use of cot mobile – If the intended use of the mobile is to entertain and distract your baby during nappy changes or anything else then you will want a particularly stimulating one. However, if you want it to soothe them to sleep, then you should opt for one that won't keep them up or stimulate them too much.

What to look for in a cot mobile

We asked Dr. Harvey Karp, paediatrician and child development expert, what to look for in a cot mobile and he said, "not all baby mobiles are created equal. It is best to look for mobiles that feature high-contrast colours, like dark blue and white, black and white or a bullseye pattern. Since newborns' eyes are still developing they love watching easy-to-see, high-contrast little objects as they practice their ability to concentrate and follow things as they move through the space. As a paediatrician and sleep expert, I also recommend only mildly stimulating mobiles".

The best cot mobiles for 2024 tried-and-tested by parents

1. Pebbles The Penguin Nuby Musical Cot Mobile, £25

– Best sensory mobile

Available from: Boots, Amazon and Nuby

Type of mount: Cot | Sound: Yes | Projection: No | Age suitability: 0-5 months | Batteries: 3 x AA (not included)

Pros:

• Plays melodies
• Has sensory additions in the animals

Cons:

• No projection

This baby cot mobile comes with an arm that adjusts to fit onto lots of different sized cots. With its soft unisex colours it would look great in any modern, muted nursery. The cute mobile plays soothing melodies to help your baby fall asleep. The music can be turned on and off by pressing the star that hangs from the centre of the mobile. There are 5 gentle calming melodies to choose from. Not only does it play melodies but the cloud squeaks, the penguin rattles, the star crinkles and the polar bear chimes making it a great sensory toy. The volume and rotation can also be controlled.

I loved the look of this mobile, the animals hanging from it are very cute and soft, some have scrunch noises and one has a bell inside. I also really liked the tunes, they were very calming and pleasant not tinny like a lot of mobiles. He became very calm listening to the tunes and sucked on his thumb quite contently whilst listening.

2. Fisher-Price Butterfly Dreams 3-in-1 Projection Mobile, £38

– Best for multi-functional use

Available from: Amazon and Argos

Type of mount: Cot and pushchair | Sound: Yes | Projection: Yes | Age suitability: 0-18 months | Batteries: 4 x AA batteries (not included)

Pros:

• Has sound and projection
• Can be used as a pushchair mobile
• Converts into a table-top projector

Cons:

• Projection only shows when very dark so not great for daytime naps

The Butterfly Dreams 3-in-1 projection mobile casts a starry light show onto your ceilings and walls. It's motorised with 3 butterfly bear soft toys. The mobile has 3 sound settings; up to 30 minutes of lullaby music, the sounds of nature or white noise to soothe your baby to sleep. There's also a remote control so you can control it from afar. As your baby grows up, it converts into a table-top projector. Elements of it can also be attached to a pram too.

I like the fact it can be used as a cot mobile but can also be taken apart to be used as a pushchair mobile and a star light show separately. I also like the options for which sounds to play and the pastel colour palette. It's great how different parts of the mobile can be turned off and on as needed.

3. Tiny Love Meadow Days Take-Along Mobile, £24.95

– Best for portability

Available from: Amazon

Type of mount: Cot and portable | Sound: Yes | Projection: No | Age suitability: From birth | Batteries: 3 x AA batteries (not included)

Pros:

• Portable
• Can be used on a pushchair
• Plays sounds

Cons:

• No projection
• Does not fit well on all cots

This mobile is great for on-the-go. It plays up to 30 minutes of non-repetitive melodies (5 different tunes) and has little characters to visually stimulate your baby. It easily attaches onto cribs, activity mats, carriers, strollers bassinets and more thanks to its handy universal clip. The mobile aims to promote your baby's development and stimulate their emotional intelligence, senses, language and communication.

I love that you can clip it anywhere, stroller, playmat arch, car seat and it was perfect with the Snuzpod bedside crib. She was obsessed with it, it was really good in the early weeks and months keeping her entertained, most of the time I just turned it on and she fell asleep.

4. Rainbow Designs Hundred Acre Wood Winnie The Pooh Cot Mobile, £39.95

– Best for a gift

Available from: Amazon and John Lewis

Type of mount: Cot | Sound: Yes | Projection: No (nightlight)| Age suitability: 0-6 | Batteries: None required

Pros:

• Plays melodies
• Has a beautiful design

Cons:

• No projection
• May not be entertaining enough for older babies

This adorable cot mobile features characters from Winnie The Pooh, including Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. The neutral colour scheme of the mobile makes it perfect for all nurseries and helps soothe your baby to sleep. The music box play soothing Brahms lullaby whilst the characters gently rotate. This mobile makes for a lovely gift as it's presented in a carry box with a handle.

It is a beautiful mobile, it feels well made with good quality materials and was very easy to put together and attach to the cot. I liked the lullaby but for me, it felt it was playing a bit too fast to be soothing, it wasn't until it was coming to the end after being wound up it started to slow down.

