CPR Manikin Buying Guide: How to Choose the Right Manikin

By John Haines, Founder of LivCor and former MICA Flight Paramedic. Published 11 October 2026. Last reviewed by John Haines on 11 October 2026.

Reading time: 11 minutes

The short version

• Choose a CPR manikin by use case first, brand second. A training organisation running HLTAID009 and HLTAID011 every week needs different gear from a workplace running one refresher a year, and both differ from a nursing skills lab.
• Compression feedback is the feature that matters most. ANZCOR wants 100 to 120 compressions a minute at 5 to 6 cm for adults. A manikin that cannot tell the learner whether they are there is teaching them to guess.
• The brands LivCor sells: Practi-Man (adult and child in one manikin, from $309), Prestan Professional (clicker and visual rate monitor, from $270), Laerdal Little Anne and Resusci Anne QCPR (app-based feedback, from $629), Brayden (LED blood-flow display, from $465) and Nasco CPR Prompt and Basic Buddy (entry level, from $209).
• Adult manikins run from about $280 to more than $7,000. Four-packs save about 15 per cent against singles on Practi-Man and Practi-Baby; on most other ranges the saving is small or nil, so compare the per-unit price.
• The real cost is lungs and face shields, not the manikin. High-volume trainers go through a lung bag per student.
• CPR manikins are training aids, not medical devices, so they carry no ARTG listing.

Who this guide is for

This guide is for people who train others. If you want to learn CPR yourself, find an accredited first aid trainer running HLTAID009 Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation or HLTAID011 Provide First Aid.

It is written for:

• Training organisations and first aid trainers delivering HLTAID009, HLTAID011, HLTAID012 (education and care settings) or HLTAID014 (advanced first aid)
• Workplace trainers running annual CPR refreshers for the first aiders the Code of Practice requires
• University and TAFE nursing and paramedicine coordinators equipping skills labs
• School first aid coordinators running staff training or student CPR awareness
• Community trainers, sports clubs, surf lifesaving and volunteer rescue groups

If the decision involves more than five manikins, lifecycle cost and assessment evidence matter more than the sticker price.

I have trained people on manikins since before most of today's brands existed, wrote the first aid books that sit beside them in many classrooms, and have sold and repaired every brand in this guide since 1988.

What a CPR manikin does, and why quality matters

A CPR manikin is a torso or full body that lets a learner practise compressions, rescue breaths and, with an AED trainer, the full DRSABCD sequence on something that behaves like a person. The point is muscle memory for a skill that has to be performed correctly, under stress, on a stranger.

The targets are precise. ANZCOR Guideline 6 sets compressions at 100 to 120 a minute, 5 to 6 cm deep for adults, about 5 cm for children and 4 cm for infants. ANZCOR Guideline 8 sets the ratio at 30 compressions to 2 breaths for all ages.

Around 26,000 Australians have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest attended by ambulance each year, and of those where paramedics attempt resuscitation, about 13 per cent survive to leave hospital (Aus-ROC, Bray et al. 2022). Starting CPR straight away can double a person's chance of survival (Heart Foundation Australia), but only CPR done to the standard. Shallow, slow compressions are what untrained hands deliver under pressure, and a manikin without feedback does nothing to fix that.

That is the whole case for spending properly.

Types of CPR manikin

By age

• Adult: the workhorse. Required for HLTAID009 and HLTAID011 assessment.
• Child: smaller torso, softer resistance. Needed where the course assesses child technique. Some adult manikins (Practi-Man, Nasco CPR Prompt) switch to a child setting.
• Infant: a baby-sized body. HLTAID011 requires two minutes of uninterrupted CPR on an infant manikin on a firm surface; HLTAID012 likewise.

By form

• Torso: head, neck and chest. Cheapest, lightest, most common.
• Full body: arms and legs for scene management and recovery position. Heavier and bulkier to store.
• Ultralight or stackable: inflatable or compressible designs for mobile trainers, schools and events.

By feedback

• None: cheapest, awareness sessions only. Not suitable for accredited assessment.
• Mechanical or visual: a clicker at the right depth, LED rate lights, or lights under the skin. The Practi-Man clicker, the Prestan rate monitor and the Brayden LEDs sit here. Enough for accredited HLTAID delivery.
• Electronic or app-based: a wireless monitor or an app showing rate, depth, recoil and ventilation, with records you can export. Practi-Man Plus, Prestan Series 2000, Laerdal QCPR and Brayden Pro sit here.

The eight features that matter

1. Compression feedback. Clicker, lights or a screen. The learner must know whether they are hitting depth and rate. Without it, you are teaching guesswork.

2. Airway realism. Head tilt and chin lift that open the airway, and a chest that only rises when they do. A working nose pinch. Jaw thrust on the manikins used for advanced courses (Practi-Man Plus, Prestan Jaw Thrust, Resusci Anne).

