Renting vs. buying the SNOO

The fact that you’re reading this means that you choose SNOO to be the savior from long sleepless nights, both for your baby and you.

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And let me tell you right off the bat, it’s THE decision that will make all the difference in those first 5-6 months.

I’ve been there.

I went from a skeptic smirking at the price to a full-blown SNOO believer.

Should you rent or buy the SNOO?

There’s no universal answer to that, but I’ll try to do the next best thing – give you an idea about what might be right for you.

Today, I take a deep dive into all the PROs and CONs of buying vs. renting the holy grail of bassinets, the SNOO.

What did I do?

I bought it. It made sense for my wife and me at the time, and I have zero regrets about it. I’ll take you through my reasoning (and the math behind my decision) in a minute.

Before we get to that, for those not entirely familiar with the SNOO, let’s take a step back.

SNOO at a glance

SNOO is the most complete and advanced smart bassinet out there. It’s also my top pick for the best smart bassinet, which technically makes it the best money can buy…in my opinion, at least.

It’s the brainchild of the sleep-guru, Dr. Harvey Kaarp, the famous pediatrician and best-selling author of books on baby sleep. Dr. Kaarp is also the creator of the famous 5S system of baby soothing.

With all that in mind, it’s fair to say that there’s a good chance that Dr. Harvey knows more about baby sleep than anyone else on the planet.

What’s so good about the bassinet?

First of all, it’s the safest baby bed out there. Officially – with over 50 million sleep hours without a single case of SIDS.

It’s also the most well-rounded smart bassinet that ‘recognizes’ your baby’s movement and sounds and soothes them through sound, vibration, and motion.

Buying the SNOO – PROs, CONs & my take

SNOO is one of the most expensive bassinets out there.

Spending more than a thousand dollars on a bassinet might sound crazy to you.

If it does, you probably don’t have the kind of restless sleeper on your hands as my wife, and I did.

If you have plans on using the SNOO for more than one child, I firmly believe it’s worth buying.

How Much is a SNOO to Buy?

With that said, let’s look at the math behind buying the SNOO for one child.

1. Let’s say that you’ll be using it for 6 months. That’s 180 nights.
2. Let us also assume that, after you’re done with it, you’ll sell it on ebay for $800. That’s a conservative estimate because pre-owned SNOOs go for $800-1000.
3. SNOO currently costs $1,495 (although seasonal promos here CAN bring the price down), which brings your total cost to $695 (the price of buying it new minus the price of selling it as pre-owned)

So, that’s about $700 out of pocket if you buy the thing.

How Much Does it Cost to Rent the SNOO?

Renting the SNOO currently costs $139 per month.

Under their “NEWBORN SPECIAL” price, you only pay the full price for months one to four and only pay $30 a month for months five and six.

That brings the total cost of renting the SNOO for six months to $616.

Cost difference

The total cost difference between buying and renting the SNOO is approximately $100.

That’s the number to keep in mind and decide if the advantages of buying are worth a hundred bucks.

If you ask me, they totally are.

Unless when they’re not

Knowing what I know, I’d rent the SNOO only if I was getting it a few months in.

That’s the bottom line – if you’re late to the party and need the SNOO to help you out for a few months, the math changes, and it might make sense to rent.

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Note: I’m consciously omitting any additional cost talk because if you do end up needing extra sheets or leg lifters, you’ll need it whether you rented or bought. 

To read more about my experiences, read the full SNOO review here.

PROs & CONs of buying and renting the SNOO

Let me summarize what I said above and make a concise list of PROs and CONs.

Buying

PROs

• The comfort of knowing your bassinet has never been used
• You have the option to return it if you don’t like it (it comes with a 30-day trial)
• Bragging rights (let’s be honest, this is no small deal)

CONs

• It will cost you about $100 more (provided that you use it for 6 months and then sell it)

Renting

PROs

• Costs less

CONs

• It’s not the same feeling as getting it new (no matter how perfectly clean and sterile you get it)

Read more about my review of the SNOO rental.

My story

Our son was fidgety from the first night, and it was soon obvious that it will take more than willpower to survive. Each day both of us were a bit more drained; each night seemed to last a peg longer.

Anyway, long story short, I rolled up my sleeves, did the research, and bought the SNOO.

I ended up using it for my daughter, too, so it made total financial sense to buy it.

But, if I’m honest, I’d probably buy it even if it was just for my son because of the way I did the math.

My math

I already mentioned that the cost difference comes to about $700.

We didn’t get it right away, and I’d say we used it for about 120 days. On average, each of us was losing at least 3 hours of sleep per night.

That adds up to 720 hours of sleep between the two of us.

What’s an hour of sleep worth to you?

If I never sold it and used it just for my son, I’d be paying about 2 bucks to buy an hour of sleep for my wife and me.

The way I felt back then, I’d pay ten times that.

In reality, I’ll be using it for my daughter and then sell it for, say, $600-700 (since I used it for two kids).

That will make the cost of one hour of sleep abysmal; I don’t even want to do the math.

The only way for the SNOO not to be worth it would be if it didn’t work.

But it worked like a charm. I thank the sleep gods it did.

In conclusion

Let me sum up my advice concisely.

Buy the SNOO if:

• You can afford to spend the money out-of-pocket
• You are not comfortable with the idea of putting your baby in a used bassinet
• You have plans of using it with more than one kid

Rent the SNOO if:

• You’ll be using it for a few months only
• It makes more sense to pay the monthly fees than spending the tidy sum one-off

Whatever you choose, you’re in for a treat, especially if you’ve been losing sleep.