The 4 Best Baby Registries for Expectant Parents

Creating a baby registry can be daunting for many reasons, not least of which is the overwhelming number of options out there. I can attest to this: When putting together a registry ahead of my baby shower, I had no idea where to start and spent hours researching products and stores.

Thankfully, The Bump has taken the guesswork out of the registry process. Powered by a community of real parents and experts, The Bump Baby Registry is a one-stop-shop that takes the guesswork out of finding and buying the right products. What’s more, with partners that include Amazon, Target and Crate & Kids, you get unmatched benefits and product choices.

Of course, before you start browsing and sorting, you’ll want to do some due diligence. Below, we walk you through the features of the best baby registries on the market, so you can decide which one best meets your needs.

Key Takeaways

• The Bump Registry is an all-in-one hub to discover top products: Get recommendations from real parents, experts, influencers and our editors, and add products from The Bump Shop and articles with one click.
• Amazon offers a huge selection of baby gear from parent-favorite brands and convenient free shipping on orders over $25.
• Target boasts exclusive 20 percent off deals, price-matching and additional savings with Target Circle Rewards.
• Crate & Kids features on-trend brands, free expert consultations and the ability to add curated bundles to your registry.

Best Baby Registry for Helpful Recommendations: The Bump

The Bump Registry is a parent-powered baby registry tool where you can check out top-rated products, find community-driven insights to help you make decisions and more. No longer do you have to piece together your registry from multiple sources: On The Bump Registry, you can learn from real parents, experts, our editors and influencers in one place—and add your items from The Bump Shop or articles with a single click. Totally stumped? We’ll provide essentials to add to your registry and get a head-start, plus checklists for every important category. You can also sync your registry with those of our partner stores: Amazon, Target and Crate & Kids—and still receive benefits such as welcome kits from those retailers.

The Bump baby registry features

• Browse The Bump to discover top-rated products and see what other parents are adding to their registries
• Use our handy checklists to put together your list: No more guessing games!
• Get recommendations from experts, influencers and our editors
• Read articles and get community-driven insights to help you make decisions
• Add items from The Bump Shop or articles with a single click
• Sync your registry with those of our partner stores
• Mark and unmark products as purchased, as well as override guests’ marks as purchased
• Download a single list of gift-giver names, emails and notes, along with the product they purchased and the order ID
• Receive a free welcome box from The Bump with an assortment of pre-baby essentials and goodies. Terms and conditions apply: You must have a membership with The Bump, add at least 10 unique items to your registry, and make a purchase or be gifted something with $10+ value from your own registry. There’s a $9.99 shipping fee. Welcome box is available while supplies last.

What your friends and family will love about The Bump’s registry

• You’ll be able to easily share your lists with them for feedback
• Everything’s together in one place, including items from The Bump Shop and our partner retailers
• It’s easy to view and purchase items from a registry profile without having an account

What to look out for

Be sure to password-protect your registry if you only want family and friends to see it.

Best Baby Registry for Wide Product Selection: Amazon

Amazon has everything you could possibly need or want, so it’s really no surprise that the retailer is one of the best baby registry options available. The website has tons of baby gear from parent-favorite brands, including Graco, Evenflo, Nanit, UPPAbaby and many more. You’ll also find a huge selection of all those little extras you need for baby, from detergent to burp cloths.

Amazon baby registry features

• A free welcome box with sample-, travel- and full-size surprise items for Mom and baby
• A 15 percent completion discount on any unpurchased items on your baby registry for up to $300
• You can return most items for a refund or replacement/exchange within 30 days. You get free returns for up to a year.
• A gift-card diaper fund
• Group gifting: multiple people can contribute to some of the more expensive items on your list (think car seats and cribs)
• The ability to personalize your registry with a guest greeting and tagging your most wanted gifts
• Convenient ability to see who bought what gift, track your thank-you notes and manage returns from your registry thank-you page

What your friends and family will love about Amazon’s registry

• Free shipping for orders over $25
• Fast, free shipping for customers with Prime accounts
• Group gifting options (also a benefit for you!) that allow them to pool their money for bigger gifts

What to look out for

Things at Amazon tend to sell out or change prices, so if you use it for your baby registry, odds are you’ll need to update items for sell-out consistently. A big upside, in my experience, is that the return policy makes things very simple: For most items, you can drop off your returns within 30 days.

Best Baby Registry for Savings: Target

There are lots of great perks that make Target one of the best places for your baby registry—especially for first-time parents. First and foremost, the savings are unmatched, from the exclusive 20 percent off deals to the price matching.

Personally, I loved the Target welcome kit for new parents: It’s truly one of the best values when it comes to retailer freebies. I remember getting samples of diapers and baby wipes from brands like Honest, baby bottles and travel-sized baby shampoos and other skincare products. It was a very welcome opportunity to try out different brands and products before baby arrived!

Target baby registry features

• A welcome kit with lots of freebies (over $100 value, in-store pickup)
• A 15 percent completion discount on any unpurchased items
• Free returns for up to a year
• One year of exclusive 20 percent off deals on baby essentials and redeemable points with each purchase
• They’ll price match an identical item if you find it cheaper somewhere else
• Group gifting, including the ability to contribute to a digital Target gift card
• A checklist feature for different categories of gear to help you sort through all your items
• Easy tracking of which items have been purchased, and who you’ve sent thank-you notes to

What your friends and family will love about Target’s registry

• Target’s group gifting options allow gifters to contribute to a digital Target gift card, which the registrant can then use to purchase more expensive items on their registry
• Loved ones can buy their gifts from the online registry and easily pick them up curbside or in person at their nearest Target store, which may come in handy for baby shower gifts
• Free two-day shipping for orders over $35 (or if they use their Target Circle Card)
• Price matching, as described above

What to look out for

Keep in mind that gifts have to be unopened and in their original packaging to be returned. Sometimes, welcome kit items can run low. A nice bonus: Target Circle Rewards can unlock many more deals for you and your gift-givers—it’s worth considering a sign-up!

Best Baby Registry for Stylish Options: Crate & Kids

Crate & Kids makes it easy to create the registry of your dreams. It pulls out all the stops to make it easy for parents-to-be to create a registry that’s full of functional and stylish products with rave reviews, featuring tons of on-trend brands to choose from, including Stokke, Dagne Dover, BabyBjorn and more.

Crate & Kids baby registry features

• A 15 percent completion discount on any unpurchased items (which can be any Crate & Barrel products) for up to 6 months after your event date
• 90-day returns for non-furniture items. Crate & Barrel also generally accepts returns on already assembled furniture.
• Free in-person and virtual consultations to help you further narrow down items (including nursery design inspiration!)
• Free shipping for orders over $49
• Group gifting
• The “Thank You Manager” helps you keep track of gifts and thank-you notes
• You can add curated bundles to your registry with one easy click: Just pick your favorite theme or design trend.

What your friends and family will love about Crate & Kids’ registry

• The option to give a Crate & Kids gift card
• The option to donate to a group gift for big-ticket items
• A registry remains active for 18 months following the event date to make purchases easy for any late gifters

What to look out for

Crate & Kids doesn’t give out a welcome gift, offers a shorter return window (90 days) for non-furniture items and has a higher order total ($49) for free shipping. Additionally, only customers with iPhones can currently use the Crate & Barrel app for their registry.

Where Should I Register?

If you’re looking for the best baby registry for your needs, here’s a breakdown of the features for three top retailers. (Tip: You can sync your registry on The Bump with them!)