3. Lung system. Disposable lung bags (Practi-Man, Prestan, Nasco), filtered lungs with longer life (current Laerdal Little Anne), or a valve-and-lung set (Brayden). The lung system sets most of your ongoing cost. Check it before you buy.

4. Cleaning. Latex-free skin that tolerates manikin wipes or disinfectant. High-volume trainers clean between every rotation; cheap skin does not survive it.

5. Durability. Laerdal states that Little Anne manikins have been confirmed to last through at least several hundred thousand compressions (Laerdal). Prestan offers a three-year limited warranty on the Professional range (Prestan). Practi-Man Plus carries a two-year manufacturer warranty. Treat warranty and published compression cycles as your guide to operational life.

6. AED trainer compatibility. HLTAID009 and HLTAID011 both assess AED use. The manikin must take training pads without damage. Every manikin in this guide works with the XFT, Prestan, Philips and Laerdal AED trainers LivCor sells.

7. Carry case. A four-pack lives in its bag. A cheap bag fails inside a year of weekly transport. Buy the rugged bag or hard case.

8. Warranty and parts in Australia. A warranty serviced from Australia is worth more than one serviced from overseas with weeks of freight each way. Confirm the local dealer before you buy. LivCor stocks lungs, face skins, chest skins, valves and bags for every brand below.

The brands in the Australian market

Five brand families cover most Australian CPR training. LivCor sells all five. Prices are LivCor's as at October 2026 and change.

Practi-Man

Practi-Man is the value line, and the one I recommend to most trainers who ask me what to start with. One manikin works as an adult or a child via a position setting, with realistic head tilt, chest rise and nose pinch, and a built-in clicker for depth. It is light, works with any AED trainer, and ships with five lungs, two valves and a carry bag.

• Practi-Man Advance: adult or child in one body, clicker feedback. Single $309; four-pack $1,039; light and dark skin, and a multicultural four-pack.
• Practi-Man Plus: adds a wireless electronic feedback monitor and jaw thrust, latex-free, two-year warranty. Single $369; four-pack $1,330.
• Practi-Baby: an infant with a switchable clicker, realistic head tilt, and a removable valve so students can practise with a Guedel airway. Single $319; Plus version with electronic feedback $359; four-packs from $1,079.
• Adult and infant duos from $628, and full starter kits with AED trainers and bags from $2,299.

Prestan Professional

Prestan is common in Australian training rooms. The Professional Adult pairs a visual rate monitor (lights for the 100 to 120 range) with an audible clicker at 5 to 6 cm, so a learner gets both rate and depth without an app (Prestan). The clamshell chest makes lung-bag changes fast between students.

• Professional Adult with feedback: single $345, four-pack $1,410. Female, jaw thrust and diversity-kit versions available.
• Professional Child: single $270, four-pack $1,060. Professional Infant: single $305, four-pack $1,180.
• Series 2000 with advanced electronic feedback (rate, depth, recoil, ventilation, hands-off time): adult single $375, four-pack $1,850.
• Ultralite for mobile and school use: single $279, four-pack $1,089, infant 12-pack $2,840.
• Lung bags: adult 50-pack $52.

Laerdal Little Anne QCPR and Resusci Anne QCPR

Laerdal is the premium choice for high-throughput training and clinical education. Little Anne QCPR gives app-based feedback on depth, release, rate and ventilation, with up to six manikins per instructor; the current generation's single-use filter removes the need to replace the lungs after every class, and the lungs last 50,000 compressions or 3 to 6 months (Laerdal).

• Little Anne QCPR $628.87; Little Anne without QCPR $590.15; six-packs $2,805.
• Little Baby QCPR $576.73; four-pack $2,229.70.
• Resusci Anne QCPR for professional BLS and ALS training: torso from $4,183.30, full body and airway versions to $7,392.

Brayden

Brayden shows the learner what good compressions do: lights under the skin show blood flowing to the brain as compressions reach depth with full recoil, and above 6 cm all the depth lights come on (Brayden). It is easy for novices to read.

• Brayden with blood-flow lights $749; without lights $465; four-pack with trolley bag $3,450.
• Brayden Baby $1,799.
• Brayden Pro adds app-based quantitative feedback for assessment evidence (Brayden Pro); ask LivCor for availability.

Nasco CPR Prompt and Basic Buddy

Entry-level manikins for community and school programs. CPR Prompt adult/child $280, infant $209, face shield and lung bags in packs of 100. Basic Buddy $299, five-pack $1,335. Suitable for awareness training and large school groups; not the choice for accredited assessment where feedback is expected.

Which manikin for which buyer

This is where most purchases go wrong. The right manikin follows the assessment workflow and the volume, not the brand name.

