Last updated: Nov 03, 2022
Ready to discover the best baby gate?
There are a lot of great reasons to find the best baby gates for stairs. Whether you have pets or young children, the safety that a gate at the top, bottom, or both can provide is a huge advantage.
But is just any baby gate useful for stairs or is it better to find something designed especially for these features?
Read on to discover ten fantastic examples of baby gates to try for yourself.
If you’re looking for something a little bit different, BabyDan’s Guard Me Retractable Gate is a great choice.
There are a lot of advantages to retractable gates. If you have partial custody of a child, a babysitting job in your home, or grandchildren who visit on a regular basis, this is a great way to have an effective door when you need it and an open passageway when you don’t.
Made in Denmark for the narrow passageways associated with older architecture, this is a wonderful choice for doors made in times before building codes existed. A smart and unique choice for homeowners who appreciate both.
This Danish design is especially nice if you live in a small home or an older home with narrow doorways and not a lot of room for a swinging gate. It is also very nice if you are a grandparent or other person who has children part-time and don’t want the constant obstruction of gates when they are not needed.
Danish safety standards top US requirements for things like green manufacture, so you can be certain that it is as safe as possible for your little one. European style and safety, available in the U.S.
Why did it make our list?
What is not ideal about it?
What’s strong, beautiful, and slides to adjust? This baby.
The Supergate Easy Close Gate is a great choice in that it can slide to a number of different widths to accommodate different areas. This gate can be used on a stairwell to start when a baby is crawling and then moved to accommodate a wider doorway later all without the need to buy another gate.
A great choice for moms and dads who like multipurpose items. Clean, white, and strong metal make it an even more attractive choice.
What are our favorite features?
What could be better?
Beautiful, functional, and adjustable. Extra tall with an arched architectural feature in the gate. A gorgeous choice for the aesthete.
The Summer Infant Multi-Use Deco Extra Tall Walk-Thru Gate is a great choice if you need an adjustable pressure-mount gate that has the optional hardware for the top of stairs. It swings both ways when needed, but has a one-way insert to avoid this at the top of the stairs as well.
A number of different sizes of extension are there to make sure it fits most any door frame, and the pressure mounts compensate for uneven walls.
Why is it special?
What are the flaws?
If you like Ikea chic, this is a great compliment to the style!
Munchkin Loft Aluminum Infant Safety Gate looks great. Very sturdy. More so than the gates that don’t mount to the wall. Easy to open for an adult. Swings inward and outward. You can also adjust the width of the gate by 2-inch increments.
Munchkin Loft Aluminum Infant Safety Gate is designed for those who want a slim profile and a truly clean, modern stainless look. It is strong and well-liked, as are all Munchkin products, and the screw-in design ensures that anyone who properly installs it into a wooden stud can be sure that the gate will stay secure.
What stands out?
What cons did we manage to find?
The classic, original baby gate still fits the needs of many families.
The GMI Keepsafe Expansion Gate is one of the first designs to ever hit the baby gate market. The crisscrossed lattice shape and expandable wood design have long been used to provide a simple yet effective way to keep your little ones safe where they belong. This is not the best choice for an active climber who studies latch mechanisms.
However, if you have pets or kids who are not lockpicking masterminds, it is a great choice and a fun nod to the retro designs of your own childhoods or babysitting days.
Know what? Classics are classic for a reason, and this is no exception. Simple, effective, well-loved.
Why did it make our list?
What is not ideal about it?
Parents love the safety that this provides!
Easy Close XL Metal Safety Gate is a favorite choice for the top of stairs because of the fact that it offers a smaller opening in a wide doorway and it swings both directions. Three locks keep it from fooling all but the most clever children, yet it can still be operated with just one hand.
Simple, beautiful, great for large spaces. Clever and functional.
Why did it make our list?
What is not ideal about it?
If you are looking for a gate for the bottom of the stairs, this should win, hands-down. If you are looking for a gate for the rest, the strength of materials, clever design, and strength of install should make sure that Cardinal Gates Stairway Special Gate is in your top list of considerations. An excellent choice all around.
A smart and fantastic gate on all counts.
What makes it stand out?
Which disadvantages must you keep in mind?
Simple, elegant, strong, easy to clean. This baby gate is a mother’s dream!
The Munchkin Easy-Close Metal Safety Gate is the perfect choice if you swear by the style and function of Ikea furniture.
This stunning silver piece looks at baby gates as a fashion statement instead of an unintrusive furnishing. Thick, rectangular tubing makes a statement that is at home in any modern decor scheme. The silver coating gives a modern look that fits well with anyone who uses stainless steel for their furnishings.
Its clean, angular design is strong and the adjustable sliding system allows it to fit in doorways or stairwells between 26.5 and 40 inches. It is easy to install and comes with an integral tuning system (ITS) to make sure the gate has a vertical hang, even when the walls do not. Everything you love about clean, modern design in a quality baby gate!
Munchkin Easy-Close Metal Safety Gate is a great choice for those who are looking for a gate that fits their budget and is strong. The white, easy-clean surface is wipe-down friendly, which is a huge relief to anyone with sticky-fingered toddlers.
What are our favorite features?
What could be better?
An all-around solid gate that is mechanically installed.
The North States Supergate Tall Easy Swing and Lock Gate is a tall, mounted baby gate that is a great choice for parents who want a safe environment and want to discourage gate climbing. The threshold-free system eliminates the tripping hazard that thresholds present.
Simple, screw-in design is low profile and designed to stay out of your way when you need and swing automatically back into place if you desire.
