Best Pack and Plays
The Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go Playard is the classic, and the cheapest way in here with a real bassinet: $79.99 for a playard with a bassinet that folds with the frame, at 21.43 pounds. If it is mainly for flights and hotel rooms, the BabyBjörn Travel Crib Light is the lightest here at 13 pounds, though its $229.99 buys no bassinet, wheels or changer.
Otherwise, you are trading carrying weight for newborn features. The travel cribs (BabyBjörn, Guava Lotus Everywhere, Newton Deluxe) run 13 to 17 pounds and come with neither a bassinet nor a changer. The three that include both, the Baby Trend Lil' Snooze Deluxe II, Chicco Lullaby Zip and Nuna SENA aire + Changer, weigh 22 to 35 pounds. The Bugaboo Stardust, Maxi-Cosi Swift and UPPAbaby Remi sit between: a bassinet in the box at 16.7 to 20 pounds, for $299.99 to $349.
Our picks
- Cheapest with a bassinet: Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go Playard. $79.99, and the bassinet folds with the frame, so there are no loose parts to lose between visits.
- Cheapest with a bassinet and a changing table: Baby Trend Lil' Snooze Deluxe II Nursery Center. $109.99 for bassinet, flip-away changer, napper and storage tote, though the newborn pieces are rated only to about three months.
- Lightest for flying: BabyBjörn Travel Crib Light. 13 pounds, opening and closing in one movement, with a mattress, fitted sheet and carry bag in the box.
- Lightest with a newborn bassinet: Bugaboo Stardust. 16.7 pounds with a zip-in bassinet, and it stands up in about a second with the mattress already in place.
- Most room to sleep: Newton Deluxe Travel Crib & Play Yard. 49.5 inches long set up, the biggest sleep surface in the set, on a breathable Wovenaire mattress core.
At a glance
| Option | Price | Type | Bassinet & changer | Weight (lbs) | Length (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $79.99source | Playardsource | Bassinet onlysource | 21.43source | 39.5source | |
| $109.99source | Playardsource | Bassinet and changersource | 27.56source | 42.25source | |
| $69.99source | Playardsource | Neithersource | 16.85source | 40source | |
| $269.99source | Playardsource | Bassinet and changersource | 35source | 45source | |
| $229.99source | Playardsource | Bassinet onlysource | 28.62source | 43source | |
| $229.99source | Travel cribsource | Neithersource | 13source | 44source | |
| $249.95source | Travel cribsource | Neithersource | 15source | 45.5source | |
| $299.99source | Playardsource | Bassinet onlysource | 20source | 40.5source | |
| $299.99source | Playardsource | Bassinet onlysource | 18source | 41.5source | |
| $299.99source | Travel cribsource | Neithersource | 17source | 49.5source | |
| $349source | Playardsource | Bassinet onlysource | 16.7source | 38.8source | |
| $500source | Playardsource | Bassinet and changersource | 22source | 41.3source |
.webp)
Travel crib or playard: where the weight falls
Under about 17 pounds is easy to travel with, and five models make it: the BabyBjörn at 13, Guava at 15, Bugaboo at 16.7, Dream On Me Nest at 16.85, and Newton at 17, with the Maxi-Cosi Swift just over at 18. Guava is built for airports, folding into a backpack of roughly carry-on shape. Above 25 pounds you are buying a stay-at-home playard: Baby Trend at 27.56, Evenflo Eris at 28.62 and Chicco at 35.
BabyBjörn and Guava put the mattress on the floor, which is why both state no upper weight limit at all, and neither has a raised bassinet for the first months.
How long a bassinet stage lasts
A bassinet is a months-long feature, and the makers draw the line in different places. Baby Trend rates its bassinet, changer and napper to about three months. The Maxi-Cosi Swift's bassinet mode ends at 15 pounds or when the baby pushes up on hands and knees, Chicco's bassinet at 15 pounds (its changer runs to 25), and the Evenflo Eris's at five months or 20 pounds. The Swift handles the transition neatly, since its bassinet is half of the zip-apart mattress rather than a separate frame to store.
Some bassinets and changers are not in the box. UPPAbaby sells the Remi's changing station as a separate accessory, and Newton sells its zip-in bassinet insert only as a bundle above the $299.99 Deluxe shown here.
Folding, washing and how long it lasts
The Nuna SENA aire pops open and refolds one-handed, and its $500 includes a changer that locks onto the rail or works on its own. Chicco's selling point is fabric and seat pads that zip off for the washing machine. The Bugaboo Stardust is rated to 33 pounds rather than the usual 30, yet Bugaboo's own age range stops at two years, earlier than most of the list.
The options in detail
Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go Playard
The classic Pack 'n Play, and the cheapest way into a playard that still has a real bassinet. The bassinet folds with the frame, so there are no loose parts to lose and setup is one motion, and folding feet and wheels give it a more compact fold than other Graco playards. It is a home playard first: easy to carry to a grandparent's house, heavy for a flight. Graco rates the playard for children up to 35 inches tall and unable to climb out.
Baby Trend Lil' Snooze Deluxe II Nursery Center
The full nursery-center formula at the bottom of the price range: removable bassinet, flip-away changing table, a canopied napper with toys, and a storage tote. The catch is how briefly the newborn extras last, since Baby Trend rates the bassinet, changer and napper only to about three months while the playard itself runs to 30 lb or 35 inches. It is also one of the heavier playards here, which makes it a stay-at-home piece rather than travel gear.