Accredited training organisations (HLTAID009 and HLTAID011)

Both units require two minutes of uninterrupted CPR on an adult manikin on the floor; HLTAID011 adds two minutes on an infant manikin on a firm surface (HLTAID011; HLTAID009). The assessor needs feedback they can see, a chest that behaves, and a manikin that survives hundreds of students a year.

Recommended: Practi-Man Advance or Plus four-packs with Practi-Baby for value; Prestan Professional adult and infant four-packs for the rate monitor; Laerdal Little Anne QCPR four-packs where you want exportable data. Above about 200 courses a year, Laerdal's filtered lungs cut the consumables bill.

Workplace in-house refreshers (low volume)

First aiders refresh HLTAID009 every 12 months (Safe Work Australia Code of Practice), so a workplace trains perhaps 4 to 20 people a year. One adult and one infant manikin plus an AED trainer covers it: a Practi-Man and Practi-Baby duo at $628 plus an XFT 120C+ AED trainer at $189 is under $850 for several years of refreshers.

University and TAFE nursing and paramedicine

Skills labs need realism, durability and feedback fine enough for competency assessment, across CPR, basic and advanced life support, jaw thrust and bag-valve-mask stations. Recommended: Resusci Anne QCPR (and Little Baby QCPR for infants) for full realism and app integration, with Little Anne QCPR units for high-throughput compression practice. Brayden Pro is widely used in nursing education for quantitative assessment evidence.

Schools and community groups

Whole-class sessions of 25 to 30 learners, lower technical demands. Light and stackable beats premium feedback. Recommended: Prestan Ultralite 12-packs, Practi-Man Advance four-packs, or Nasco Basic Buddy five-packs for pure awareness sessions.

High-volume training centres (200 or more courses a year)

Consumables and operating life decide it. In LivCor's experience, a dearer manikin with filtered lungs pays for itself inside 18 months against a cheap one eating a lung bag per student. Recommended: Little Anne QCPR with filtered lungs, with one or two Resusci Anne QCPR per room for the top end.

Cost and consumables: the real total

Over three to five years, a busy trainer spends as much on consumables as on the manikins.

• Lung bags or filters: per student on Practi-Man, Prestan, Nasco and Brayden; a single-use filter on current Laerdal Little Anne, whose lungs last 50,000 compressions or 3 to 6 months. Prestan adult lung bags are about $1 each in a 50-pack; Nasco face-shield lung bags about $2 each in a 100-pack.
• Face shields: single-use barrier between learner and manikin. Cheap each, significant at scale.
• Wipes and disinfectant: ongoing.
• Face and chest skins: reusable, replaced with wear. Practi-Baby face skins $18, chest skins $20.
• Batteries: rechargeable on app manikins; disposable on electronic monitors.

Work out a three-year cost at your real volume before you compare prices. A $309 manikin using a lung bag per student can cost more over three years than a $629 manikin with long-life lungs and a single-use filter.

Maintenance

Three habits extend manikin life:

• Clean between every rotation with the manufacturer's recommended wipes or solution. Generic disinfectants degrade TPE skin.
• Replace lungs and face shields on schedule, not on inspection. The cost is trivial; a cross-contamination complaint is not.
• Store in the case. Sunlight, dust and humidity wear the skin and the compression mechanism.

Keep a maintenance log per manikin. It supports your asset register and the evidence an auditor asks for on equipment fitness for purpose.

What is the best CPR manikin for my situation?

It depends on your volume, the units you deliver and how much feedback detail you need.

• Accredited training at moderate volume: Practi-Man Advance or Plus four-packs with Practi-Baby, or Prestan Professional adult and infant four-packs. Best balance of cost, durability and ANZCOR-aligned feedback.
• High volume, 200 or more courses a year: Laerdal Little Anne QCPR four-packs with filtered lungs. Lower consumables over three years offsets the price.
• University nursing and paramedicine: Resusci Anne QCPR and Little Baby QCPR, with Little Anne QCPR for throughput and Brayden Pro for assessment data.
• Workplace in-house, low volume: a Practi-Man and Practi-Baby duo plus an AED trainer, under $850.
• Schools and community, high volume, low complexity: Prestan Ultralite 12-packs or Nasco Basic Buddy five-packs. Lowest cost per seat.

All of these support training to ANZCOR Guideline 6 and Guideline 8.

Pair the manikins with AED trainers

CPR and AED skills are taught together because they are used together. ANZCOR's basic life support flowchart treats them as one response, and HLTAID009 assesses AED operation alongside CPR.

Budget at least one AED trainer per training station. The XFT 120C+ ($189), the XFT-120N ($159), the Philips HeartStart trainers and the Laerdal AED Trainer all work with every manikin in this guide. Browse the AED trainer range.

