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The Best Baby Gates of 2024

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Editor's Choice Product image of Cardinal Gates SS-30 Stairway Special Safety Gate
Best Overall

Cardinal Gates SS-30 Stairway Special Safety Gate

Check Price at Amazon

The Stairway Special has a simple, functional look, but it's a top pick for its sturdy aluminum construction, easy installation, and safety factor. Read More

Pros

  • Sturdy yet lightweight construction
  • Can be installed at an angle
  • Leaves minimal damage

Cons

  • None that we could find
2
Editor's Choice Product image of Regalo Easy Step Baby Gate
Best Value

Regalo Easy Step Baby Gate

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This top-selling baby gate fits most openings between 29 and 38.5 inches wide. It's a breeze to set up, but certain features don't work all that well. Read More

Pros

  • Quick, easy installation
  • Feels solid and sturdy

Cons

  • A couple lackluster features
3
Product image of Summer Infant Multi-Use Decorative Extra Tall Walk-Thru Gate

Summer Infant Multi-Use Decorative Extra Tall Walk-Thru Gate

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This awkward gate looks nice and decorative, but is utterly mediocre by most other metrics. At best, it's an average choice. Read More

Pros

  • None that we could find

Cons

  • Awkward on stairs
  • Slim opening
4
Product image of Smart Retract 52" Retract-A-Gate

Smart Retract 52" Retract-A-Gate

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A retractable gate that functions like a roller shade sounds great, but reviewers aren't convinced on this one just yet. Pets can squeeze under it. Read More

Pros

  • Retractable

Cons

  • Questionable durability
  • Pets can reportedly bypass it
  • Expensive
  • Best Overall Cardinal Gates SS-30 Stairway Special Safety Gate
  • Best Value Regalo Easy Step Baby Gate
  • Other Baby Gates We Tested
  • How We Tested Baby Gates
  • What to Look For in a Baby Gate
  • What to Know About Installing Baby Gates
  • More Articles You Might Enjoy

While you may have been anxiously waiting for your baby’s first steps, hoping it would make parenting a bit easier, you may not have thought about what comes next: baby proofing your home. This is where baby gates can help. They're useful for segmenting a play space, but they’re especially important near stairs, landings, and other potential hazards..

We researched 13 baby gates and tested six ourselves to determine the best options to childproof your home. Though tension-mounted models are easy to install, we discovered that hardware-mounted baby safety gates are generally preferable. We also wanted to find a baby gate that suited nearly every possible scenario, including placement at the top of the stairs, which requires solid construction and mounting that not every gate has.

After reading instructions (again and again), installing and testing each candidate, we found the Cardinal Gates Stairway Special (available at Amazon) is the best baby gate on the market. For those who want to spend less, the Regalo Easy Step (available at Amazon) is another good choice with only a few compromises.

The Cardinal Gates Angle Stairway Gate is the best baby gate we tested.
Credit: Cardinal Gates

The Cardinal Gates Angle Stairway Gate is the best baby gate we tested.

Best Overall
Cardinal Gates SS-30 Stairway Special Safety Gate

The Cardinal Gates Stairway Special is the best overall baby gate, especially for stairs, thanks to several thoughtful design features and solid construction. You should have no problem installing this, thanks to the comprehensive installation manual, but if you run into any snags, their videos are an excellent tool.

Made from sturdy, yet lightweight, aluminum, the Stairway Special is made to be mounted about six inches from the floor avoiding common installation issues that plague many gates. Molding, baseboards, or an intricate banister can complicate installation, but the clearance on the Stairway Special gate skipped this hassle.

The hardware feels logical, and the installation and subsequent uninstallation left minimal damage. The latch isn’t the prettiest or most obvious, but it’s simple enough for an adult to open with one hand.

One of the more uncommon features of this product is that this baby gate can be installed at a bit of an angle—helpful if you have an older home with quirks like an awkward doorway or stairway. This gate is one of the few that can work for those instances, thanks to the adjustments made available by design.

Pros

  • Sturdy yet lightweight construction

  • Can be installed at an angle

  • Leaves minimal damage

Cons

  • None that we could find

Buy now at Amazon

$84.95 from Home Depot

$89.95 from Walmart
The Regalo Easy Step Baby Gate is our best value pick.
Credit: Regalo

The Regalo Easy Step Baby Gate is our best value pick.

Best Value
Regalo Easy Step Baby Gate

If you’re looking for an effective, but less expensive, baby gate the Regalo Easy Step Gate is a good alternative. We liked how quick and easy the installation was, and it felt solid once installed. We were less fond of the slim opening (just 16 inches) and the odd two-step handle to open the gate.

While the gate’s design does the job overall, our parents who tested the Easy Step gate needed to turn sideways to fit through the narrow opening–especially awkward when the gate was at the top of the stairs.This model uses screw-in wall cups to secure the gate to the wall and has a large, if only slightly, clunky-looking handle.

Pros

  • Quick, easy installation

  • Feels solid and sturdy

Cons

  • A couple lackluster features

$34.99 from Amazon

$34.99 from Target

$34.99 from Walmart

Other Baby Gates We Tested

Product image of Summer Infant Multi-Use Decorative Extra Tall Walk-Thru Gate
Summer Infant Multi-Use Decorative Extra Tall Walk-Thru Gate

The Summer Infant Multi-use Extra Tall Walk Thru Gate had average performance and installation. While some parents commented on the height (36 inches) as a pro, others thought that it was awkward, especially when going up the stairs. Add in a slim opening (17.5-inches wide) and you have a fairly mediocre option that doesn’t bring anything new or exciting to the category.

