LittleHippo MELLA vs NESSI

MELLA and NESSI are set the same way, on their own buttons with no app, and both turn green with a sun at wake-up. Choose MELLA for its face that sleeps and wakes and an optional yellow “almost time” light; choose NESSI for a red bedtime light and two real alarms with snooze, which make it a better alarm clock later.

What your child sees

MELLA closes its eyes at bedtime with a moon on the display, can glow yellow 5, 15 or 30 minutes before wake-up, and turns green with open eyes and a sun at wake-up.

NESSI shows a moon and stars at bedtime, with an optional red light for the whole night, and turns green with a sun at wake-up. Its manual describes no “almost time” color. On both, the green light switches itself off an hour after wake-up time.

NESSI is the better alarm clock later

NESSI has two alarms you switch on separately, three alarm sounds, three volume levels and a nine-minute snooze. MELLA has one alarm, separate from its lights. If you want the clock to wake a school-age child later on, NESSI does more of what an alarm clock does.

Naps, sounds and night lights

Both have a nap timer separate from the morning. NESSI’s runs from 10 minutes to 3 hours and ends with the green light or an alarm. Both play sleep sounds: NESSI has seven, including white noise, with a 10 to 90 minute or continuous timer; MELLA’s page lists three sound options and six night light colors.

Power, setup and what is in the box

Both keep their settings on a CR2032 coin battery and stop until the power is back. MELLA’s box includes an AC wall adapter; NESSI comes with a USB-C cable but no wall plug. NESSI’s sleep trainer switches itself on when you finish setting it; on MELLA, check that the sun or moon icon shows next to the time. Both have a lock; MELLA’s display can be dimmed until it is fully dark, and NESSI’s display has four brightness levels.

Which one

Choose MELLA for a face your child can read and a yellow light that says “almost time”, with a wall adapter in the box.
Choose NESSI for a red bedtime light and two alarms with snooze that carry it into the school years. Both nap timers stop at 3 hours; NESSI’s starts at 10 minutes, MELLA’s at 15.
Neither keeps running in a power cut; for that, see the power-cut pick.

At a glance

“Not in the manual”: the maker doesn’t mention it, so we don’t count on it.

Feature	LittleHippo MELLA Version 2 Check price on Amazon	LittleHippo NESSI Model KHNS-01 Check price on Amazon
How you set it	Set on the clock	Set on the clock
Switching it on	Runs by itself every day once the sleep trainer is on: look for a sun or moon next to the time, and press SLEEP/WAKE if it is missing	Switches on by itself every day
Change the times without Wi-Fi	Yes	Yes
Another grown-up in the app	Anyone can use the buttons on the bottom of the clock; there is no app to share. Show the next grown-up how to change the times and how the lock works: a slider on the bottom stops changes to the settings, while the volume, the display brightness and the hat still work.	Everyone uses the buttons on the back of the clock; there is no app to invite anyone to. Show the next grown-up the lock button: while it is on, they can still check the alarm time and snooze.
Runs on battery?	Needs to stay plugged in	Needs to stay plugged in
In a power cut	MELLA stops when the power goes off: its coin battery keeps the settings, but the display, light and sounds go off until the power is back.	NESSI must be plugged in to turn on. Its CR2032 coin battery keeps the basic settings while it is unplugged, but the lights and sounds stop until the power is back.
Bedtime light at a set time	Yes	Yes
Nap timer	Yes	Yes
Nap wake-up time	Not in the manual	Not in the manual
Weekday and weekend times	No	No
Several light or sound changes a night	No	No
Keeps working without Wi-Fi	Yes	Yes
What stops without Wi-Fi	Nothing: it needs no network.	Nothing: it needs no network.
Alarm sound	Yes	Yes
Sound machine	Yes	Yes
Silent wake-up light	Yes	Yes
Time display can turn off	Yes	Not in the manual
Child lock	Yes	Yes
Subscription needed for the light	No	No
In the box	MELLA clock, 4 ft cable, AC wall adapter, Instruction manual	NESSI clock, 4 ft USB-C cable, CR2032 battery (pre-installed), Instruction manual