What are our favorite features?
What could be better?
The elegant styling and strength of a wrought-iron gate with the functionality of a baby gate. A truly excellent combination!
Dreambaby Auto Close Gate with Stay Open Feature is a smart yet beautiful way to keep your children safe. It offers an auto-close feature and a double locking system to keep busy hands from figuring out how to open it. This gate is an attractive pressure mounted gate that is easy to install.
The Smart Stay-Open feature is perfect for when you are carrying babies, laundry, groceries or other things through the barrier. Suitable for stairs and doorways, it will fit openings of 28”-32”. When you use the included (2 x 3.5”) extensions it can be increased to fit up to 39”. The gate is 29.5″ tall.
Additional extensions are sold separately to accommodate doorways up to 111.” This Dreambaby pressure-mounted gate is easy to install. In most cases, you don’t need to screw holes into woodwork or walls. At the top of the stairs, however, mounting cups and screws are needed to ensure security.
It’s well-reviewed by anyone who uses it and installs it correctly, and over 95% of those who have reviewed Dreambaby Auto Close Gate are highly satisfied with the product.
Why did it make our list?
What is not ideal about it?
If you are co-parenting with an ex, a babysitter out of your home, a pet owner who limits access when you’re at work, or a grandparent who has the kids two days per week, retractable gates are a great way to get the protection you need while reclaiming your stairs the rest of the time.
They stretch across the doorway and attach when needed. When not needed, they hang close to one side of the door frame, out of the way.
Retractable gates can be made of wood, plastic, metal, or even fabric. They can have an expanding lattice design, a roll-out projector screen design, or a folding accordion version. They are also one of the best choices if you have an extra-wide stairwell as many of them can expand to fit 9 or 10-foot expanses.
These sound like great choices!
There are two kinds of attachments: Hardware and pressure-mount.
Baby gates that don’t require drilling typically tend to be pressure-mount gates. Because these gates require a lot of pressure to keep in place, they are difficult to remove and replace unless you buy a model that has a swinging gate over a threshold.
Great to know!
Baby gates and railings can be tricky, but there are a few different ways to accommodate both.
With a little trial and error (and an understanding of what you are and are not willing to do, you can find a way to share space between the railing and the baby gate.
Safety first!
Baby gates can be used at both the top and the bottom of your stairs. At the top, they can prevent a baby from falling down. At the bottom, they can prevent access to the stairs at all. This is great if you have pets that are only allowed downstairs but not upstairs in your home. These gates can only swing one way, as they cannot go over the stairs.
They are a good choice for pressure-mounted gates with thresholds, as the thresholds are less likely to become tripping hazards. One thing to watch for with baby gates at the bottom is handrails, as they can be an obstacle.
Hardware is used to screw a baby gate securely into the wall. This must be done into a solid wood surface like a stud, and not into an open drywall or plaster portion of the wall in order to be secure and not wiggle out as children or pets push against the gate.
In many cases, a drill is needed to pre-make the holes for the hardware. In other cases, a self-driving screw and a power screwdriver may be sufficient. The advantage of using hardware is that it is one of the safest and secure ways to attach a baby gate to an area.
It also leaves screw holes when you are done using the gate, so it can take some clean-up to erase the evidence that it was there. It’s the safest choice, but it does require sacrificing a pristine wall to get there.
Pressure-mounted baby gates are a good choice if you need a high gate for a wide area. If you have pets who try and push under the gate, it is again a good choice.
If you want a gate that stays in place all the time, pressure-mounted gates are the best way to achieve this. Some of these pressure mounted gates are also reinforced with a hardware mount, especially if you are using them at the top of the stairs. They are also designed to swing both directions.
A smart design for a good purpose!
Are pet and baby gates different?
Traditionally, baby gates and pet gates are the same. However, there are a few specific things about each that you need to consider. When looking at gates for pets, here are a few things to know:
Good things to know to keep your fluffy babies safe!
When your child begins to crawl, you will need a gate. Once they begin to toddle, you will really need a gate. The best time to buy a gate is when your baby begins to become mobile. As they get older and you become more comfortable letting them go out on their own, the more you will need a gate.
This can protect the top of stairs when they are toddling to your bed in the dark. It can keep them (and their toys) in a designated toy room. It can put rooms with dangerous or delicate items off-limits.
Consider where you need gates as you begin to recreate your home for your child. This is the point to choose gates and assign where they go. Consider these measures before you need them and you’ll be sure to be safe when you do.
Here is a list of things that you need to do to correctly measure an opening:
Measure twice to be sure, and you’ll save yourself a world of headaches!
The big thing to remember with these gates is to read the instructions thoroughly and ahead of time. One read-through before you start can help you to keep from stopping ten times to grab something at the store and will typically make it go faster.
Be sure that all of the hardware you need is included or that you have it ready before you begin. Every install is different based on the gate, the level of pre-assembly, and the style (pressure-mount, hardware-mount, and retractable).
Preparation can make all the difference!
The Winner of the Best Baby Gates for Stairs Is…
For innovation, ease of use, green certification, and smart design, the BabyDan Guard Me Retractable Gate wins best of the show. It offers no place for little heads or limbs to get stuck, a green plastic design, and the slimmest retractable profile of the bunch. It still doesn’t work for extra-large archways, but it offers the best barrier to keep baby from falling down the stairs, and even from throwing toys and other tripping hazards down the stairwell when thwarted.
Safe with added features. You’ve got to love it!
Thanks for reading!
