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It’s no wonder that baby gear rental services are on the rise. They are making it easier for families to travel with babies and young children. If you’ve heard of the more popular services like BabyQuip and Baby’s Away, you may be wondering what sets them apart. Below we break down the similarities and differences of BabyQuip vs. Baby’s Away — two baby gear rental services. We discuss each company’s background, what gear is offered, cleanliness standards, how it works, locations available, pricing, and any extras.

Background

BabyQuip began in 2016 to help families “Pack Light & Travel Happy” with their little ones. With BabyQuip, 1000+ Quality Providers rent, deliver and set up baby gear at hotels, Airbnbs, vacation rentals, and private residences. BabyQuip has already served over 90,000 families. 

BabyQuip is a marketplace business like Airbnb or Uber. They are members of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) and were featured on Shark Tank in March 2020. Fran Maier, BabyQuip’s Founder & CEO, was also part of the founding team of the dating site Match!


Baby’s Away was created with the same intention as BabyQuip, in 1990 by John Wierzba to help traveling families get the baby gear they need to their traveling destination.

Baby Gear Offered

BabyQuip offers thousands of baby gear items, including full-size cribs, strollers, car seats, baby carriers, high chairs, toys, beach packages, and more. BabyQuip knows it’s not only the large baby items that matter on vacation but the small ones too. Step stools, sound machines, baby gates, audio/video monitors, and almost any other baby item you can think of are available on the site.

Baby’s Away provides new or gently used baby gear, including cribs, car seats, high chairs, strollers, and more. Like BabyQuip, crib rentals include the mattress, mattress pad, and a fitted crib sheet. Pack ‘n Play rentals also include a fitted sheet. Beach items are also available to rent for those going on a beach vacation. All equipment is also JPMA Certified.

Standards of Cleanliness

BabyQuip has strict cleaning standards and makes sure that each baby item is properly cleaned between rentals. Quality Providers are required to take extensive training and pass quizzes regarding baby gear safety and cleanliness before being allowed to rent any items. Baby gear is inspected and deep cleaned after every rental and then inspected and lightly cleaned again before being rented to the next customer. Quality Providers (QPs) use non-toxic and/or baby-safe cleaning products on all items.

Baby’s Away ensures that each piece of baby equipment is inspected, cleaned, and sanitized before delivery. They take care of the equipment as if their own children were using it.

How They Work

BabyQuip offers a seamless reservation process through their website. Choose your location, and dates, and browse QP profiles to find the baby gear you’d like to rent. There is a 3-day minimum rental period, although most QPs offer single-day rentals if they can make it work within their schedule.

During checkout, a note can be placed to the QP for contactless delivery if you prefer. The QP will drop off the baby gear and text you to let you know it has arrived. BabyQuip is the only baby gear rental company that carries liability insurance covering the entire rental experience.

Baby’s Away allows users to browse baby gear first and then add it to their cart. There is no rental day minimum. Many times, Baby’s Away can deliver your baby gear to your hotel, Airbnb, or private residence before you arrive and pick it back up after you leave.

Like BabyQuip, all providers are background-checked.

Note: Neither BabyQuip nor Baby’s Away will install car seats. If you need help installing a car seat, we recommend reaching out to Tot Squad for assistance!

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Available Locations

BabyQuip has over 1000 Quality Providers offering baby gear rentals in over 900 locations, including some outside of the United States! These outside locations include Aruba, Barbados, Canada, Costa Rica, Estonia, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Saint Maarten. Thankfully, BabyQuip works with QPs who are located all over, in order to provide quick and convenient baby gear rental services.

Baby’s Away is currently providing baby gear rentals within 34 states and more than 90 locations. Unfortunately, at this time, they do not have enough providers to deliver baby gear to customers in every U.S. state like BabyQuip.

Pricing

BabyQuip rents a single jogging stroller in Columbus, OH (for example) for $8 per day. There is a 3-day minimum, but a 10% discount is automatically applied at checkout for rentals lasting 10 or more days. They also offer monthly discounts. There’s a service fee added to each reservation and a delivery fee that depends on travel time, same-day delivery, etc. Most QPs offer free local pickup if you want to avoid the delivery fee.

Baby’s Away also rents a single jogging stroller in the Columbus, OH, area for $8 per day. There is a one-time delivery fee that varies by travel time to your destination. At this time, it doesn’t look like Baby’s Away provides the option to pick up baby gear locally.

The Extras

BabyQuip is offering a new service — baby gear cleaning! Dirty baby equipment can be dropped off with a QP, or a QP can come to you — whichever is more convenient. Each certified cleaning expert is trained to use a “3 P’s” method when cleaning the baby equipment: Products (use non-toxic baby-safe products), Process (clean thoroughly), and Proficiency (be knowledgeable about baby gear and cleaning it). 

There are four cleaning packages to choose from: The Basic, Lotta Love, The Works (most popular), and BabyQuip Clean. Depending on your needs, each package offers more or less cleaning; the BabyQuip Clean package even cleans vomit or potty accidents!

Baby’s Away only provides baby gear rental services at this time.

BabyQuip vs. Baby’s Away Summary

Overall, BabyQuip and Baby’s Away are pretty similar baby gear rental services although there are some clear differences. BabyQuip has many more QPs available within and outside of the US. The thorough cleaning process, with the use of baby-safe products, of the baby gear is superb and comforting to parents. On top of it all, BabyQuip now offers baby gear cleaning, which is a huge plus to parents who want thoroughly cleaned baby equipment but have zero time to do it themselves.

Have you tried a baby gear rental service before? Which one did you use and what was your experience?