If the organisation is also choosing a real AED for the wall, the AED Buying Guide Australia covers ARTG listing, features and the cost of ownership.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Laerdal and Prestan manikins? Laerdal is the premium, app-driven, long-life option; Prestan is mechanical, cheaper and quicker to service. Little Anne QCPR gives detailed digital feedback and exportable records; Prestan Professional gives a rate monitor and a depth clicker. Both meet HLTAID009 and HLTAID011 assessment needs. Practi-Man sits below both on price with clicker or wireless feedback and an adult-or-child body.

How long do CPR manikins last? Three to five years in moderate use, longer in light use. Laerdal states Little Anne lasts at least several hundred thousand compressions; Prestan warrants the Professional range for three years; Practi-Man Plus carries two. Face wear, skin discolouration and upgrading to feedback are the usual triggers for replacement.

Do CPR manikins need certification or ARTG listing? No. Manikins are training aids, not therapeutic goods, so they are not listed on the ARTG. They should support training to current ANZCOR guidelines, which every manikin here does.

How often do manikin lungs need replacing? Per student on most brands; current Laerdal Little Anne uses a single-use filter instead, with lungs that last 50,000 compressions or 3 to 6 months. Buy lung bags in bulk packs.

Can one manikin cover adult and child training? Practi-Man and Nasco CPR Prompt switch between adult and child. An infant is a separate manikin. HLTAID011 requires two minutes of CPR on an infant manikin on a firm surface, and ANZCOR sets different depth targets for adults, children and infants.

Which manikin do most Australian trainers use? In LivCor's experience, Prestan Professional and Practi-Man are common choices in first aid training rooms, with Laerdal Little Anne QCPR the usual step up. The choice usually comes down to budget per station and whether you want app data.

Sources

1. ANZCOR. Guideline 6: Compressions. https://www.anzcor.org/home/basic-life-support/guideline-6-compressions
2. ANZCOR. Guideline 8: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. https://www.anzcor.org/home/basic-life-support/guideline-8-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-cpr
3. Bray J, Howell S, Ball S et al. The epidemiology of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Australia and New Zealand: A binational report from Aus-ROC. Resuscitation, 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35077857/
4. Heart Foundation Australia. What is a cardiac arrest? https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/cardiac-arrest
5. Safe Work Australia. Model Code of Practice: First aid in the workplace. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-code-practice-first-aid-workplace
6. training.gov.au. HLTAID011 Provide First Aid. https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/HLTAID011
7. training.gov.au. HLTAID009 Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/HLTAID009
8. Laerdal Medical. 5 must-know features of the Little Anne CPR manikins. https://www.laerdal.com/gb/information/5-must-know-features-of-the-little-anne-cpr-manikins/
9. Laerdal Medical. Resusci Anne QCPR. https://laerdal.com/au/products/simulation-training/resuscitation-training/resusci-anne-qcpr/
10. Prestan Products. Professional Adult Manikin. https://prestan.com/products/cpr-training-manikins/professional-adult-manikin/
11. Innosonian. Brayden Adult Advanced. https://innosonian.global/brayden-adult/brayden-adult-advanced/
12. Innosonian. Brayden Adult Pro. https://innosonian.global/brayden-adult/brayden-adult-pro/
13. LivCor product listings for Practi-Man, Prestan, Laerdal, Brayden and Nasco manikins, specifications and prices as at October 2026. https://shop.livcor.com.au/collections/cpr-manikins

About the author

John Haines founded LivCor (APL Group) in 1988 and has supplied defibrillators, CPR manikins and first aid equipment to Australian workplaces and training organisations for more than 35 years. Before that he spent 18 years with Ambulance Service Victoria, including 11 years as a MICA Flight Paramedic. He is the author of the Emergency First Aid and Advanced First Aid Guide series, with more than two million copies sold, conceived the HAINES recovery position in 1989, served as Deputy Chairman of the Australian Resuscitation Council (NSW Branch), and is a founding member and past President of the First Aid Industry Alliance. He holds the National Medal and a Commendation for Bravery. Connect on LinkedIn | More about John

Commercial disclosure

LivCor is an Australian supplier of defibrillators, CPR training equipment, simulation devices and first aid supplies, established 1988. The products discussed here (Practi-Man, Prestan, Laerdal, Brayden, Nasco and the AED trainers) are sold by LivCor. Comparisons are based on manufacturer specifications and the author's experience training people and supplying training organisations. Prices are current at publication and change; check the CPR manikin collection.

Changelog

• 11 October 2026 (v2.0): Rewritten for publication. Author attribution to John Haines; Practi-Man added as a primary brand; prices updated to October 2026; terminology aligned to searched spellings and LivCor's copy rules.
• 14 May 2026 (v1.0): Initial draft.