The best portable mini cribs in 2023

Hunting for a comfortable but space-saving mini crib for your baby? Well, good news! I’ve just completed an up-to-date list of this year’s best portable mini cribs.

Portable MINI Cribs for Small Spaces

Baby’s Little Place Top Picks

A quality portable mini crib is the best alternative for those who do not have enough space for a full-size crib!

Portable mini cribs not only have a smaller footprint but also stand on wheels, allowing you to move them around your home. Furthermore, most portable mini cribs also fold down for easy storage. That is a handy feature for those places where the crib is not in use every day (grandparents’, caregivers’ home, etc.).

Top 3 Portable Mini Cribs:

Editor’s Choice:

Babyletto Origami portable mini crib with wheels

The Babyletto Origami is a high-quality, stylish, and modern portable mini crib. It stands on quality wheels, easily folds down, and fits into small spaces while retaining a comfortable sleeping area for your baby.

Price on Amazon

Runner Up:

DaVinci Dylan folding portable 3-in-1 mini crib and twin bed

Portability usually excludes convertibility, but not on this one! The DaVinci Dylan is a space-efficient, folding, portable mini crib on wheels that also converts into a twin-size bed.

Price on Amazon

Best Budget Buy:

Delta Children folding portable mini baby crib

By deciding on this portable mini crib, you might get a little less, but you pay a lot less too! Its design is not so sophisticated, but it fits with various furniture. And most importantly, it is safe and meets all required safety standards!

Price on Amazon

→ You can find a full list of our favorite portable mini cribs below!

Are you looking for a mini crib suitable for travel?

Best travel cribs: BABYBJORN Travel Crib Light — *BABJBYORN travel crib Light*

Before I continue, I want to eliminate any confusion. The portability of mini portable cribs is limited to your home. In theory, some of them fit into a car trunk, but they are not suitable for travel.

If you need a crib that you can take anywhere you go, think about a travel crib or Pack ‘N Play.

Best TRAVEL CRIBS and PACK ‘N PLAYS

Convertible mini crib

DaVinci Autumn 4-in-1 Mini Crib's Convertibility Review — *DaVinci Autumn 4-in-1 convertible mini crib*

I understand you are looking for a portable mini crib. However, if you end up finding this page while browsing for mini cribs in general, you may also like our list of the best convertible mini cribs.

CONVERTIBLE MINI CRIBS

Portable mini cribs Buyer’s Guide

Things you should know when buying a portable mini crib on wheels:

Space-saving properties:

We are talking about mini cribs, so their space efficiency certainly matters! After all, most parents decide on a mini crib because they can not fit a full-size crib into their home.

The best portable mini cribs are those that take up as little space as possible while still offering a comfortable sleeping place for your baby.

They can achieve this with a minimalist yet solid and safe framework. Due to such a design, the best portable mini cribs also fit through standard door frames, so you can easily push them from one room to another.

The best portable mini cribs are space-efficient, without unnecessary bulky frames!

Rolling feet:

A portable mini crib must stand on quality wheels! Wheels must glide smoothly on all floor types, including most carpets. The mini crib must stay steady and sturdy in place when the baby is in it! That is best achieved with a reliable locking mechanism, which is optional but highly beneficial.

Note! The feet of some mini portable cribs do not hold a locking mechanism. However, some of them (including the Delta Children portable mini crib on our list) meet all required safety standards and are considered safe for your baby. Why? As they don’t move so easily that the baby would be able to move them.

Since these are mini cribs, they do not last so long for your child to be able to move them. Mini cribs do not need a locking mechanism to meet safety standards, but they must pass all safety tests before being placed on the market, like any other crib.

Folding mechanism:

Not all mini portable cribs fold down, but most of them do! Their folding mechanism enables folding without disassembling, which is great.

The mechanism must be reliable and quality-made. When the crib is in use, it shouldn’t open by accident. It must hold the crib firmly together! However, when you want to fold the crib, it must work flawlessly. The process should not be difficult and time-consuming.

A folded crib must take up as little space as possible! The best portable mini cribs can hold the mattress board in a folded crib. Sometimes you can even fold in an included mattress pad.

The wheels of the best portable mini cribs work even when the crib is collapsed. Because of this, you don’t have to carry it to the spot where you want to store it. You can simply push it there, which is very convenient.