Pros

  • None that we could find

Cons

  • Awkward on stairs

  • Slim opening

$74.99 from Amazon

$74.99 from Home Depot

$80.59 from Walmart
Product image of Smart Retract 52" Retract-A-Gate
Smart Retract 52" Retract-A-Gate

Retract a Gate is a great concept but it was average in how it operated, and it didn’t feel secure when in use.

Reviewers online have commented about having dogs or cats that can get through the gate, whether it’s underneath of it or by ramming through it, so we worry about the durability of the material. We also thought that it could be possible for a child to get underneath the gate, especially if it wasn’t installed as intended. While future models may eliminate these hazards, we aren’t quite ready to give this one a recommendation.

Pros

  • Retractable

Cons

  • Questionable durability

  • Pets can reportedly bypass it

  • Expensive

Buy now at Amazon

How We Tested Baby Gates

The Tester

I’m Matthew DeLauder, and I’ve spent almost 10 years working in the juvenile product industry in a retail setting. There, I was able to see new products and learn about how they differentiated themselves to provide parents with advice and answer questions about which ones to buy.

The Tests

Understandably, parents are most concerned with the security of baby gates; particularly with how easily they can open and close them while ensuring that the little ones stay safe. We added a few more criteria to our tests, including ease of installation, how easy it was to understand the manual and how much damage was left behind after we were done testing.

We started our research by selecting best-selling and highly-rated gates. Once we had an initial set of candidates, we eliminated gates with low ratings and some with higher than average price tags. We tested each product with parents and their kids, and asked them to fill out a questionnaire about their experiences. We then calculated the scores and found our favorites.

All of the gates we tested would ultimately prevent a child from accessing a set of stairs. The features that define the winners and the losers were primarily ease of installation, and how quickly one could get through the gate. Gates that swing open fully, and that also do not have a threshold you might trip over are the best options.

What to Look For in a Baby Gate

When choosing a baby gate, there are a few things to consider: installation style, materials, height, latch style, and more can all play a factor in your decision.

Mounting

Most gates will feature either a pressure-mounted gate or a hardware-mounted gate. Pressure-mounted baby gates push against the wall on either side, and the force of that pressure is the only thing that holds the gate up. This may be fine in situations with no fall risk, but if you're putting a safety gate up at the top of a set of stairs, you'll want something a little more solid.

That's where hardware-mounted gates come in. Hardware-mounted gates may require a drill, but are generally preferred because of their greater stability. Some gates install directly into the wall, preferably at a wall stud for support. Others let you install a wall mount. The mount stays securely attached to the wall, but you can remove the gate from the mount so that it doesn't present a trip hazard when you don't need it.

Also, if you’re installing gates in a stairway that is open on one or both sides, you may need to buy additional accessories. Most gates mount into a flat surface, so you may need to buy a banister adapter that can attach to rounded banisters on one or both sides.

Construction

You should also consider materials. Metal gates are among the most popular for stability’s sake, but be mindful of gates that are mostly metal with cheaper plastic parts in some places. You'll also find gates made of plastic or wood.

If you choose a wooden gate, make sure that the finish is smooth enough that splinters aren't an issue. Whatever you choose, make sure your gate is sturdy enough to stand up to rambunctious kids (and enthusiastic pets, if you have any).

Size

Not every baby gate fits every doorway. Most let you adjust the width, usually from 36 to 42 inches wide, give or take a few inches.

Many baby gates offer an extension kit. You can find these kits for both pressure-mounted and hardware-mounted gates. If you need to close off a larger space, you can also find an extra-wide gate, including some that fit openings up to 12 or 13 feet wide.

Ease of Use

Don’t just think about how the gate affects the baby, but also how it affects you. You want your baby gate to be as easy for you to use as possible.

Is it easy to open? Does the latch support one-handed operation? Does the latch include an auto-lock feature? Is the wall mount separate for easy removal? Ideally, your baby gate does its job without interfering with your daily activities.

Certification

One important thing to look for is a certification from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). This is a sticker that certifies that the manufacturer has voluntarily followed certain safety standards when designing and building the gate.

JPMA standards include strength of the materials, the latch's integrity, and the gate's minimum height. It also sets restrictions on any openings in the gate (they need to be big enough that tiny fingers can't get caught) and the distance from the bottom of the gate to the floor (no bigger than 3 inches, so that little ones can't crawl under it)

What to Know About Installing Baby Gates

Installing baby gates correctly will keep your little one safe
Credit: Getty Images

You don't need a lot of experience to install a gate that's safe for your child and won't harm your walls.

When you purchase your gate, hold on to every part that is required for installation (even if you don't use all of them). As your child grows, so may your home. Future installations may require special hardware or those extra pieces you thought you would never use.

One main challenge for a baby gate is the banister. Be sure to check for guidance on how to work around them, or even try to use your gate at a safe angle. You can find kits, like the Qdos Universal Stair Mounting Kit, to help you mount the gate against an irregular surface.

For those who are afraid of wall damage, The Wall Nanny works great for almost all pressure mounted baby gates, and it’s simple to install. If you have a hardware mounted baby gate, you’ll most likely have some sort of wall cup design, which will help to minimize any damage.

The best way to prevent damage is to install the gate correctly in the first place. This means choosing your location carefully, measuring twice, and drilling once. A final note: If you’re not handy, don’t sweat it, many people have installed a baby gate with no prior experience.

Meet the tester

Matthew DeLauder

Matthew DeLauder

Contributor

Matthew DeLauder is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and baby gear expert with a decade of experience in the specialty product space.

See all of Matthew DeLauder's reviews

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