Dream On Me Nest Portable Playard
The bare-minimum option: an aluminium frame, mesh on all four sides, a folding mattress pad and a tote bag, and nothing else. There is no bassinet and no changing table, so a newborn sleeps at floor level, but it is the lightest playard on this list and the cheapest by a wide margin. Dream On Me says it is intended for children under 36 inches or until they can climb out, and it was a winner at the 2020 National Parenting Product Awards.
Chicco Lullaby Zip All-in-One Portable Playard
The everything-included playard, and the heaviest one here. It has a full-size raised bassinet, a snap-on changer that stows on the side, rubberised wheels and a toy bar, but its real selling point is that the fabrics and seat pads zip off for the washing machine, which matters more than it sounds after the first leaky diaper. Chicco rates the bassinet to 15 lb, the changer to 25 lb and the playard to 30 lb. Nobody should plan to fly with it.
Evenflo Eris One-Hand Playard with Bassinet
A two-mode playard aimed at parents who want a bassinet beside the bed for the first months and a play space afterwards, with a one-hand open and fold and a lights-and-sound feature Evenflo calls SensorySoothe. There is no changing station, and the bassinet stage ends at five months or 20 lb. It is a heavy home playard rather than travel gear, and Evenflo rates the playard to 30 lb or 35 inches.
BabyBjörn Travel Crib Light
The travel crib reviewers most often name best overall, and the lightest thing here: it opens and closes in one movement with no loose parts to work out in a dark hotel room. A mattress, fitted sheet and carry bag come in the box, and nothing else does, so it is one sleep space from newborn to about three. BabyBjörn states no upper weight limit and backs it with a ten-year guarantee. You are paying premium money for a crib with no bassinet, no wheels and no changing table.
Guava Lotus Everywhere Travel Crib
A travel crib you wear as a backpack: the Z-fold packs it down to roughly carry-on shape, and it is light enough to walk through an airport with a baby on your other arm. The side zipper door is the feature owners talk about, because you can crawl in to settle a baby or let a toddler climb out without lifting them over a rail. The mattress sits on the floor rather than on a raised platform, which is why Guava states no weight limit at all. Nothing comes in the box but the crib, mattress and backpack.
UPPAbaby Remi Playard
UPPAbaby's playard sits between a travel crib and a full home playard: light enough to move room to room or take to a rental, but with a zip-on mesh bassinet for the newborn months and an above-ground design that keeps the baby off a draughty floor. It sets up and folds with one hand, is GREENGUARD Gold certified, and comes with a storage bag. The changing station is a separate accessory, not part of the box, and UPPAbaby does not publish set-up dimensions.
Maxi-Cosi Swift 3-in-1 Play Yard
The clever bit is the mattress: unzip it and remove half and the play yard becomes a bassinet, then zip the two parts back together when the baby outgrows it, so there is no separate bassinet frame to store or lose. It is among the lighter full playards and folds in one step with one hand. Bassinet mode ends at 15 lb or when the baby pushes up on their hands and knees, and the play yard runs to 35 inches. No changing station is included, and Maxi-Cosi does not publish set-up dimensions.
Newton Deluxe Travel Crib & Play Yard
The biggest sleep surface in this set by a clear margin, built around the same breathable Wovenaire mattress core Newton uses in its crib mattresses, which is the reason to pay for it over a cheaper travel crib. It folds compactly, includes a travel bag, and Newton cites independent lab testing on suffocation risk against other bestselling play yards. Two things are not in this box: the zip-in bassinet insert, which Newton sells only as a bundle, and the floor mattress sheet.
Bugaboo Stardust
Its whole pitch is the unfold: pull it apart and it is standing in about a second with the mattress already in it, and folding is just as quick. It is light for a play yard, includes a zip-in bassinet for the newborn stage and a carry bag, and it is rated to 33 lb rather than the usual 30. It is expensive for a play yard with no changing station, and Bugaboo's own age range stops at two years, earlier than most of this list.
Nuna SENA aire + Changer
The premium end of the category: a zigzag aluminium frame that pops open and refolds one-handed, mesh on the sides, floor and mattress for airflow, a GOTS-certified organic sheet in the box, and GREENGUARD Gold certification. This configuration adds the SENA changer, which locks onto the rail and can also be used off the playard, making it the only full nursery setup here. It costs roughly double most of this list, and it is not especially light despite the included travel bag.
How we researched this
Type uses each maker's own word for the product, travel crib or playard, and the Bassinet & changer column reads from the maker's list of what ships in the box, since nobody prints that a model lacks a bassinet. Length is the longest floor dimension in each maker's stated set-up size (Evenflo labels its dimensions differently from the rest); UPPAbaby and Maxi-Cosi publish none, so those two come from authorized retailers. Most prices are the maker's list price captured 9 September 2026, but Chicco and Dream On Me show no price on their own pages and are quoted from an authorized dealer. BabyBjörn's $229.99 includes the fitted sheet, Nuna's $500 is the starting price for the aire with its changer, and Newton also sells a $199.99 Compact not shown here.
The 4moms Breeze Plus is gone because 4moms' own page now sends buyers to the UPPAbaby Remi. Joovy's Room² was out of stock with no published weight, Graco's Day2Dream page could not be read, and Fisher-Price's On-the-Go Baby Dome and Summer Infant's Pop 'n Play are not sleep spaces. Dream On Me's Travel Light was passed over for its Nest after BabyGearLab flagged it as not designed for sleeping. Height limits were left off because nearly every model stops at 35 inches. Each stage has its own weight and height limits, and the ones printed on the box are what count for your child.