Mini crib’s safety:

Portable mini cribs must meet the required safety standards set by the government before being placed on the market. All top-rated mini portable cribs on our list meet and even exceeds all of them!

Cribs went to rigorous testing to meet ASTM and CPCS safety standards. They are made with sustainable pine wood and finished in a non-toxic multi-step painting process that is lead and phthalate-safe. The best portable mini cribs further prove this with certificates, such as JPMA or GREENGUARD Gold certificate.

CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) is an independent agency of the US government. The CPSC seeks to promote products’ safety by addressing “unreasonable risks” of injury, researching product-related illness and injury, and developing CPSC safety standards.

ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) is a standard organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a range of materials, products, systems, and services.

GREENGUARD Gold Certification ensures that the product doesn’t pollute indoor air and meets some of the world’s most rigorous and comprehensive standards for low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into indoor air.

JPMA (Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association) certification ensures the product meets the guidelines set by standards developer ASTM International via being tested by an independent facility.

Important!
If you are buying a second-hand portable mini crib, do not buy the model with drop-sides. Drop-sides are extremely dangerous, so the sale of such cribs has been banned since 2011.

Portable mini crib’s rails:

Portable mini cribs have only a smaller footprint, while rails are of the same height as those on full-size cribs. Your baby can’t “escape” from a mini crib any sooner than from a standard model.

However, not all portable mini cribs have exactly the same height. The height fluctuates for an inch or two, depending on the design you choose.

Portable mini crib mattress:

Mattress Support:
The portable mini crib’s mattress support is usually adjustable onto two levels, but some have even more settings.
The mattress of portable mini cribs usually lies on a wooden board. It is made of TSCA compliant engineered wood and also folds into the collapsed crib.

Mattress Pad:
Most portable mini cribs have an included 1″ mattress pad. The pad fits perfectly into the crib and is usually waterproof. But for daily use, I suggest you buy a suitable mini crib mattress.

A portable mini crib takes a mini crib mattress!
When buying a mini crib mattress, you have to check its dimensions a little more carefully.

Internal dimensions of full-size cribs and mattresses are regulated by the government. But that doesn’t apply to mini cribs! Meaning, a mini crib is any crib that is smaller than a full-size model, even if only by half an inch.
Mini cribs could be in numerous sizes, therefore, finding a snuggle-fit mattress for your mini portable crib could be a problem.

Fortunately, manufacturers agreed on coordinating the internal dimensions of most mini cribs with the size of mini crib mattresses.

Most mini cribs have inner dimensions around 38″ (96,52cm) by 24″ (60,96cm). And most mini crib mattresses correspond to those measurements!

RELATED: Crib mattress buying guide

Co-sleeping by sharing the same room, not parent’s bed:

The safest co-sleeping practice is room-sharing, not sharing the same bed!

If you want to co-sleep with your baby, do not share the bed, but preferably choose a mini crib, baby bassinet, or Pack ‘N Play, and place it next to your bed.

A mini portable crib is often more affordable than a bassinet, and it also lasts way longer! As for the Pack ‘N Play, I would not use it for everyday sleep. Not to mention, the crib is more appealing and more comfortable than a Pack ‘N Play.

Do you plan to move the baby to the nursery?
The baby gets used to sleeping in her crib, therefore the transition into the nursery is much easier. Since your crib is also portable, you can simply move it to the nursery when the time comes. Since your baby already knows the crib, your chances for a smooth transition are higher.

How long can your child use a mini portable crib?

Some portable mini cribs have a weight limit of around 50 pounds. Other models have a size limit, and your child can use it until he reaches 35 inches or can climb out, whichever comes first.

The length of use, therefore, depends on various factors:
– the portable mini crib’s design
– crib’s internal dimensions
– the height of your child
– your child’s growth rate
– how quickly and well a child’s motor skills develop

Most babies use a portable mini crib until they turn one and a half years. However, some outgrow it sooner, and others comfortably use it longer.

Price:

Portable mini cribs are smaller, so they are usually more affordable than full-size models, but that is not the rule!
The prices of portable mini cribs vary from model to model, between brands, and sometimes even between the different finishes of the same crib.