5. Fisher-Price Rainbow Showers 2-in-1 Bassinet to Bedside Mobile, £20.49

– Best for a cry sensor

Available from: Amazon, Very and The Entertainer

Type of mount: Bassinet | Sound: Yes | Projection: No (light)| Age suitability: Suitable from birth | Batteries: 3 x AA batteries (not included)

Pros:

• Plays melodies
• Has a nightlight and has a cry-sensor

Cons:

• No projection

Much like the Fisher-Price Butterfly dreams mobile, this too grows with your child. The cloud and sun toys hang from the mobile and feature a 2- minute playlist to help your baby drift off to sleep. As your baby gets older, the mobile coverts to a table-top soother with nightlight. The handy cry sensor in the cloud means the music automatically restarts when your baby stirs, which can be great to help soothe your baby. There's also a gentle light built in.

I love that the cloud feature can be detached and used separately away from the mobile, it became a multi-functional piece of equipment. Usually, I really don't like the inbuilt music in baby equipment, but this one was lovely, the sounds chosen were soothing and the sound quality wasn't horrendous. The light on the cloud was perfect, really soft.

6. Nuby Musical Cot Mobile, £19.99

– Best for value

Available from: Amazon and Nuby

Type of mount: Cot | Sound: Yes | Projection: No| Age suitability: 0-5 months | Batteries: 4 x AA (not included)

Pros:

• Plays melodies
• Great value
• Really bright and colourful

Cons:

• No projection
• Feels slightly cheaper

With calming sounds and starlight protection, this cot mobile is excellent value and would add some fun, bright colours to the nursery. It's got over 18 minutes of calming lullabies and classical music with volume adjustment control. The projector creates a colour changing starlight projection for the walls and ceiling whilst the soft glowing light help soothe your baby to sleep. The spinning clouds and aircraft are brightly coloured to develop your baby's senses.

Upon opening the box it was super easy to assemble. I really liked that it's lightweight and colourful which is very eye-catching to babies.

7. VTech Lullaby Lambs Mobile, £29.99

– Best for a variety of melodies

Available from: Currys

Type of mount: Cot | Sound: Yes | Projection: No (light)| Age suitability: Suitable from birth | Batteries: 3 x AA (not included)

Pros:

Plays melodies

Has a nightlight and has a remote to control it with

Cons:

• No projection
• Motor is slightly noisy

The mobile has a large variety of tunes to with 4 songs and 40 melodies to help your baby fall asleep. It can also play nature sounds or white noise and there is a 5, 15 or 30 minute timer switch to select how long the songs play for. A remote control is included to adjust the volume or play and pause the music without disturbing your baby. It also has a sound sensor to detect your baby crying and plays songs and sounds to soothe them back to sleep. It has 4 colourful light patterns too.

I liked the detachable remote to control the sound and how the sheep mobile was detachable so can be used in other places in the house or car seat. It was also great that you can vary what you want from it, whether the lambs are rotating, lights on or sound on.

8. Mamas & Papas Musical Cloud Mobile, £35

– Best for neutral tones

Available from: Mamas & Papas, Very and Amazon

Type of mount: Cot | Sound: Yes | Projection: No | Age suitability: 0-5 months | Batteries: None (wind-up operation)

Pros:

• Plays melodies
• Neutral design

Cons:

• No projection

This tranquil musical mobile plays a relaxing lullaby. The mobile has a pop of yellow set against a grey and white pallet with textured embroidery and a variety of fabrics. The mobile arm is newly designed to fit the neutral soft style of a nursery.

The cot mobile was very easy to assemble and attach to the cot. The tune was calming and not too loud that it startled or disturbed her which was good when winding down for the night.

9. Scandiborn Little Dutch Wooden Music Mobile, £58

– Best premium cot mobile

Available from: Scandiborn

Type of mount: Cot | Sound: Yes | Projection: No | Age suitability: Suitable from birth | Batteries: None (wind-up operation)

Pros:

• Plays melodies
• Really high quality

Cons:

• No projection
• Quite expensive

This cot mobile is slightly more expensive than the others on the list, but its scandi-inspired look makes it a lovely addition to your baby's nursery. The adorable mobile plays old childhood tune, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and comes with 5 soft flying geese.

10. GAMCHA Mobile - Air balloons, £37.50

– Best cot mobile for decoration

Available from: Natural Baby Shower

Type of mount: Cot | Sound: No | Projection: No | Age suitability: Suitable from birth | Batteries: None

Pros:

• Made of wool
• Beautiful design

Cons:

• No projection or sound
• Just a decorative feature

This GAMCHA mobile is beautifully made from New Zealand wool and filled with recycled polyester. Every hot air balloon is carefully handmade which means each mobile will be unique. With its bright colours and lovely design this mobile is perfect for visual stimulation.

Safety advice for using a cot mobile

According to Dr. Harvey Karp, paediatrician and child development expert, "cot mobiles are a wonderful addition to any baby's nursery, as long as they are used correctly":

• Make sure the strings on the mobile are 220mm long or less, any longer is considered an entanglement risk
• Hang the mobile high enough so they cannot reach it
• Make sure the mobile works with your baby's cot so it can be securely attached
• Once your baby begins to perch on their hands and knees or sit up, it's time to move the mobile from their cot or bassinet

• Best trampolines for children
• Best paddling pools
• Best bath toy storage
• Best climbing frames
• Best beach tents